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Auto Accidents FAQ

First, call 911 to contact police and emergency services. It is key that you do not move your vehicle off the roadway unless the accident is a very minor fender-bender.Then, take pictures of the collision with your cell phone, as well as any skid marks that are visible. Make sure that you gather names, addresses and phone numbers of any eyewitnesses.From here, you’ll want to get contact data and insurance data from the other drivers involved.
Note down the time, place and exact location and anything you remember about the accident if possible and never admit fault. Seek medical attention for your injuries. Even if you do not feel injured right after the accident, you may not be aware of injuries directly after the accident. Contact your insurance company and let them know about the accident. Do not agree to any settlement offer from an insurance company without discussing it with a car accident attorney first.
Call the car accident attorneys at Herrman & Herrman, PLLC for help.
Texas’ fault laws are the opposite of no-fault laws. No-fault car insurance is where injured parties will file claims with their own insurance companies. It doesn’t matter who caused the crash and you don’t really need to focus on proving fault to get compensation in a no-fault state. One drawback of no-fault insurance is the difficulty to bring a claim or lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Another drawback is that your insurance premium could go up after a no-fault claim, even though you didn’t cause the accident.Uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage: Bodily Injury UM/UIM may cover lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and permanent or partial disability. Property Damage UM/UIM may cover automobile repairs, damage to any items in your vehicle, and car rental.An experienced workers’ compensation lawyer can help you gather and file all medical records and paperwork to support your injury claim, keep track of all deadlines, and represent you at a workers’ compensation hearing. Our goal is to help you get the workers’ compensation benefits and treatment that you need to rebuild your life after a serious injury.
The most complicated portion of any job-related accident occurs when an employer tries to dispute your right to paid medical care and other workplace injury benefits. In some cases, the injured employee is in the hospital and has no way to advocate for himself or herself.
The statute of limitations for car accident claims regarding injuries in Texas is two years from the day of the accident. This limit also applies to those who want to make a claim for property damage resulting from an accidentClaims are really on a case by case basis. Some cases settle early and other cases need to go to trial in front of a jury. If you meet with an attorney at Herrman & Herrman, we can hear the individual details of your claim and give you a better idea of time frame. The driver who caused the car accident is responsible for paying for the damages and any injuries. So you would need to contact the driver’s insurance company to start the claim.
After the wreck, you need to make sure that you get the other driver’s name and policy number so that you can contact their insurance company and start the claim.
Severe injuries, such as those that require surgery, could be best handled by an experienced personal injury attorney. If you choose to do the claim yourself, this would follow the same process, where you’d need to contact the other driver’s insurance company and include your injuries within your claim.Each car accident is different. You should consult with a knowledgeable car accident attorney to find out what damages you may be able to recover from the negligent party responsible for your accident and injuries. Depending on the circumstances in your particular case, among other losses, you may be able to recover compensation for:
Medical expenses
Lost wages
Pain and suffering
Property damage
Impairment
Disfigurement
Punitive damages (in some cases)
Punitive damages are designed to further punish the defendant for wrongs committed, in addition to compensation for the victim’s losses. These types of damages may or may not be allowed, depending on what the driver did or failed to do that caused the accident.
In order to establish that the other driver in a car accident was negligent, that driver’s actions or failure to act must be shown to have caused the accident that resulted in your injuries. In order to establish negligence, an accident victim must show that:
The driver had a duty
That duty was breached
The breach of duty caused the accident and injuries
Damages were suffered as a result.
If the driver failed to use ordinary care – the level of care that a reasonable person would have used under the same circumstances – a breach of duty occurred. While operating a motor vehicle, we all have a duty to use ordinary care for the safety of other motorists.
The following are some examples of ways that drivers can be negligent:
Following too closely
Driving too fast
Driving too slow
Failure to yield the right-of-way
Failure to obey traffic signals or signs
Driving in an impaired state
Distracted driving, such as texting or talking on cell phones.
