Why You Need A Houston Car Accident Lawyer

Did you know nearly one-third of Houston’s car accidents lead to injuries every year? It’s an alarming statistic for sure.

But is it as alarming as one-third of medical insurance claims being denied or ignored? Definitely not. It’s scary because it means a car accident is only the beginning of your problems.

If you were injured in a car accident, know that insurance agents and lawyers are already on the move to shoot down your claim as you read this.

You can’t stop them from fighting to protect their interests. But you can hire an experienced Houston car accident lawyer to fight for yours.

With over 59 five-star reviews and counting, our team of experienced car accident lawyers here at Wyly & Cook has helped thousands of victims like you get comfortably compensated.

So call us today for a FREE consultation about what your car accident injury claim is worth. We guarantee you don’t have to pay us a dime until we win your case.

Types of Car Accident Injuries and Expenses

Every car accident is unique, which means there’s no way to determine a fixed compensation amount until all factors are evaluated. One of the biggest factors that plays a role in your claim is the severity of your injuries.

Here’s a list of some of the most commonly reported car accident injuries in Houston:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Whiplash
• Spinal cord damage
• Loss of limbs
• Broken bones
• Dislocated joints
• Internal bleeding
• Burns
• Bruises and scratches
• Sprains and strains
• PTSD

Medical expenses can burn a deep hole in your pocket as bills for appointments, tests, medicines, hospitalization costs, surgery, and rehab start piling up.

We understand you’re at your most vulnerable at this stage. So our team of focused car accident lawyers will do whatever it takes to clear your medical claims first.

Challenges in Recovering Compensation

You’re not going to get a free pass to your compensation without ducking and dodging plenty of legal curveballs thrown by insurers and lawyers. You need an experienced car accident lawyer to knock them out of the park. Here are the most likely challenges you’ll encounter while pursuing your car accident injury claim:

Poor Insurance Coverage

It’s possible the driver who caused the accident is uninsured or underinsured. In that case, you can file an uninsured motorist claim if you have that coverage against your own insurance company.

Expect some legal resistance. Your insurer isn’t going to take too kindly to pay for the mistakes of a party not even represented by them.

Difficulty in Proving Liability

You have to show that the driver at fault was negligent by:

• Proving the driver violating their duty of care for you
• Proving this violation led to the accident
• Showing the accident was the proximate cause of your injuries and damages

It’ll take time to build enough credible evidence to establish each point. If you mess up the process of convincingly establishing liability, you have no chance at seeking compensation.

Challenging Your Claims

Insurers are aching to poke holes in the evidence you present. It’s harder to do that when you have a solid paper trail for the easily provable injuries and economic damages you’ve faced.

An X-ray of your broken leg along with a doctor’s diagnosis can’t be argued with. But soft tissue injuries can’t easily be demonstrated along with non-economic damages like anxiety and PTSD.

It’s a challenge to convince jurors too in these cases because these damages aren’t so visible at all. So insurers will definitely challenge these kind of claims much more strongly.

Aggravating Old Injuries

You can’t file a claim for a pre-existing injury if you’re involved in a car accident. However, you can seek compensation if an old injury was aggravated because of the crash. It doesn’t mean the insurer will let this fact slide when they review your claim.

For instance, if you’ve had a long-term knee injury that was aggravated after your car accident, your insurer will try to cut down your compensation. They’ll argue that there’s no way to prove that the accident significantly impacted your pre-existing injury.

Steps to Take After a Car Accident

Here are four important steps to take if you’ve been injured in a car accident:

1. Call for Help

If you or anyone else has been injured in a car accident, keep calm and call 911. They’ll dispatch an ambulance to get you urgent medical care and file a detailed accident report.

Essentially, they’re taking care of you and building a strong foundation for your claim at the same time.

2. Seek Medical Attention

Your health and safety should always be your first priority. Many injuries like whiplash, concussions, and internal bleeding aren’t visible initially, but can have dangerous consequences later.

If you don’t seek medical care immediately, you are arming Insurers against you. They will point out that your injuries worsened because of your negligence or were caused by something else. Your doctor’s word will always hold more weight than your word to support your medical claims.

3. Clearly Document Evidence

You should document as much evidence as possible on your own even if the police has filed an accident report. Here’s what you should focus on documenting:

• Name and insurance details of the driver at fault
• Eyewitness names and their contact details
• Pictures and videos of the accident scene, property damage, and your injuries
• Notes about the accident location, road and weather conditions, or any other factors that could’ve contributed to the accident.

4. Call An Experienced Houston Car Accident Lawyer

The moment you hire an experienced car accident lawyer, you’ve put your insurance claim and legal proceedings in safe hands.

Your lawyer is fully aware of the dodgy tactics of insurers and legal complexities that are a part of every claim. They’ll fast-track your path to a generous compensation while you focus on recovering with your loved ones.

You don’t even need to share anything when an insurance agent or a lawyer calls you. Just give them the name and number of your attorney and they’ll take charge of winning your claim.

Legal Options for Compensation

There are 3 paths to seek compensation if you’ve been injured in a car accident:

• Filing a claim against the insurance company of the driver at fault – You can file a claim against the driver at fault’s liability insurance. They’ll start investigating the accident to review their customer’s liability and then negotiate a settlement.
• Filing a claim with one’s own insurance company – It’s possible you just ran into a driver who is poorly insured or not insured at all. Maybe there’s not much you can gain by suing them either if they don’t have enough assets to compensate your losses. It doesn’t mean you’ll have to walk away empty-handed. You have the option to file a claim against your own underinsured motorist coverage in that case.
• Filing a lawsuit against the driver at fault – If insurers and lawyers continue to lowball or stall your claim, your lawyer can file an injury lawsuit against the driver at fault. Your lawyer will file a suit, present evidence, conduct depositions, and fight for your interests at every hearing. There’s a possibility the liable party will finally push for a settlement when you do this. If not, a judge or jury will eventually determine a fair compensation amount after reviewing all the evidence.

Importance of Not Talking to the Other Driver’s Insurance Company

Once you’ve reported the police and your insurance company about the accident, it’s time to keep your guard up.

Insurance agents know how stressed, confused, and desperate you are struggling to recover after a car accident. So they may rush you to accept a lowball offer and escape all liability. Always consult your lawyer before signing any agreement they send you.

Don’t share any details that can be twisted by insurers to hold you liable. They may sweet-talk or intimidate you to get you to admit fault or accept that your damages aren’t serious. Avoid sharing unnecessary details about your car accident on social media too.

Impact of Texas’s Comparative Negligence Laws on Compensation

Texas laws follow a comparative negligence standard for determining liability. Your compensation depends on how much of the accident was your fault.

For instance, if it’s determined that you shared 20% fault for the car accident, you’ll only get 80% of the awarded compensation.

Insurers and lawyers do their best to push the blame on you to minimize their payouts.

Free Legal Advice from Wyly & Cook

Every car accident case is unique, and your compensation will depend on a number of factors. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, then you need to call us NOW. We’ll tell you what’s the best legal action to get you maximum compensation in minimum time.

Call us for a FREE case review to know what your car accident injury claim is worth.

Frequently Asked Questions

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