If you have been injured by another driver’s negligence in Texas, you are not alone. In fact, Texas sees a disproportionate share of dangerous car crashes on its roadways. A car accident can leave you facing considerable losses in terms of property damage to your vehicle, medical expenses, lost income, and physical and emotional pain and suffering, but an experienced Texas auto wreck lawyer can help.
What’s In This Guide
- Car Accident Frequency Statistics in Texas
- Protecting Your Rights, Your Health, and Your Car Accident Claim
- The Insurance Company
Car Accident Frequency Statistics in Texas
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) shares a laundry list of eye-opening car accident frequency statistics in Texas, including:
- In 2019, every 2 hours and 25 minutes, a person was killed in a traffic accident.
- In 2019, every 2 minutes and 3 seconds, a person was injured in a traffic accident.
- In 2019, there was a traffic crash reported every 56 seconds.
Unfortunately, the TxDOT is just getting started with these statistics. Consider the following additional numbers:
- In 2019, 256,797 people were injured in car accidents throughout the state, and 15,855 people were seriously injured.
- The State of Texas saw zero days in 2019 in which there were no lives lost in traffic accidents.
- According to the World Population Review, car accidents are the leading cause of death in America, and Texas tops the list of states with the most deaths per year. In 2018, Texas had 3,305 fatal car accidents (beating out even California, with 3,259).
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Protecting Your Rights, Your Health, and Your Car Accident Claim
The surest way to help protect your rights, your health, and your car accident claim if you’ve been injured by someone else’s carelessness in a car accident is by working closely with an experienced car accident attorney from the outset.
Protecting Your Rights
You have the right to seek compensation for your covered losses in a car accident claim that you file with the at-fault driver’s insurance provider. In this claim, you will provide evidence that defines the other driver’s negligence in the matter and will delineate the losses you experienced as a result. These losses can include all the following:
- The property damage to your car
- Your medical costs, which can be considerable to begin with and can grow exponentially if your injuries are serious and require ongoing medical attention
- Your lost income, which can have far-reaching consequences if your earning potential is affected
- Your physical and emotional pain and suffering, which reflects the psychological consequences that are commonly associated with violent car accidents
One of the primary components of your claim is your losses – or legal damages – and ensuring that they are all present and accounted for is critical.
Protecting Your Health
In order to protect your health after a car accident, you need to seek medical attention as soon after the accident as you can. Even if you don’t think you were seriously injured by the impact, it’s important to keep in mind that the adrenaline pumping through your veins and the shock you’re experiencing can mask pain and symptoms – and some serious injuries are slow to develop symptoms in the first place. It’s always in your best interest to seek medical attention sooner rather than later after a car accident and to follow your medical team’s advice and instructions carefully.
After a serious accident, the medical care that you need to protect your health to the fullest and to help ensure your most complete recovery can be exceptionally expensive, and without the compensation to which you are entitled, it can be completely out of reach. Bringing your strongest claim after a car accident is a critical factor in protecting your health.
Protecting Your Car Accident Claim
No two car accident claims are ever exactly alike, but they all follow the same legal process, and there are several steps that all car accident victims can take to help protect their car accident claims, including:
- Seek the medical attention you need when you need it and follow your doctor’s instructions carefully
- Consult with an experienced car accident attorney early in the process
- Allow your attorney to negotiate with the insurance company on behalf of your legal rights and of your claim’s most favorable outcome
- Don’t accept a settlement from the insurance company before addressing the matter with your dedicated car accident attorney
Another bit of great advice for anyone who’s been harmed by another driver’s negligence is that you should refrain from posting on social media and from providing the insurance company involved with a statement. The insurance company is waiting for you to say something or post something with which it can work its magic and harm your claim. The less material you provide the insurance company, the less it has to work with, which is always to your advantage. Remember, you are not required to make a formal statement to the insurance company, and it’s something that’s best left in the capable hands of your attorney.
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The Insurance Company
While we’re on the topic, it’s worth taking a moment to mention the insurance company. The insurance company has a job to do – covering car accident claims like yours – but it’s in the business of making money, which means it will do what it can to make more money. Some of the tools at its disposal that you should be on the lookout for include:
- Early settlement offers that don’t even come close
- An overly complicated or lengthy claims process
- Baseless claims denials
- A casting of doubt on whether the policyholder is actually at fault or on exactly how extensive the claimant’s losses actually are
Experienced Texas Car Accident Attorneys Care about Your Claim
The savvy Texas car accident attorneys at The Patel Firm are well prepared to engage the full power of their impressive experience in defense of your rights and in pursuit of your claim’s most advantageous outcome. Your claim is important, so please don’t wait to contact or call us at 361-400-2036 for more information today.
