Dallas Car Accident Lawyer

Most car accident victims make the mistake of moving on without pursuing a claim or attempting to pursue their case alone.

In most instances, after an accident, it is very hard to seek justice on your own.

If you’re suffering from injuries, psychological trauma, or financial difficulties, most people find it hard to focus on the legal matter or even learn the applicable laws that matter to your accident.

Because most people in Dallas have little expertise in the legal system, they are unprepared for what to do if they are injured in a car accident.

The laws surrounding automobile accident claims are complicated and may be perplexing for someone without prior knowledge.

If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident due to someone else’s negligence, our experienced lawyers would fight to get you the best compensation we can for you and your family.

The stress of recovering from your injuries and paying expensive medical bills can be overwhelming. Dealing with a legal case on top of that is too much for most people to handle.

What does it cost to speak with a lawyer about my car accident?

Our attorney fees come from your settlement or verdict if we win money for you in a car accident. That way, you never have to worry about paying us directly.

INSURANCE CLAIMS PROCESS

If you are in a car accident in Dallas, Fort Worth or the surrounding area, you will have to deal with one or more auto insurance companies. You will soon discover how little they are willing to pay out in car collisions.

Insurance companies are businesses, and like any other business, they make money by selling products (in this case, insurance policies) and earning a profit. They have to charge more for the products than it costs them to pay out claims.

This means that they often pay out less in car accident claims than the money people have paid in premiums. As a result, insurance companies usually try to delay, minimize or deny claims.

Insurance companies have teams of lawyers and adjusters who will review your personal injury claim as soon as the accident happens.

That is why it is vital to hire a personal injury lawyer in the DFW area as soon as possible.

Contact our car accident attorneys for a free case evaluation.

Filing A Car Accident Lawsuit In Dallas

Filing a claim with another insurance company means putting them on notice that an individual has suffered some injury and expects to be fairly compensated.

Texas Statute of Limitations

In Texas, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit related to personal injuries or property damage in a car accident is two years from the accident’s date. That means the car accident victim has precisely two years to file lawsuits against the person who caused the collision.

Why is a police report critical to your claim?

These reports contain the information collected by the law enforcement officer who responded to the scene of a motor vehicle accident, including:

The drivers, passengers and vehicles involved in the crash
Insurance information for each driver
Fatalities, injuries and vehicle damage
Weather, road, and traffic conditions
Pictures of the accident scene taken by the officers
Summaries of witness statements
Any traffic citations or arrests
Possibly the officer’s opinion of how the accident occurred and who was at fault

How do I obtain a police report?

One of the most critical pieces of evidence for your Dallas car accident lawyer is the car crash report drafted by the police who responded to the accident scene. Police Report Request

If you do not want to get it from the police, your lawyer will get it, or you can order it from the Texas DOT. If someone is injured, or killed, or there is $1,000 or more in property damage due to a car crash, the Texas Transportation Code requires law enforcement officers to file a crash report with the Texas Department of Transportation.

TxDOT collects crash reports from Texas law enforcement agencies for motor vehicle accidents on public roads or highways.

You can request a copy of a crash report from the TxDOT website. You need the certified version for the court.

Citation: Dallas Police Report, Traffic, TxDOT Report

Compensation You Might Be Entitled To After A Car Accident

There is no limit to the amount of money you can get for damages in a car accident lawsuit in Texas unless it is against a government agency.

The jury could award you millions of dollars in damages if your case goes to trial.

Factors That Impact The Results Of Your Claim

Medical Expenses: Medical expenses are a significant part of your accident settlement. The amount of time it took you to seek medical treatment from the accident date can have a sizable impact on how much money you get.
Precedence: If your case goes to court, the court might look at cases from the past to help it make a decision. This is called precedence. If your case is similar to other cases that have been decided in court before, it could directly impact the outcome. Every personal injury case is different, so you need a lawyer to explain why your accident was different.
Damages: When you file a claim, you ask for money to cover the costs of injuries. This can be for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and your car.

What Kinds Of Damages Are Awarded In A Car Accident Lawsuit?

Current Damages: Current damages are the easiest of the three types of damages to figure out because they are the easiest to prove. The court needs to arrive at a number that will compensate you for your current medical treatment, car damage, and income loss.

Potential Future Damages: When calculating possible future damages, your lawyer may need to bring in an expert to testify about how much money is usually awarded in cases like these.

Knowing how much money you might need for future medical expenses is hard. This is because you might need surgery, or you might not. You might need physical therapy, or you might not. You may need a long course of medication, or you might not.

It is hard to say how long you will be out of work, so it is difficult to determine how much you will need to recover lost wages.

Non-Economic Damages: Non-economic damages, otherwise known as “pain and suffering,” are the most challenging damages to determine. It is tough to show how much someone is suffering, especially mentally.

The best way to do this is to show how the car accident has changed your life. An experienced lawyer can help the insurance company and court understand how you feel so you can get the compensation you need.

What If The Other Driver Is Uninsured?

The short answer is that if the other motorist in a Dallas auto accident is uninsured, you do have alternatives to obtain compensation for your losses.

Uninsured motorist coverage can help pay for medical costs, lost wages, and other damages. According to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), insurance companies must give you UM/UIM coverage. If you do not want it, you must notify them in writing. As a result, you are probably covered.

The more detailed response is a bit more complicated because of the circumstances surrounding your collision, insurance coverage, and injuries incurred in the incident.

