Grand Prairie Car Accident Lawyer

Accident Lawyer Michael Grossman Discusses the Basics of Car Accident Cases

All of us wind up in car wrecks at some point of our lives. They can be your minor fender benders that include just minimal car damage, and other times they’re horrific and bring with them serious, life-altering injuries.

Regardless of the severity of your accident, you need to do what’s right and protect your rights. In some car accident cases you’ll be fine to look after your rights alone. Other times, it’s wise to have a Texas car accident lawyer assisting with your case. In this piece, Grand Prairie accident attorney Michael Grossman will discuss some of the basics about car accident law so you’ll understand what’s involved in the legal process and if you need to contemplate getting an attorney.

If you have any more questions about your legal rights, or if you’re insure about if you should obtain legal representation, call us soon at 1-855-326-0000 (toll free). We’ll give you our perspective at no charge to you.

What it Takes to Win

When it comes to cases pertaining to car accidents, the burden of proof centers on the plaintiff to prove his/her case. The defendant is innocent and not liable for the plaintiff’s injuries at the outset. Only when the plaintiff can incorporate evidence to show that the defendant was responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries will the plaintiff get the chance to receive any compensation.

As the plaintiff in a Grand Prairie car accident lawsuit, the first step you’ll need to take in winning your case is showing the defendant broke a day of care he/she owed you. Virtually every driver owes their fellow motorist a duty of care to drive in a manner that wouldn’t harm other pedestrians or motorists. If a motorist accidentally or deliberately drivers in a manner that normal people wouldn’t, even for a nanosecond, then that person is ruled to have violated his duty of care. For example, if a person choose to drive drunk and speeds through traffic while going in and out of lanes or floats a red light, most of the time that person will have breached their duty of care.

The next thing, if you want to recover, is that you have to prove the injuries were a result of the defendant’s breach of the legal duty owed to the victim. Since other motorists or pedestrians could have been a part of your accident, it’s a regular thing to see defendants attempt to say that one of these third parties, and possibly you, were to blame the accident happening. Proving that the defendant in your case caused your accident usually takes evidence that a Grand Prairie car accident lawyer can help you find and give to the judge and jury.

Finally, you’ll have to adequately show that you sustained these injuries that you seek to be compensated for. The injuries you’ve sustained from the accident are probably very obvious to you. You may have an overwhelming amount of repair bills and hospital bills that you can’t put a dent in. Maybe you’ve been living in pain ever since the wreck took place. Or maybe you haven’t returned to your job since the accident took place. Just because the enormity of your injuries seems obvious to you, don’t assume that the judge and jury will believe you. You’ll need to total how much you’re entitled to be compensated for and provide evidence of your injuries to justify your calculations.

The Role of Insurance

Every vehicle in Texas is required by law to have insurance but the truth is that numerous drivers choose to violate the law and drive without it. Whether the driver liable for your accident was insured or uninsured can play a big difference in your case’s outcome.

If the other driver was insured, you’ll be working on your claim with an insurance company and its adjusters. The upside in this deal is that because an insurance policy exists, technically money is there somewhere to assist you with your injuries. The bad part is that the money probably won’t be easy to get. You need to expect that this will come with a fight. Insurance companies around to help you and me; they’re just like any other business that’s wanting to make money. Whenever they have the ability to do so, insurance companies will turn to investigators, lawyers and adjusters to attempt to deny accident victims’ claims or give accident victims as little as they possibly can.

On the flip side, if one or more drivers that were part of your accident didn’t carry insurance, the driver who caused the wreck may have to pay the bill for your injuries from their own pocket. While you have to endure big-time insurance companies and their squads of brutal professionals if you’re dealing with an uninsured motorist, you may have to deal with a challenge of another sort. If the defendant in your case had gobs of money, odds are they would’ve purchased insurance for their car. A lot of times uninsured defendants have no means to adequately reimburse accident victims for their losses. If you and the defendant in your case are both uninsured, however, a Grand Prairie accident lawyer can do an asset check on the defendant to figure out what the defendant is truly worth, even when the defendant is attempt to hide his/her resources. If the defendant truly has no means of paying you, though, there’s not much you can do to change this situation. It’s an awful reality that a lot of plaintiffs are never able to get what they truly deserve from an uninsured driver.

