Passengers injured in a taxi, limousine, party bus, or airport shuttle in Texas can claim against the driver and usually against the company operating the vehicle. Carriers that transport the public for hire owe passengers a high degree of care, and they typically carry commercial insurance. Owsley Law Firm handles these claims across Texas and charges no fee unless it wins.
How is a taxi claim different from an Uber claim?
An Uber or Lyft claim is governed by the Texas rideshare insurance statute and turns on app status. A taxi, limo, or shuttle is a traditional vehicle for hire. The operator is usually a company that owns or controls the vehicle, holds a city permit, and carries commercial auto insurance. That makes the company itself a common defendant, and its records are central evidence.
Cities, including Houston, license vehicles for hire and set requirements for drivers and insurance. Those permit files can identify the operator and the insurer when the driver will not.
What duty does a taxi or limo company owe its passengers?
A carrier that transports the public for hire owes its passengers a high degree of care, more than an ordinary driver owes to others on the road. That duty covers how the vehicle is driven, how it is maintained, and how passengers get in and out.
The company may also be responsible for hiring and supervising its drivers. A driver with a poor record, a vehicle with known defects, or a schedule that pushed drivers to rush can each support a claim against the company itself.
What about party buses and airport shuttles?
Party buses, hotel shuttles, and airport parking shuttles at IAH and Hobby carry large groups, often at night, with passengers standing or moving. Injuries come from sudden stops, falls inside the vehicle, and collisions.
Party buses add alcohol to the picture. If an intoxicated passenger was hurt or someone was injured by an impaired driver, the facts about who served alcohol and when may support additional claims.
- Falls during sudden braking or sharp turns
- Injuries while boarding or exiting at the curb
- Unsecured passengers and luggage thrown during a crash
- Overcrowding beyond the vehicle’s seating
- Drivers working long shifts with little rest
Who pays if another car hit my taxi?
The at-fault driver’s insurance pays first. If that driver had too little coverage, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage generally protects you as a passenger. The taxi company’s policy may also respond if the taxi driver shares fault.
Texas assigns fault in percentages under Chapter 33. A passenger is almost never at fault, so the main questions are which drivers caused the crash and how much coverage each carries.
What should I do after a taxi or limo crash?
Get the driver’s name, the company name, the vehicle number, and the plate. Photograph the permit or medallion number if it is displayed. Keep your receipt or booking confirmation, which proves you were a passenger. Get medical care the same day.
Do not sign anything the company gives you at the scene, and do not give a recorded statement to its insurer before you understand your rights.
What if the vehicle was a government shuttle or transit van?
If the vehicle belonged to a city, county, or transit authority, the Texas Tort Claims Act applies. It allows some claims against government units for injuries caused by the negligent use of a motor vehicle, but it limits damages and requires written notice of the claim within six months, or sooner under some city charters.
Those short notice deadlines are a common reason good claims fail, so the owner of the vehicle should be confirmed right away.
How long do I have to file?
For a private taxi, limo, or shuttle company, the general deadline is two years from the crash under section 16.003. For government-operated vehicles, the notice deadline is much shorter. Start early either way: company dispatch records, vehicle data, and video are not kept indefinitely.
Where do taxi, limo, and shuttle crashes happen in Houston?
Vehicles for hire concentrate around the airports, downtown hotels, the Medical Center, the Galleria, and event venues such as NRG Park, Toyota Center, and Minute Maid Park. Airport shuttles and taxis run constant loops between IAH or Hobby and the city on the Hardy Toll Road, I-45, the Eastex Freeway, and the Gulf Freeway. Party buses and limousines move through Washington Avenue, Midtown, and downtown on weekend nights.
Location decides which police agency wrote the report, which cameras may have recorded the crash, and which permit records apply. The firm confirms all three early.
What can an injured passenger recover?
A passenger injured in a vehicle for hire can recover medical expenses, lost income and earning capacity, physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement. Medical expenses are limited to amounts actually paid or incurred under section 41.0105, so the billing records must be complete. Visitors injured in Houston can still bring a Texas claim after returning home, and the firm can handle the case remotely.
Where a company’s conduct showed gross negligence, such as knowingly putting an impaired or unqualified driver on the road, exemplary damages may be available under Chapter 41, subject to its limits.
Common questions
What clients ask about taxi and limo crashes.
Can I sue the taxi company and not just the driver?
Often yes. The company may be responsible for the driver’s conduct, for its own hiring and maintenance decisions, or both, depending on how the driver works for it.
The limo driver says the crash was another driver’s fault. Can I still claim?
Yes. You can claim against whichever drivers caused the crash. As a passenger, you do not have to prove which one before the investigation is done.
I fell inside a party bus when it braked. Is that a claim?
It can be. A carrier’s high duty of care includes operating the vehicle safely for passengers who may be standing or moving.
Does a taxi have to carry insurance in Texas?
Yes. Vehicles for hire must carry insurance, and cities that license them typically set additional requirements. The firm identifies the policy through the permit records.
What does the firm charge?
Owsley Law Firm charges no fee unless it wins, and there is no cost for the initial review.