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The Most Important Qualities of Good Houston Car Accident Lawyers

Selecting the right car accident injury attorney in Houston, TX to represent you is one of the most crucial things you can do in the wake of an accident. Here are the three most important things to look for in a Houston car accident lawyer:

Experience

There is no substitute for experience. Only an attorney who knows the ropes can help you navigate the complex legal landscape that will greet you after a car accident. Courtroom experience is particularly valuable, as litigation is often necessary. Although many attorneys claim to be experienced, they usually bring only a few decades of actual hands-on work. With a century of combined legal experience and almost a half century of car accident case experience, the car accident injury lawyers at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. are more than qualified to advocate on your behalf.

Recovery Rate

Past success is perhaps the single most reliable indicator of future success. Unless you want to gamble with your time and money, it’s best to choose a lawyer that has a proven track record of recovering damages for injured victims. With over $720 million in personal injury recoveries, you can be sure Schechter, Shaffer & Harris will fight to get you the best possible settlement.

Trustworthiness

A good attorney-client relationship is built on trust and mutual respect. A personal injury claim can take years, if not decades. Without confidence in your legal team, the process can be one long nightmare. At Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, we know that each one of our clients is special, which is why we work hard each and every day to earn your trust and win your confidence.

Common Types of Car Wrecks

Accidents happen for many reasons and in many ways. As long as vehicles are on the road, there will always be a risk of crashes. In order to understand what’s happening on our roads and address the realities properly, experts commonly categorize crashes by type. The following are examples of common types of accidents seen in crash data.

Hit-and-Run Accidents

The term “hit and run” refers to any accident in which a driver hits a vehicle, person, or private property and flees the scene of the crash before any information can be gathered. Hit-and-run drivers tend to leave the accident scene because they are afraid of the consequences, especially if they know there are other issues at play. For example: if they are uninsured, using a stolen car, driving without a license, or operating a vehicle under the influence, they may be especially likely to panic and flee after a crash. Learn more about what to do after a hit and run accident.

Left-Hand Turn Accidents

When making a left-hand turn, it’s common to have to cross traffic coming from the opposite direction. At a controlled intersection, this is at least somewhat assisted by stoplights or a stop sign. Unfortunately, whether or not signs or lights are present, there is still an accident risk. If a person turns in front of moving traffic or speeds through an intersection, a vehicle may end up getting hit, likely from the side (“T-boned”).

Head-On Collision Accidents

This is an especially dangerous type of accident. A head-on collision is one in which the front of one vehicle crashes into the front of another vehicle (from “head on”). This may happen if a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction crosses the midline/median, or if someone is driving the wrong way down the road. Because a driver sits at the front of a vehicle, these kinds of crashes can easily be fatal. Learn more about head-on collision accidents.

Rear-End Accidents

This is one of the most common types of car accident. As the name implies, a rear-end crash involves one vehicle crashing into the back end of another vehicle. This may occur when a driver fails to stop, follows too closely, stops unexpectedly, hits a slippery patch of road, etc. Rear-end accidents may involve multiple drivers, as the impact from behind may push the vehicle being hit into the vehicle ahead of them.

Single-Vehicle Accidents

Not all car accidents occur between drivers. A single vehicle may spin out, roll over, hit a tree, drive into private property, or hit a person or animal. Whether or not the accident is the fault of the driver, an act of nature or something else, any crash involving only one driver is categorized as a single-vehicle accident.

Multi-Vehicle Accidents

When two or more vehicles are involved in a crash, it’s considered a multi-vehicle accident. Accidents between two or more passenger cars can occur as a result of reckless driving, driver impairment, driver distraction, speeding, defective car parts, and poor weather or road conditions. Hiring the right attorney for a multi-vehicle car accident is critical to protect your interests.

Backing-Up Accidents

Backing up in any kind of vehicle is an act that requires care and attention. Even in vehicles with convenient back-up cameras and alert systems, it’s possible to accidentally hit something or someone in one’s blind spot. Similarly, a driver on the road may fail to pay attention to a reversing vehicle and hit it while it is backing into traffic.

Uber Accidents

In recent years, ridesharing apps like Uber have become increasingly popular. Uber drivers don’t need to go through any special training or hold a special type of license, and they are no less likely to be involved in an accident than any other driver. For both Uber drivers and their passengers, a car crash can bring legal confusion with regard to insurance coverage and compensation. Find out if you are covered in an Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing apps.