Signs You Need a Grand Prairie Car Accident Attorney

It’s never really a wise idea to elect self-representation after someone else harmed you, but some car accident cases provide exceptions here. Usually if the only injuries you sustained in a wreck were ones to your car or other property, you’re probably safe to take on the claim by yourself. However, if you’ve been physically harmed, the best move is to get a lawyer on your case.

If you haven’t been physically harmed in a wreck, there’s a chance you can look after your legal rights without the aid of a qualified, credible lawyer. This is because when dealing with cases that are just your basic property damage, insurance companies are usually having to adhere to stringent guidelines when figuring out how much to pay accident victims for their losses. In these cases there’s not much flexibility for an insurance company to be able to short-change you.

If you’ve ever been in a wreck and your car was the only thing that was harmed, the first move in getting recovery for your damaged property is to swap information with the other motorist. Make sure you get his/her contact information and all the pertinent details involving their insurance. Take your car, or get it towed, then to a mechanic. The mechanic will submit the repair bill to your insurance carrier. Your insurance company will then pay the mechanic, and deliver a bill to the other motorist’s insurance company so they can be reimbursed. Sometimes the two sides will argue about which should eventually carry the load for paying the bill. When this occurs, the two businesses usually have a way to reach an agreement without needing you to be involved. If the total involved though is over $5,000, you probably need to participate in the negotiations and may need to get a lawyer to help you on your claim.

Cases where you’ve endured physical injuries are completely different since insurance companies don’t have to follow certain rules when determining how much to give you. Instead, they have every right to choose to not pay you a dime. If you want to recover anything, the goal will be to meet the burden of proof like we talked about earlier. If you’ve been hurt physically with injuries like whiplash, broken bones, head trauma, or back injuries, or need one or more doctors’ visits now or down the road, you need to give serious consideration to hiring a Grand Prairie accident law firm to help you with your claim. In these situations, having an attorney walk through this time can make the difference between getting a huge settlement and absolutely nothing.

Even if your accident didn’t lead to any physical injuries, there are plenty of other reasons in which you should contemplate hiring a Grand Prairie Texas attorney for help with your claim. If you ignore these signs and continue to go forward with your claim without an attorney, you stand the chance of not getting what your case is really worth.

• The other motorist is surly - If the other driver you’re dealing with from your accident begins to harass you, this could be a sign he’s going to make it difficult for you to recover anything for your injuries. If a driver chooses not to give you their phone number or insurance information, of it they’re trying to get you to not report the wreck to the police, these are indications that you’ll need an attorney to make sure your rights are protected.

• You aren’t able to have healthcare - After a wreck occurs, the costs for your treatment for your injuries can be exorbitant. Lots of people living in around Grand Prairie don’t have health insurance and those who are able to afford it may not be able to pay the deductibles or may discover the treatment they need isn’t available under their plan. Following a wreck, some accident victims will also choose not to get the proper care they need because they’re concerned about the financial stresses that could come if they took any time off work.

  If you’ve been hurt in a Grand Prairie car accident, getting medical care isn’t just important for your health, but also essential to your legal case. The Grand Prairie auto accident lawyers at Grossman Law Offices can see to it you get the medical care you need, even if you believe you don’t have the money for it. We’ll put you in contact with a doctor who will assist you and take your issues into consideration. Along with that, we can show you how the paychecks you lose when you take time off work to get medical assistance can be reimbursed by the defendant in your case.

