A car accident may take a huge toll on your life in more ways than one. Not only might you need urgent medical attention for painful injuries, but you may also have to pay steep costs for things like hospital bills and vehicle damage. Fortunately, you may take legal action to get financial compensation from the at-fault driver, and a lawyer should help you.
After a car accident, you should first call for help. While waiting for the police and an ambulance to arrive, exchange information with the other driver, and try to document the scene. Call an attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can help you sue for damages if necessary. Alternatively, they can assist you in filing insurance claims to cover your damages. We may need to prove how the other driver is at fault. Witnesses, photos from the scene, security camera footage, and more may all be helpful.
Obtain a private, free case assessment by calling our car accident attorneys at Cap City Injury Attorneys at (512) 612-3110.
What to Do Following a Vehicle Accident
The aftermath of a car accident can be difficult to navigate. You might be in pain, frightened, and unsure of what to do next. Taking the following steps can help you get emergency assistance and protect your legal rights.
Call 911
Your very first step after an accident is to get help. If you have a phone, call 911 and have the police sent to the scene right away. If you or others have severe injuries, an ambulance should also be dispatched.
Exchange Information
While you wait for help to arrive, you should try to exit your car if you can do so safely. Exchange information with the other driver and get the names of anyone who might have stopped to help. You need the other driver’s information to file an insurance claim or lawsuit, and getting the names of potential witnesses may prove useful to your case.
Call a Lawyer
Once you get treated for your injuries, you should call a lawyer and ask about how you can get fair financial compensation. Your lawyer should review your case and advise you of all your legal options.
Should I Sue for a Car Accident in Round Rock, TX?
Whether you should sue another driver for a car accident depends on your situation. For some, a lawsuit is a good idea and may get them the compensation they deserve. For others, different legal options might be more suitable for their case.
Insurance Claims
Many people file insurance claims and find their damages are sufficiently covered. If this is the case, a lawsuit might not be necessary for you. Our car accident lawyers can help you file a third-party claim with the other driver’s insurance. If they do not have insurance, you might have uninsured motorist coverage. In either case, we need to prove that the other driver is at fault.
Uninsured Drivers
We should also think about whether the defendant can even pay for your damages in a lawsuit. Their insurance might not help them, or they might not have any insurance, forcing them to pay out of pocket. Suing an insolvent defendant might be a fruitless endeavor.
However, your insurance might have uninsured motorist coverage. Texas law requires insurance companies to offer this, so unless you rejected it in writing, it is probably part of your policy.
Call a Lawyer
Talk to your attorney about whether filing a lawsuit is the best idea or if other legal options are better suited to satisfy your needs.
Insurance Options After a Car Accident in Round Rock, TX
Before deciding to sue, you should review your insurance options with an attorney. Drivers are often surprised to learn just how many insurance options they have.
At-Fault Insurance
Texas auto insurance is a fault-based system where a driver may file third-party claims against another driver’s liability insurance. When they do, they must prove that the other driver is directly responsible for the accident.
Additional Policy Options
However, there are numerous optional insurance policies that you may take advantage of. For example, Texas gives drivers the option of purchasing no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. This policy would cover medical bills, a portion of lost wages, and a few other non-medical expenses. If you file a PIP claim, you do not have to prove fault, and you may be covered if you are at fault for the accident.
If the other driver is uninsured or your damages exceed their policy limits, you may turn to your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Again, this is an optional insurance policy, but it may be useful in certain cases.
How to Prove Fault in a Car Accident Case
To prove how the other driver caused the accident, we need as much evidence as we can find. While much evidence may come straight from the accident scene, we might find other helpful evidence elsewhere.
Witnesses
Witnesses are often a crucial form of evidence in car accident cases. Other drivers, passengers, or people who stopped to help may testify about what they saw.
Your own testimony may also be extremely important, as you were directly involved in the accident. Car accident lawyers typically use the victim’s testimony as the overall narrative of what happened. Plus, your testimony is vital to proving your pain and suffering damages.
Video
Video footage of the accident may be just what we need. Depending on where your accident happened, we might find nearby homes or businesses with security cameras that recorded the accident. Alternatively, you or other drivers might have had dashcams that recorded the crash.
Medical Records
Medical records may help us prove injuries and the costs of medical care. Remember, we must have evidence of your damages in addition to evidence of the defendant’s negligent behavior.
Financial Records
We need to prove fault, but we also need to prove damages. Bills, statements, appraisals, and bank statements can provide evidence of the economic harms you faced.
Recoverable Damages in a Vehicle Accident Case
After the accident, we must keep track of your injuries, expenses, and other losses. These will form the basis of your damages and financial compensation. If anything is mistakenly left out of the case, it might not be included later, and you could miss out on valuable compensation.
Medical Bills
Your medical expenses may be a major factor in your damages, as medical care is often expensive. Even minor injuries might require costly treatment. If your injuries are more severe, your medical costs might be astronomical.
