Dallas Car Accident Attorney

The Attorneys at Grossman Law Offices Explain What to do After a Car Wreck

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident in or around Dallas or Fort Worth, you’ll need to take steps to protect your rights. Most people will be involved in at least one accident at some point in their lives. Sometimes, a car accident is nothing more than a simple fender bender resulting in minor property damage. In other instances, wrecks can be devastating and leave lasting scars on the lives of the drivers and passengers involved.

Whether your accident was a minor fender bender or something more serious, you’re probably entitled to seek compensation for the financial, physical, and emotional injuries you suffered as a result of the crash. Exactly how much you’re entitled to and how difficult it will be to collect depends highly on the individualized circumstances of your case. As you’ll learn in this article, most of the time hiring an attorney in the best way to recover all that your case is worth, but in a few instances you may be able to protect your rights on your own. Below, our Dallas car accident attorneys and Fort Worth personal injury lawyers will explain some of the basics of Texas car accident litigation.

Do you have a Claim?

Almost everybody gets in an accident at one point or another. How do you know whether you have a successful case against someone else for reimbursement for your injuries? In most instances, an accident victim is only entitled to collect money for his injuries if he can prove the four elements of a car accident claim in court. In other words, the defendant in your case will be presumed “innocent” until you demonstrate that the law and facts require that the defendant pay you money.

The four elements of a car accident claim that you’ll need to prove in order to recover for your injuries are duty, breach, causation, and damages. Below, we’ll discuss each of these four elements in detail so that you know exactly what it will take to prove that you’re entitled to be compensated for your injuries.

• Duty
  The first element of a successful car accident case is proving that the defendant owed you a duty of care to exercise a certain level of caution in order to insure that you would not get hurt. The law sets the level of the duty of care that one individual owes to another depending on the circumstances of the situation and the relationship between the parties involved. Proving that the defendant in your case owed you at least some duty of care will probably be fairly straightforward since nearly all drivers owe each other the duty to drive as a reasonable person would drive in order to keep others safe. Chances are that this “reasonable person standard” applied to the defendant in your case.
  
  
• Breach
  After you demonstrate that the defendant in your case owed you a duty of care, you’ll need to prove that he breached that duty of care. In most instances, this will require demonstrating that the defendant drove in a way that a reasonable person would not have driven. If the defendant in your case drives unreasonably even for a moment, he can be held responsible for any consequences that resulted from his negligent actions. Proving that the defendant breached his duty of care usually requires that you bring evidence to court to demonstrate precisely what the defendant did or failed to do. The jurors in your case will consider your evidence along with evidence of the rest of the circumstances surrounding the defendant’s actions to determine whether the defendant’s behavior was unreasonable. Actions such as speeding recklessly, driving at night without headlights on, running through red lights, driving while intoxicated, and more can constitute a breach of the defendant’s duty of care.
  
  
• Causation
  Once you’ve proven the elements of duty and breach, you’ll have demonstrated that the defendant in your case was negligent. Showing negligence is not enough to hold the defendant responsible for your injuries, however, unless you also show that the defendant’s negligence caused the wreck. In a car accident, there are often several parties who could potentially be at fault. Other drivers, pedestrians, and even you may be framed as potential suspects by the defendant. The defendant in your case will likely do everything he can to escape liability by attempting to convince the jurors that some third party caused the wreck, that your injuries were preexisting, or that you caused your own accident. It’s important to have sufficient evidence to prove that it was the defendant’s conduct that hurt you.
  
  
• Damages
  Finally, after you’ve proven the defendant’s liability, you’ll need to demonstrate how much you are entitled to collect from the defendant in damages. The term “damages” doesn’t refer to your injuries. Instead, it refers to the monetary value of your injuries or the sum of money you’ll recover from the defendant if you win your case. To prove what you’re entitled to collect, you’ll need to calculate exactly what you’re owed and provide evidence of your injuries and losses to support your calculations. Losses such as pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, medical bills, and repair bills may all be recovered as damages.
  
  While you’re busy calculating how much you believe you’re owed as damages, the defendant will be at work on the same task. The amount of damages is usually a contested issue in a car accident case. Defendants calculate how much they think they owe accident victims just in case the jury finds that the defendant was responsible for the wreck. Defendants will argue that they really owe you much less than you say they do, and that you’re asking for a handout worth far in excess of the true value of your injuries. To show the jury that the amount that you’ve requested is fair and that the defendant’s calculation is nothing more than a last-resort attempt to get off the hook for his negligence, you must have evidence of your losses available to substantiate your calculations.
  
  Calculating the full amount of damages is important since you’ve only got one shot to demand all that you’re entitled to. But accounting for all your losses can be challenging unless you have experience in doing so. How do you put a price tag on an intangible loss such as pain and suffering? In calculating loss of earning capacity, how do you account for hypothetical raises and promotions you would have earned had you continued to work? How can you calculate how much all of your medical bills will amount to if your treatment is still ongoing? The Fort Worth personal injury lawyers at Grossman Law Offices know how to account for and calculate all of your damages to make sure that you recover as much as possible for your injuries.