Sun Glare Accidents

Anyone who has driven toward the sun in the morning or evening is well aware of the value of visors and sunglasses. Depending on factors like the location of the sun, the weather, and the state of the vehicle’s windshield, sun glare can be a mild annoyance or a serious danger. Sun glare can drastically reduce visibility, making it harder for drivers to see their surroundings and identify vehicles or objects in their path. Severe glare can essentially leave the driver feeling temporarily blind, and may even be painful. All of this makes it a risk factor for car accidents.

Common Car Accident Injuries

Depending on factors including speed, the number of vehicles, and weather conditions, an injury could heal in a matter of days or might not become present for a while after the accident. If you are involved in a car accident you should get yourself checked out just in case, shock can prevent victims from realizing the extent of their problems.

When an auto accident happens, injuries may be severe. Severe injuries can often be addressed through emergency care, surgery, physical therapy, and a period of restful recovery. However, some injuries can have lifelong repercussions, leaving victims with irreparable damage, chronic pain, disability, and/or other ongoing challenges.

Head Injuries

One of the most serious types of injuries from car accidents are head injuries. An unexpected stop or a sudden change in direction can cause your head to be flung against a window or steering wheel. The more direct a head or brain injury is the more severe it is likely to become. A brain hemorrhage or brain bleed is a possible head injury. Concussions are a less severe outcome as well.

Chest Injuries

Chest injuries will mostly take the form of bruises or contusions, but at more severe levels can leave a victim with broken ribs and internal problems. Drivers often will experience a chest injury because their chest will collide with the steering wheel.

Scrapes, Lacerations, Cuts, and Burns

A scrape or laceration can be caused by unsecured objects inside of your car. These objects include cell phones, drinks, books, and more. If the impact is hard enough, any of these objects can break the skin fairly quickly.

Leg and Arm Injuries

Similarly to a head or neck being jerked after a sudden impact, your arms and legs can experience similar problems. Your limbs can be thrown against the vehicle’s door. Car accidents have caused occupant’s knees to hit the dashboard or seat in front of them leading to bruises, scrapes, and sprains.

Soft Tissue Injuries

A soft tissue injury is any damage to the body’s connective tissue—this includes muscles, ligaments, and tendons. A soft tissue injury is the most common form of car accident injury, and it can take many forms. One of the most common soft tissue injuries is a “whiplash” injury. A car accident can cause sudden movements of the neck and lower back; these can lead to long-term problems.

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)

Caused by the force of impact, blows to the head, or objects penetrating the skull, a TBI may lead to long-term cognitive problems or death. Learn more about traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

Whiplash and Neck Injuries

The impact of a crash can cause the head and neck to move back and forth suddenly, leading to a sprained neck (known as “whiplash”) or other neck trauma.

Spinal Injuries

Impact and compression trauma can cause damage to the vertebrae and spinal cord, potentially causing lasting complications like chronic back pain or paralysis.

Broken and Fractured Bones

These can usually be healed well with proper medical care, but they are still painful, take time to heal, and can have long-term effects on strength and mobility. Learn more about broken and fractured bones caused by a car accident.

Fatalities

Severe car accident victims may be killed upon impact or die as a result of their injuries. Even with the best, most immediate medical care, sometimes victims succumb to their injuries in the hospital.

Steps to Take After a Houston Auto Accident

When you’ve just been in an accident, it may be difficult to stay calm or remember what you need to do. A car accident lawyer can help you after the fact, but there are things you can and should do immediately to record the incident properly and get the information you need to prove what happened.

One way to make sure that you take the right steps after an accident is to keep a checklist in your glove compartment. This checklist can help you focus, calm you down, and get you into the right mindset for information gathering. When writing your checklist, make sure you include the following steps.

Check for Injuries and Call 911 If Needed

Immediately following the accident, you’re likely to be at least a little shaken. Do your best to stay calm and take an inventory of everyone in your vehicle. Determine whether anyone is seriously injured and needs emergency medical attention. If they do, call 911 right away and let them know that you’ve had an accident and will need medical care.

Move Your Vehicle to a Safe Place

f your vehicle is still in traffic and you are able to drive it, move your vehicle to a safe place. Most of the time, pulling off to the side of the road is sufficient. Though it would be ideal to take a few photos of the accident scene before moving any vehicles, your safety (and the safety of other drivers) is most important. If you can’t safely take photos, move your car first.