Lost Wages
Your injuries might leave you unable to work, at least for a while. In that case, we should determine how much income you have lost and will continue to lose because of your injuries. In addition to lost income, we can help you claim the value of vehicle repairs or a replacement vehicle if yours was totaled.
Pain and Suffering
Car accidents often lead to much pain and suffering for injured victims. Your physical pain from your injuries, mental anguish, trauma, and any loss of enjoyment or quality of your life may lead to substantial compensation.
How to Deal with Insurance After Your Car Accident
Our lawyers should always be the ones talking to insurance for you. Once you are represented, they cannot contact you directly anymore.
What to Say to Insurance Adjusters
In an ideal case, you would not talk to insurance adjusters at all. However, if you do have to…
- Always tell the truth; do not lie or exaggerate.
- Stick to the facts; do not guess or give your opinion.
- Do not admit fault or apologize.
- Refer the insurance adjuster to your lawyer.
Accepting Money
If your own insurance policy pays you money, you can typically accept this without ending your case. This can cover bills and expenses while the rest of your case plays out.
However, if you accept anything from the defendant’s insurance policy, it might qualify as a settlement. Do not accept money or sign anything without checking with a lawyer first.
If you settle, your case is over and cannot typically be reopened.
FAQs in Round Rock Car Accident Cases
Do I Have a Case?
Car accident cases require proving four elements to hold the defendant responsible:
- The defendant owed the victim a legal duty.
- The defendant breached that duty.
- That breach caused the accident.
- The victim suffered injuries and damages.
If the other driver’s mistakes caused your crash, and you suffered injuries, then you meet all of the requirements for a case.
What is My Case Worth?
Your damages are based on the specific harms you faced, including the severity of your injuries, whether you missed work, and how much vehicle repairs cost. We must look at your specific case before assessing damages.
Can I Accept a Settlement?
If you accept a settlement from the defendant or their insurance, your case is over. You cannot typically reopen a settlement to get more money, and settling gives up your right to a lawsuit.
You only get one chance to settle, so make sure to speak with a lawyer about whether the settlement offer is fair.
How Long Do I Have to Sue?
Texas gives victims 2 years to sue for injuries under the Texas personal injury statute of limitations.
What is the State Minimum Car Insurance in Texas?
Texas law requires drivers to have liability insurance in a 30/60/25 system. This means
- $30,000 per person for injuries
- $60,000 per accident for injuries
- $25,000 per accident for property damage.
If the driver who hit you had only state minimum insurance, it might not be able to cover more than $30,000, meaning a lawsuit or uninsured motorist coverage will be necessary to get the case covered in full.
Who is at Fault?
Courts determine fault by looking at who breached a legal duty. This could be one or more drivers, and you can even be held partially responsible as the victim.
A breach usually means a violation of a traffic law, such as speeding, drunk driving, or tailgating.
Can I Sue if I’m Partially at Fault?
Drivers in Texas can be up to 50% at fault and still recover damages for their crash. However, your damages are reduced in proportion to your share of the blame.
Do I Have to Testify in My Case?
The victim’s testimony is usually the most important testimony in their case. However, if you were knocked unconscious and could not have seen the accident, your testimony will focus on your damages and recovery instead of fault.
Are Police Reports Admissible as Evidence?
Police reports may be used to help build a case, but they usually make bad evidence at trial. Even when parts might be admissible for certain uses, they are still hearsay, and it is better to have the witnesses and police come testify in person.
What Does My Insurance Pay for?
If you have additional coverages on your policy, such as personal injury protection or medical payment coverage, your insurance might help cover some damages. This can include vehicle damage under a collision coverage policy.
However, you cannot get pain and suffering this way and must file a claim against the at-fault driver for full damages.
Who Decides Fault?
If you are filing an insurance claim, fault will be up to the insurance company. Because the insurance company rarely blames its own driver, cases often have to go to trial.
At trial, the jury decides fault unless you are in a bench trial, in which case the judge does it instead.
What is the Burden of Proof?
In a personal injury case, the victim is required to prove the case by a preponderance of the evidence before they can win. The defendant does not have to prove anything; they just need to stop the victim from meeting their burden of proof.
Is it Worth Suing in My Case?
If your damages are low, you may not know whether it is “worth it” to sue. You should have a lawyer look at your case and make this determination for you. Various factors, such as the severity of injuries and insurance limits, will dictate how much you can get for your case.
Why Was My Insurance Claim Denied?
Insurance companies typically deny claims rather than paying them, or they at least offer only a low-dollar settlement. Our lawyers may be able to provide additional proof of what happened and convince the insurance company to settle, or else we can take them to court.
Insurance companies can use many grounds for denial, and we would have to examine the letters from the insurance company to see why your specific case was denied.
How Long Does a Car Accident Case Take?
If your case settles early on, it may end within weeks or months. Cases going all the way to trial often take over a year to resolve.
Receive Legal Help by Calling Our Round Rock, TX Car Accident Lawyers
Obtain a private, free case assessment by calling our car accident attorneys at Cap City Injury Attorneys at (512) 612-3110.