21 February 2022
Should I Contact an Attorney After a Car Accident?
When a serious wreck or car accident happens, adrenaline kicks in, we assess the damage and are happy to have lived. The body is hurt, we’re in shock, and the mind is trying to slow everything down to assess what just happened.
In most every instance, people are not thinking about things like legal cause, legal standards, needed evidence, witnesses or the mass of paperwork that can follow to win your case. Being distracted from trauma and its psychological impacts, is no time for a personal injury victim to take a justice risking cram course on how to do a lawyer’s level job fighting for justice. It’s too much to expect of a victim of personal injury from negligence, to go head to head against trained insurance claims handlers and come out with justice.
Next come ambulance, emergency room and often complicated and expensive hospital evaluation and treatment. During the midst of this chaos, caused by a negligent driver, an insurance adjuster trained by insurance defense lawyers, will aggressively attempt, amidst your suffering and confusion, to call you and make a recorded statement.
They are persistent, they pretend they are there to help you, and fail to disclose that they only work for the defense of the negligent driver. Many personal injury victims, having no experience or training in law, evidence or proof requirements, who have no idea the long term impacts of their injuries, get their case “adjusted” rather than properly developed and end up becoming the victims of misleading questions, leading questions and wrong assumptions being imposed upon them by an insurance claims handler. It’s common and sad, as a 25 year lawyer, to know that an injury victim can be subjected to fraud, half-truths, intentional misstatements of law and fact by an insurance adjuster “adjusting” for the negligent driver, at your expense.
By the time someone does start to think about what to do legally to protect their rights, many, many legal mistakes and wrong assumptions later, they are likely to become a victim twice. Make no mistake, the adjuster for the negligent driver can lie to you, just like a police officer conducting a criminal investigation. Most, major auto liability insurance carriers, include waivers and releases for fraud, intentional misrepresentation and other types of deception which may have been engaged in by their insurance and adjusters in the actual settlement release with a personal injury victim. It is a written reminder of who you are dealing with and how you may very well be treated in handling your auto liability claim. The insurance company adjuster for the person who hurt you, owes you no legal duty, only the duty to defend the negligent driver. Even if you both have the same insurance company, don’t be fooled into thinking that the defendant drivers insurance adjuster is somehow on your side. That auto liability adjuster is beholden and loyal, only to the insurance contact their employer has to defend and dispute your claim, every way they can.
Car Accident Witnesses, Evidence and Proof Can Go Away, if not properly handled
Unfortunately, much of the evidence and information that can help someone’s legal recovery after a car accident can be lost very shortly, including the names of witnesses, memories and details. Though a wreck may have multiple witnesses, the police may only write down one or two. Witnesses move, change phones and can become disinterested in helping an injury victim. This is why it is so important to call on an attorney as soon as possible and let the evidence be handled by an accident lawyer Houston expert.
A Limited Opportunity Can Run Out of Time
The legal world doesn’t keep recovery options open forever. What many victims of car accidents don’t fully understand until much later is that there is a very short window of time available in which to file a legal claim for damages when someone gets hurt by someone else’s mistakes. That time window starts from the day the victim was injured. Once the clock has fully run, the legal system won’t allow any further claims filed in court, period. Known technically as the statute of limitations in court, the date deadline is meant to make sure that if you don’t pursue your rights, they will go away. For car accident recoveries, this time window is usually two years, in Texas, but much must be done prior to that deadline to maintain your rights. Filing suit, service a copy of the suit must be properly completed in this time frame, or the case goes away, legally. A Houston auto accident lawyer knows how to keep track of evidence, witness information, proof of injury, bills and lost wages needed to prosecute your injury case.
Call for Help at the Beginning
Bringing a qualified attorney in right from the beginning of an accident experience takes a tremendous load of skilled legal tasks, off of an accident victim. While the patient focuses on healing and recovering, the car accident lawyer Houston resource can quickly pull together available evidence and witnesses to establish a strong case. That goes miles further later on when it’s time to discuss the matter with coverage providers and insurance. Knowing that they’re dealing with an expert, many insurance companies take a very different approach, knowing they won’t get away with misrepresentations of law, to a personal injury lawyer. That means a greater success possibility for a victim to be fully restored versus partial recovery going it alone or settling too early just to take care of immediate medical bills.
If you’re finding yourself on the wrong end of a car accident in Houston, the McLemore Law Firm can help fight for justice, for you. With a car accident attorney Houston on board, your case can be a successful recovery instead of a painful memory and a profit for the negligent driver and their insurance company. Our car accident lawyers know precisely what to do to help prove your case, especially when dealing with insurance companies. McLemore Law Firm places a car accident victim with a car accident lawyer and paralegals, dedicated to fighting for justice, for you. Start smart, from the date of the wreck, call a lawyer and learn your rights and don’t go it alone.