Most people who are involved in a car accident in Texas deal with an insurance company to claim compensation for an injury or get their car repaired. However, working with insurance companies can be frustrating and fail to give you enough money to cover your medical needs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Car accident lawyers work by negotiating with the insurance company on your behalf and filing lawsuits in the courts if necessary.
Car accident lawyers represent a wide spectrum of clients from those who suffer property damage only to people whose lives are torn apart by catastrophic injuries. Car accident lawyers also represent the families of those who lose a loved one in a highway crash when they are called on to file wrongful death suits.
The Ramji Law Group has won millions of dollars for clients who suffered life-changing injuries in car wrecks in the Houston and San Antonio areas. Car accident lawyers work for accident victims. It’s in the attorney’s interest to win as much money as possible for a client whereas the insurance company seeks to reduce payouts. Car accident lawyers typically work on a no-win/no-fee basis. Clients do not pay for services upfront and the attorneys take a pre-arranged percentage cut of the eventual payout.
Who Do Car Accident Lawyers Work With?
Car accident lawyers may work on any type of accident case from a fender bender to a lethal crash. It usually makes the most sense to hire an attorney if your injuries are substantial or serious. Insurance companies often lowball these cases and you may not receive the money you need for high past and future medical bills if you deal directly with the insurance company.
Car accident lawyers work with people who have been hurt in the following types of accidents:
- Car accidents;
- Truck accidents;
- Bus accidents;
- Motorcycle crashes;
- Scooter crashes;
- Cycling accidents;
- Pedestrian accidents;
- ATV and golf cart accidents;
- Injury accidents involving industrial vehicles.
What Types of Car Accidents Require a Lawyer?
The highways of Texas are dangerous places. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, a motorist died every 1 hour and 57 minutes on average on the highways of the Lone Star State in 2021. The 2021 death toll of 4,489 was a 15% rise above the previous year while almost 20,000 people a year sustain serious injuries on Texas’ roads.
There’s no hard and fast rule about what types of accidents require a lawyer but it makes sense to schedule a free consultation with a Texas car accident lawyer if you suffer a personal injury or your car or truck is badly damaged. Attorneys take on a range of accidents including:
- Collisions caused by speeding;
- Distracted driving cases;
- Drowsy driving wrecks;
- Drunk or drugged driving accidents;
- Uber and Lyft accidents;
- Rear-end crashes;
- T-bone and side-impact crashes;
- Red light running wrecks;
- Rollover crashes;
- Ejection accidents;
- Wrong-way driver accidents;
- Crashes in work zones;
- Wrecks in bad weather;
- Railroad crossing accidents;
- Head-on wrecks;
- Hit-and-run crashes;
- Left turn accidents;
- Sideswipe accidents.
How Do Car Accident Lawyers Work on a Case?
Car accident lawyers initially meet with a potential client for a free and confidential consultation. Neither party is under any obligation to work with the other. If the lawyer and the client agree to proceed, the client will be signed up. The client is contractually bound to work with that law firm. The lawyer will handle the insurance claim and make sure all statutory deadlines are met. In some cases, the presence of a lawyer will persuade an insurance company to increase its offer. When an insurance company fails to make a satisfactory offer, the car accident lawyer typically files a lawsuit in a local civil court.
Car accident lawyers have the knowledge and background to be able to access important information that accidents victims may not easily obtain. A lawyer can demand information such as medical records of the driver who hit you, cellphone records, and other relevant information. The attorney will request the police report. In some cases, lawyers bring in independent medical experts and accident reconstruction experts. An attorney with a medical background can establish the full extent of the client’s injuries. Typically, insurance companies will seek to downplay the existence of serious conditions such as traumatic brain injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that were caused by the accident.
Determined car accident lawyers will take cases all the way to a jury trial if the insurance company is uncooperative. However, many cases are settled in negotiations between the parties or at formal mediation hearings.
Can Accident Lawyers Take on Cases of Shared Blame?
You may be able to recover compensation when partially to blame for a car accident. Texas is a modified comparative negligence state. You can sue for damages if you were partially at fault for an accident but your payout would be reduced. However, under the proportionate responsibility rule, drivers who are more than 50% responsible for a crash cannot recover damages.
For example, a driver who is hit by a red light runner may be partly to blame if he or she was traveling too fast through an intersection, but could likely still sue. The red light runner would not be able to sue the other driver because he caused the crash.
Car accident lawyers will not take on a case if they believe a driver was more than 50% responsible but being partially at fault should not stop you from talking to an attorney.
What Damages Can Car Accident Lawyers Fight For on Your Behalf?
Damages in Texas are split into economic and non-economic categories. In some cases, juries can award punitive damages. Economic damages include the following:
- Past, present. and future medical expenses;
- Lost wages;
- Lost earning capacity;
- Property damage.
Non-economic damages can be harder to quantify and often involves attorneys hiring loss experts to finalize the figures. They include:
- Pain and suffering;
- Mental anguish;
- Amputation or loss of any body part;
- Loss of companionship;
- Loss of consortium for a significant other;
- Disfigurement;
- A loss of enjoyment in living.
Punitive damages are additional damages a court may add to a verdict to punish the at-fault driver who caused an injury. They are most likely to be used for drunk drivers, texting drivers, or in hit-and-run cases when the court wants to send out a powerful message.
Contact a Houston Car Accident Lawyer
Drivers are exposed to ads for car accident lawyers every day on billboards in Houston. Law firms also advertise heavly on TV and social media. It can be daunting to know which firm to call. The Ramji Law Firm has represented clients after they suffered injuries in car crashes for decades with a 99% success rate and won millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements. Call the firm for a free and confidential consultation at (713) 766-0770.
