Were you involved in a car crash in Texas? Read our 5 car accident tips that may help your case, then contact our attorneys to get started.
1) Choosing the Right Attorney
I encourage you, before you hire any law firm here in Texas, to call around. Talk to different firms. When you call my law firm, you’re not going to talk to an intake specialist. You’re not going to talk to a paralegal. You’re going to talk to me. I will be the lawyer that handles your case, and the lawyer that is in charge of
your case. I answer to you. Everybody else that works on the file, they answer to me. But you’re not going to have to be passed off to them. The only other person besides me that you’re going to talk with is my assistant L.C., who has been my right-hand for 24 years. She knows what’s going on in these cases. She can probably answer 80% of the questions without me. You need to know that any time you have a question, you can call, email, or text me. You’re going to have my mobile number. You’re going to have Elsa, my assistant L.C.’s mobile number. Anytime you have a question, anytime you have a need, you reach out to us and we will have an open line of communication.
Our law firm is a little different. We don’t do high-volume. We don’t do stacks and stacks of clients. We believe that clients are people, not file numbers. In fact, your notebook is not going to say File #123 Medical Records; it’s going to say Mrs. Schmidt’s Medical Records. Your name is on that file because that’s how we treat people. That’s what makes us different.
When you come in and you talk to me and then you go and talk to other lawyers, what I want you to do is make the decision that’s comfortable for you. It needs to be a partnership, it needs to work for you, but I promise you one thing, any question you have you’re going to get the answer from me.
2) Dealing with Insurance Companies
If an insurance company calls you after a car accident, especially if it’s the other person’s insurance, be very careful what you say. The fact of the matter is, they can only record you if they ask you, but be very careful. I always tell people not to give them a statement. You need somebody there sitting with you who can hear the questions, make sure they’re appropriate questions and make sure that the information they want to get from you is information they’re allowed to have.
Insurance companies hire adjusters that are trained to ask you questions to which there’s no good answer. They record it and type it up, and they use it against you. Don’t get caught in that trap. Before you talk to the other person’s insurance company, make sure you have someone experienced by your side.
If your insurance company wants to talk to you, you need to cooperate with them. They’re the ones that are trying to help you get your car fixed, and take care of those basic things. If the other person’s insurance calls you, I wouldn’t talk to them; not unless you have a lawyer ready to go.
3) Statute of Limitations
If you’ve been in a car accident in Texas, you have two years to take action. That doesn’t mean you should wait one year and 364 days, but you do have time. You don’t have to let somebody rush you into anything. Two years is the absolute limitation period, and that’s two years from the date of that wreck. If you call us a day before that time runs out, we may not be able to help you. Take your time though. Think things through and get a grip on what you’re facing with medical bills, with work, with repair bills, all of those things, and we’ll take action. We’ll take action quickly and we’ll move things along as quickly as we can.
4) Settlement Offers
If you’ve been in a car accident in Texas, you might get a quick phone call from an insurance company. They might want to offer you $500 right up front. You should absolutely not accept that offer. The thing you need to think about is when you accept that check, when you sign that piece of paper, it’s over. If you find out next week that your doctor is telling you to get surgery, there’s nothing you can do to get compensation for that. That’s why insurance companies call you and offer you a quick check. Quick and easy usually isn’t the right answer. Call us so we can help you. Our firm has 30 years of experience doing this for you.
5) Personal Injury Protection Insurance
In Texas, most drivers have personal injury protection, PIP coverage, on their insurance policy. If you don’t have it, you really should get it. What that does is it provides immediate reimbursement to you for medical expenses and for lost time at work. There are limits to PIP insurance. The most common policy in Texas provides $2,500 worth of payments, but check with your insurance agent because you can get $5,000 – $10,000. Some companies will provide even more. What we can do for you for no charge is fill out a form, and send in your paperwork. You get all your out-of-pocket expenses immediately reimbursed and you get 70% of your wages immediately reimbursed. We’ll handle all of the administrative stuff, and none of our fees apply to those coverages.
Were you or a loved one involved in a car crash in Texas and have questions? After reading our 5 car accident tips that may help your case, contact a San Antonio Car Accident Lawyer at Rush & Gransee today for a free confidential consultation. Let our experience work for you.
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