If you have been seriously injured in a car accident caused by the negligence of another driver in Texas, you may be entitled to seek compensation for your medical expenses, physical pain, mental anguish, any disfigurement caused by scarring or loss of limbs, reduced ability to earn income, or loss of marital relations.If you have been seriously injured in an accident caused by another driver you should seek an injury attorney IMMEDIATELY. Also, if you have significant medical bills, or if you are having trouble getting your own auto insurance company to honor an uninsured motorist insurance policy, you should have a knowledgeable car accident attorney review the specific facts and explain your legal options. If we determine that you have a valid personal injury claim, our attorneys can help you pursue compensation.Our car accident attorneys take cases on a contingency fee basis. A contingency fee arrangement allows people who have been injured in accidents to obtain legal representation without having to pay money up front. If our attorneys are successful in pursuing a settlement or verdict on your behalf, we would then be paid an agreed upon share of any settlement or verdict received.Our experienced car accident attorneys deal with the insurance company representing the at-fault driver and try to negotiate a fair settlement. We deal with insurance adjusters and insurance company lawyers so that you can focus on recovering your health and family.In serious injury cases, Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., we can provide loans to clients to cover their living expenses while we pursue personal injury claims on their behalf. We also provide a pharmacy discount card to clients to help reduce the cost of their prescription medications. Our accident attorneys are committed to helping clients get back on their feet after a serious accident caused by negligence. Call to see if your case qualifies.Yes, you may still be eligible to receive compensation even if you were partly at fault, but it may reduce the amount you can recover. Texas applies a modified comparative fault rule to personal injury cases in which multiple drivers are at fault. If the court finds that you are partly at fault, you may still be eligible to recover damages as long as you are no more than 50 percent at fault. The amount of compensation that you would be eligible to recover would be reduced by a percentage equal to your degree of fault. For example, if a court found that you were 25 percent at fault for an accident and the court awarded $100,000 in damages, you would be eligible to receive $75,000.You may have a claim against the teenage driver and his or her auto insurance provider for injuries caused to your child in the accident. If the auto insurance coverage on the vehicle that the teenager was driving was in the name of the teen’s parents, you may possibly have a claim against that insurance company. It is important to identify all the potentially responsible parties after an accident to maximize the compensation that an accident victim can seek. Those are the kinds of issues that a car accident attorney will research as part of preparing an accident claim.At Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., we put our clients’ needs first. We understand that money is often very tight after a serious accident, particularly if you have been unable to work for a lengthy period and have used up your sick leave. The good news is that you can obtain quality legal representation without paying any money out of pocket. A McAllen car accident attorney at Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., will handle your accident case on a contingency fee basis. What does that mean? That means we will advance the costs of pursuing your case and you will not pay any money unless we obtain a settlement or a jury verdict on your behalf. If we are successful in obtaining money for you, we then take an agreed portion of the settlement as payment for our legal services and expenses.
A contingency fee arrangement allows people who have been harmed by someone else’s negligence obtain high quality legal representation without having to pay money up front. You do not owe us a legal fee unless we obtain compensation for you! That’s our way of putting our clients’ interests first.
If you are unable to work as a result of an injury and we are handling your personal injury case, we may be able to loan you money to pay your expenses if necessary. We are committed to helping our clients receive all the medical care necessary to recover from a serious injury. Through a personal injury claim you may have a legal right to seek compensation for your medical bills and other expenses if someone else’s carelessness or negligence caused your injuries. While pursuing a claim on your behalf, our attorney can contact the hospital that treated you and your other health care providers and inform them that you are pursuing a personal injury claim. Many health care providers are willing to hold off on any billing collection efforts if they understand that litigation is in process and they will be paid eventually.You have no upfront legal fees if a personal injury attorney at Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., represents you. A car accident attorney at Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., will handle your injury case on a contingency fee basis. We will advance all the costs of pursuing compensation from the at-fault parties for your injuries. You will not owe us any money unless we are successful in obtaining compensation for you through a negotiated insurance settlement or a jury award. If we have success in securing money for you, then we would take a portion of the settlement as payment for our legal services and expenses. If we do not win money for you, you will not owe a legal fee.Claims and compensation are dependent on injury and damages. Contact an attorney today to give the details of your injuries to get an estimate of your case’s worth. Contact the police and seek medical attention! Your safety and well-being should always be your top priority. Go to the hospital and get checked out. Contact the police and make sure you get the medical attention you need after an accident with a truck. Absolutely. Some people do not realize injuries right away so making sure that you go to the doctor and get checked out immediately is important. Yes. You should contact the police following a car accident. They will be able to assist in documenting the accident if you are unable. If the at-fault driver who hit you does not have auto insurance, you may file an insurance claim on your own uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) motorist policy. The Texas Department of Insurance requires that UM/UIM coverage must be offered as part of every automobile liability policy sold in Texas to protect drivers from damages caused by motorists who do not have insurance. Unless you specifically declined UM/UIM coverage, it is likely that your auto insurance policy protects you from damages caused by uninsured and underinsured drivers. If your insurance company disputes your uninsured motorist claim, have our experienced car accident lawyer review your accident to determine if we can help you.

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