Insured and Uninsured Defendants

By law, all drivers in Texas are required to carry insurance on their vehicles. In actuality, however, many drivers choose to break the law and drive uninsured. Whether or not an insurance company is involved in your case can make a big difference in the legal process and in the ultimate outcome of your claim.

Suppose that both drivers involved in your accident were insured and that an insurance company will ultimately be responsible for compensating you for your injuries. In a way, this can be beneficial to an accident victim since in most cases it means that there will be at least some sum of money available to compensate you for your losses if you are successful in bringing your claim. Often, however, drivers carry minimum coverage on their vehicle, and the insurance policy may not fully reimburse you for your losses if your accident was especially severe. Additionally, just because there is money theoretically available under an insurance policy to compensate you for your losses doesn’t mean that that money will be easy to get your hands on. When an insurance company is involved in a case, it means that you’ll be up against aggressive adjusters, accident recreation specialists, defense attorneys, and investigators who are all working to see to it that you lose your case.

On the other hand, perhaps the other driver involved in your wreck was uninsured and you haven’t got uninsured motorist coverage yourself. If an insurance company isn’t involved in your car accident litigation, you won’t have to deal with their sophisticated lawyers, adjusters, and other professionals who are determined to see to it that your claim is denied. Since the other driver will probably be responsible for paying you for your injuries, however, you will need to worry about his solvency. If a defendant is insolvent, it means that the defendant does not have enough money to compensate you for your injuries. When a defendant is insolvent, there’s usually not much sense in pursuing litigation against him, even if you can prove that he should otherwise be held liable for your losses. It’s a sad but all too frequent reality that accident victims are often unable to recover compensation from insolvent defendants.

Sometimes, a driver who has been involved in a wreck will take steps to hide his assets in order to appear insolvent. If you suspect this may be happening in your case, the Dallas car accident attorneys at Grossman Law Offices can perform an asset check on the defendant to find out how much he’s really worth. If there’s money available, we’ll find it and work to make sure you get your fair share.

Signs you Need a Lawyer

In most instances it takes a Dallas or Fort Worth personal injury lawyer to make sure that an accident victim recovers all his case is really worth. Occasionally, though, it’s possible for an accident victim to handle his claim on his own, without the assistance of a lawyer. Below, we’ll discuss some of the circumstances under which making a full recovery for your injuries will usually only be possible with the assistance of a Dallas car accident attorney.

• You’ve Suffered Bodily Harm in the Wreck
  If you sustained any sort of bodily injuries in your accident, it’s best to have a lawyer handle your claim. Call a lawyer if your injuries require you to make one or more visits to the doctor. When you seek damages for bodily injuries, insurance companies don’t have to abide by any preformed guidelines when deciding how much to pay you. They can legally decide to pay you nothing by default, but having a lawyer can make a big difference in the way they look at your claim. If you’ve suffered broken bones, head injuries, back injuries, or any other sort of injury in your wreck, contact Grossman Law Offices for assistance.
  
  
• The Other Driver is Hard to Deal With
  It’s also a good idea to call a Dallas or Fort Worth personal injury lawyer if the other driver involved in your accident gives you a hard time either at the scene of the wreck or later. If the other driver doesn’t want to give you his contact or insurance information, this could be an early indication that he’ll make it as difficult as possible for you to recover what you deserve. If this is the case, you should consider hiring a lawyer.
  
  
• The Insurance Company Pressures you to Settle or Harasses You
  Insurance companies can be extremely difficult to negotiate with if you haven’t got an attorney on your side. Insurance companies are out to protect their own interests, and if you’ve been injured, their interests are probably directly opposed to yours. They’ll use adjusters to try to find ways to deny your claims. These adjusters may call you repeatedly, asking innocent-sounding questions about your accident. Their inquiries may seem well-intentioned, but they’re almost always calculated to get you to say something that could be used against you to deny your claims. Whatever you say to them will be recorded and could come back to haunt you in the future.
  
  At Grossman Law Offices, we’ve found that the best way for our clients to deal with insurance adjusters is not to deal with them at all. We don’t let adjusters call our clients. We take adjusters’ calls instead. When adjusters can’t talk to our clients, they don’t have a chance to twist our clients’ words and use those words against them.
  
  In other instances, an insurance company may pressure you to settle your lawsuit for less than your claim is worth. Although accepting a fair settlement offer can be beneficial for an accident victim, accepting an unfair settlement offer can be devastating for your legal rights. When you accept a settlement offer, you waive your right to sue the defendant for more money in compensation for your injuries in the future. The settlement is all that you will ever be able to collect from the defendant, so it’s important not to accept an offer unless it’s fair.
  