Contact our Dallas car accident lawyer to find out your options with a free no-obligation consultation.

Citation: TDI

Causes of Dallas car accidents

Excessive Speeding
Drunk Driving
Reckless Driving
Texting while Driving
Distracted Driving
Running A Red Light
Improperly Parked 18-Wheeler
Blind Spots on Commercial Vehicles

Car accident lawyers handle all types of vehicle accidents besides car collisions. An experienced car accident attorney will also have dealt with truck accidents, motorcycle accidents and accidents involving pedestrians.

Hit and Run

If another driver hits your car and then takes off, you have some options. Your auto insurance company might help pay for the costs. Here is how that might work.

Personal Injury Protection Coverage (PIP): Even though Texas is a fault state, personal injury protection (PIP) will still help cover your medical bills and lost wages if you get in an accident. PIP is no-fault coverage, which means it doesn’t matter who was at fault.

If another driver hits and runs, PIP can help cover your damages. All Texas auto policies include PIP, but you must write to your insurer if you don’t want it. In Texas, PIP coverage is required by state law to provide at least $2,500 for each person.

This sort of insurance will not cover expenses such as suffering and discomfort. Uninsured motorist coverage may be used to obtain compensation for these sorts of losses.

Citation: Texas Insurance Code – Sec. 1952.152.

Medical Payments Coverage: Medical payment coverage is also called Med-Pay. This coverage helps pay for medical bills if you get hurt in a car accident, even if it wasn’t your fault.

Your insurance company can try to get their money back from the other driver if you file a claim, but this might mean you get less money than if you had PIP coverage.

Collision Coverage: Collision coverage helps pay for the damage your car sustains in a car accident. If someone hits your car and then runs away, you can file a claim with your insurance company to have your vehicle repaired.

Collision coverage will not help with medical bills. You will have to pay a deductible before using your collision coverage. If you find out who caused the accident, you might be able to get the money for the deductible back from that person.

But this is usually not an option if someone hits and runs away from the accident scene.

Health Insurance: Hopefully, you have health insurance. Your health insurance might be able to cover some of your medical bills from the accident.

Rideshare Car Accident

Dallas Uber Accident Attorney or Dallas Lyft Accident Lawyer

Common Injuries Suffered in a Car Accident

Every car accident is different. You can’t predict the injuries that will happen in a car accident. Injuries can vary a lot depending on the speeds of both cars, whether passengers are wearing seatbelts, and how the collision occurs.

Many types of injuries can happen in a car crash. The two injury types are most likely to result in a severe injury:

Broken Bones. Bones can only handle so much pressure before they break. When bones break, it is called a fracture. Fractures often happen when the limbs or skull hit something during a car accident. The force from the seat belt can also cause fractures in the chest and pelvis.
Neck injuries. Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries. Whiplash describes injuries to the muscles and ligaments in your neck that happen when your head and neck whip around suddenly. Even a “minor” collision can result in whiplash.

The two injury types most likely to result in catastrophic injuries are:

Back and spine injuries. Damage to the spinal cord can permanently interrupt the signals between the brain and body, causing loss of function and sensation in the body. Even less severe back injuries, such as herniated disks, can result in a great amount of pain – often chronic pain that lasts a lifetime. Our Dallas spinal injury lawyers can help you get to file a case against a person for your injuries.
Head Injuries. Striking the head against the steering wheel, windows, or fellow passengers can cause a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Brain injuries can range from minor concussions to catastrophic trauma and permanent brain damage. Skull fractures, concussions, and swelling or bleeding in the brain are possibilities in a car accident.

Wrongful Death

The death of a loved one is a devastating incident in someone’s life. When another individual’s actions or negligence causes the loss, surviving family members are overwhelmed with sadness and a desire for justice.

In Texas, grieving survivors can file a wrongful death lawsuit if they believe that someone’s negligence caused the death of their loved one. This can give families some sense of closure and justice, even though they have lost a loved one.

If you have experienced a loss like this and think that someone’s negligence may be to blame, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer.

They will listen compassionately and provide you with a no-obligation case evaluation.

If you have lost a loved one in an accident, we can help you. We have experience with personal injury cases like motorcycle accidents, pedestrian collisions, truck accidents, rollover car crashes, etc.

We will help you pursue a wrongful death claim and sue the party responsible for your loved one’s death.

Eligible to Filing a Claim

Texas law prevents siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and cousins from suing for wrongful death. Instead, the deceased person’s spouse, children, or parents can bring a compensation claim to court.

Citation: Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §71.004

One Exception

If no family members have filed a wrongful death claim within three months of the person’s death, the executor or administrator of the deceased person’s estate can file one. Get help from a Dallas Car Accident Lawyer as soon as possible to ensure you and your family get the compensation you deserve.

Limitations of Wrongful Death Claims

Wrongful death law is complicated. That’s why it’s crucial to get help from personal injury attorneys.

They can explain your case’s strength and how much money you could get. There are a few things you should know about wrongful death claims.

The Statute of Limitations

The “statute of limitations” is the law that sets a deadline for how long you have to file a claim. In Texas, the deadline is two years from your loved one’s death date.

Citation: Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003

Contact a Dallas Car Accident Attorney Today

Get a free consultation from an experienced injury law firm today.

Our legal team will work to get you maximum financial compensation for your injury claim.

[vfb id=20]

Accident Lawyers in other States