• The insurance company is attempting to pressure you - Insurance companies exist to make a profit, and aren’t around to be your helper. Following a wreck, insurance companies usually will try to pressure victims into getting them to settle their cases for paltry amounts of money. If you decide on taking a settlement from an insurance company rather than taking your case to trial, you’ll be surrendering your ability to sue the defendant for additional money to compensate for your injuries. As long as you get a fair settlement offer, a settlement is a huge bonus - you get your money quicker and don’t have to worry about the unknowns that come with a jury trial. On the flip side, if you’re coerced into a dishonest and poor settlement, you’ll waive your rights to get what your case is really worth. It’s best not trust an insurance company that tries and settle your case before you’ve retained legal representation. Always have any settlement offers examined by a lawyer before you elect to take them.

  Along with that you need to think about getting an attorney if the insurance company in your case behaves in any of these ways:

  • Harasses you with excessive phone calls and nonstop questions.
  • Attempts to get you to say you really aren’t injured or that you were the reason for the accident taking place.
  • Declining to give you a rental car while yours is still in the shop.
  • Giving you a fair settlement offer and saying it’s “more than you’re entitled to” or that it’s “the best they can do.”
  • Saying they will pay your medical or repair bills after you send them in for payment, and then declining to pay once you’ve delivered them.

• You have a bad feeling about how your case is being handled - If you don’t approve of the manner in which your claim is being handled by the insurance company, trust your gut! Always remember that an insurance company’s intentions are opposite of yours. While you’re wanting to get what’s fair and right for your injuries, they’ll be working hard to deny your claim or give you as little as they possibly can. If you’re concerned with how your claim is being worked, contact the Grand Prairie car accident lawyers at Grossman Law Offices. We’ve succeeded in cases and settlements against virtually ever big-time insurance company in America. Insurance companies are aware of us. We can get their attention and do what’s necessary to see your claim is being dealt with professionally.

How to Choose the Right Grand Prairie Automobile Accident Lawyer for your Case

There are several lawyers in the Grand Prairie area and throughout the Metroplex. Getting the one that seems right for your case may look like a daunting challenge. While the whole process of getting an attorney is serious, it doesn’t need to turn into something stressful. At Grossman Law Offices, we tell everyone to interview two to three lawyers before choosing which one will take their case. Ask each lawyer about their history with settling and winning cases similar to yours. You also need to see what they believe the strengths and weaknesses of your case are, and see if they’re able to put you in touch with a previous client whose case is much like yours. Bottom-line is that you want a lawyer who’s won cases like yours and who’s honest and trustworthy.

At Grossman Law Offices, our North Texas car accident lawyers have been working car accident litigation for the past two decades. We’ve seen all forms of accidents and a variety of injuries. Chances are that we’ve already dealt with cases similar to yours and that we’re comfortable negotiating with the exact same insurance company that’s working your case. In every car case our lawyers take on, we take care of every facet of our clients’ claims. Some of the services we give with every case we handle include:

• Totaling how much your medical bills will wind up being and sending a demand to the defendant for that total before your bills are set to be due.
• Doing investigations to discover all the liable parties that factored into your wreck, from drivers to pedestrians, passengers, manufacturers and others.
• Getting all calls from the insurance company and their adjusters so you won’t have to deal with them.
• Submitting your medical and repair expenses directly to the insurance company, so you can focus on getting healthier rather than on paperwork and meeting deadlines.
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• Gathering and securing key evidence like photographs, witness interviews, police records and measurements that will be crucial to winning your case.
• Making sure you get medical care, even if you believe you can’t afford to see a doctor.
• Using our reputation to apply pressure to insurance companies so you can get the largest settlement available.
• Serving as mediators for your case.
• Taking your case to trial if necessary.

If you want more information about what our Grand Prairie car accident attorneys can do to assist you or if you want a free personal consultation, call us toll free at 1-855-326-0000. Our group is here round the clock to take your calls, regardless of what time of the week it may be. We’ll enjoy explaining your options to you and how we may be able to assist you.