  Insurance companies know that accident victims are often strapped for cash, having incurred hefty medical bills and repair bills and perhaps being unable to work as a result of their injuries. Insurance companies hope that if they dangle small amounts of fast cash in front of you, you’ll eagerly accept, leaving them off the hook for any further liability. Settlements you accept from an insurance company before you have a lawyer on your side are rarely fair, but they’re usually binding. Don’t let the defendant in your case get away with paying you less than you deserve. Call our Dallas car accident attorneys to learn what your case is really worth so that you know whether or not the defendant’s offer is fair.
  
  
• You can’t Afford to See a Doctor or Pay your Medical Bills
  Many people living in and around Dallas and Fort Worth don’t have health insurance and are unable to afford the treatment they need after they’ve been involved in a wreck. Even if an accident victim does have health insurance, the treatment he needs may not be covered under his benefits. Whether or not they have health insurance, many accident victims are reluctant to get treatment for their injuries because they don’t think they can afford to take the time off of work that they’ll need to see a doctor.
  
  Seeing a doctor and getting treatment for your injuries after an accident is essential to both your health and your lawsuit. If you can’t afford treatment, or if you already have medical bills that you can’t pay, there’s probably something that our Dallas or Fort Worth personal injury lawyers can do to help. We regularly work with doctors and healthcare professionals. We can put you in touch with a doctor who will take your personal situation into consideration and we are able to help many of our clients get medical care at no out of pocket cost to them. Additionally, we can explain how the time you take off from work to get medical care may be compensable by the defendant in your case.
  
  
• You have a Bad Feeling about How your Claim is Being Handled
  If you have a bad feeling about how the insurance company is handling your case, trust your instincts. Insurance companies aren’t in business to help people. They’re in business to make money. The more creative they are in finding ways to deny legitimate claims, the more money they’ll make. Call a lawyer if you have a bad feeling, or if any of these circumstances apply:
  
  
  • The insurance company makes you a settlement offer before the full extent of the medical treatment you’ll need is known.
  • The insurance company offers you less money than what’s due on your car loan.
  • The insurance company doesn’t offer you a rental car while your vehicle is being serviced by a mechanic.
  • The insurance company tells you they’ll pay your claim when you submit your bills, but then refuses to do so.
  • The insurance company takes too long to respond to your inquiries (typically, this means that they’re investigating your claim behind your back).
  • The insurance company tells you that a settlement offer is “all that you’re entitled to” or “the best you’re going to get”.

When none of those circumstances applies, you might be able to handle your case on your own, without the assistance of a lawyer. Sometimes, plaintiffs can successfully protect their own rights when they’ve been involved in a wreck which resulted in property damage only. If your car was harmed, but you’re okay, insurance companies are bound by strict guidelines which tell them what they have to pay you in compensation for the damage to your car. Since these guidelines give them little wiggle room, insurance companies have very little opportunity to rip you off when they reimburse you for your repair bills.

After a wreck in which your car alone has been injured, take down the other driver’s contact and insurance information. Then, drive your car or have it towed to a mechanic. The mechanic will bill your insurance company directly, and your insurance company will pay the mechanic. Then, your insurance company will turn to the other driver’s insurance company for reimbursement. Sometimes, the two insurance companies will dispute which of them should ultimately be responsible for the bills. Often, they are able to settle their disagreements without any involvement from you through a process called subrogation. In cases where the damage to your vehicle exceeded $5,000, however, you may need a lawyer to represent your interests if the insurance companies can’t decide which of them is to pay.

How to Choose the Dallas or Fort Worth Personal Injury Lawyer who’s Right for your Case

There are many car accident attorneys in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. How can you decide which one is right to handle your case? Fort Worth personal injury lawyer Michael Grossman recommends interviewing at least two or three attorneys before deciding on the lawyer that you want to hire. Ask each lawyer about his track record for settling and litigating car accident cases. Find out what each attorney thinks the strengths and weaknesses of your case are. See if the lawyers can provide you with the names of former clients whose cases were similar to yours. Hire an attorney when you’re confident in his experience in handling cases like yours and when you’re certain that he’s someone you can trust with your case.

The Dallas car accident attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have been handling car accident litigation for the past twenty years. We’ve won favorable verdicts and settlements against nearly every major auto insurer in the country. Insurance companies recognize our name, and we’re usually able to use our reputation to pressure them into giving our clients special treatment. Our goal is to make sure that our clients recover as much as possible for their injuries, and to make the legal process as easy as possible on our clients.

Don’t lose your case because you weren’t sure whether or not you should have a lawyer on your side. Call Grossman Law Offices at 1-855-326-0000 (toll free) for an absolutely free consultation. We’ll let you know whether or not you need a lawyer, and why. We’ll discuss your options with you, and explain what we can do to help.