Report Your Crash to the Police

If you’ve already called 911, police will soon arrive on the scene and begin a police report. If you haven’t, make a non-emergency call to the local police and let them know that you’ve had an accident. When they arrive, they’ll be able to take statements from everyone on the scene and note important details for the record. This official police report can be provided to the insurance company and may be helpful at trial.

Exchange Important Information With the Other Driver

Once it’s safe and you’ve reported your accident to authorities, you can go ahead and exchange contact and insurance information with the other party (or parties) involved. No matter how upset you may be at this time, try to stay calm and professional during the exchange. Don’t say anything that might be misinterpreted as an admission of fault, like “I didn’t see it coming.”

Take Detailed Notes and Photos

As soon as you are able, begin making detailed notes and taking pictures of the scene, the vehicles, your injuries, etc. Even if you can’t get to a notepad or a phone app, do your best to make mental notes of everything you notice immediately following the accident. All of this information can be helpful in proving your case if there is a dispute.

Contact a Car Crash Lawyer

After you’ve received necessary medical attention and addressed any other immediate concerns, you’re technically ready to file an insurance claim. Before you involve the insurance company, however, it’s important to talk to an experienced car crash attorney. A lawyer can help you understand your rights as a crash victim, how you can protect those rights, and what you can expect from the claims process.

Contact the Insurance Company

Once you’ve spoken with an attorney, it’s time to get in touch with insurance. At this point, your lawyer can take over all of the communication with the insurance company, or you can handle the initial claim process yourself. When you call, let the insurance company know that you have a lawyer so they can contact them as needed.

Gathering Evidence of Car Accident Liability

When you contact the insurance company, they’re going to start with a car accident investigation related to your claim. Claims adjusters look at the fine details of your situation. You need to gather as much information as possible, including photographs, medical bills, police reports, and witness accounts.

The reason insurance claims adjusters need this information is because they need to make sure they have an accurate understanding of who is at fault and what falls within the coverage limits. If insurance companies simply took the word of the person who filed the claim, they would be far more susceptible to insurance fraud. The more authoritative information you are able to supply to prove your claim, the better.

Car Accident Frequently Asked Questions

It’s not unusual to have a lot of questions after a car accident. Take a look at the following frequently asked questions before you take action or make any decisions. If you have further questions, contact our car wreck lawyers for information.

Should I Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?
If you are being denied compensation that you are clearly owed as a crash victim, it’s time to talk to a lawyer. In your initial consultation, the attorney can determine if and how their services can help your case. They can also help you understand your rights as a victim and explain what you can expect from the legal process.
If you feel the amount of compensation you’re offered by insurance is fair, you might not need to hire an accident lawyer. Before you accept any offer, however, you may want to speak to an attorney to confirm whether their offer is truly in your best interest. There may be additional damages you aren’t aware of or are forgetting to account for.
Why Do I Need to Hire an Attorney?
Insurance companies are very particular about approving claims. This extreme caution is often a good thing that protects against insurance fraud. Unfortunately, they can also stretch the definition of caution, finding any excuse to deny claims and cut costs. If you’re in a vulnerable state and just want to “get it over with,” you might give up on fighting their decision. This is why having a lawyer is so important.
All Houston auto crash attorneys represent the rights of their clients and fight on their behalf. Talking to insurance companies and arguing for what you deserve is just part of what we do. When you’ve been hurt in a car accident, you need an attorney to handle the paperwork, make sure you’re treated fairly, and allow you to focus on recovering.
What Is the Cost of a Car Accident Lawyer?
Hiring a lawyer after a Houston auto collision is completely free. Our Houston auto accident legal team does work on a contingency basis. It costs nothing to retain an attorney, and the cost of services depends (or is contingent) on whether our legal team recovers damages in your case. In other words, if you don’t receive any money, you don’t have to pay us a thing.
When you come in for a free consultation, one of our attorneys can walk you through how contingency works, what kind of work we’ll need to do, and how much those things may cost you in the case that you do receive compensation.
When Should I See a Doctor?
If you’ve been injured or the impact was significant enough to raise concerns about concussions or whiplash, you’ll want to seek medical care right away after the accident. If you initially feel fine but begin to experience symptoms in the weeks following your crash, you should follow up with a doctor as soon as possible. Some complications from car accidents can have a delayed onset, and any crash-related health effects are important to your case.
How Do I Get a Car Crash Report?
After any car accident, you’re going to want to get an official crash report to record what happened. With a report compiled by an unbiased authority, you’ll be able to refer to details of the incident without it being just your word versus the other driver’s. In Texas, drivers are also required to report any crash in which a person is injured or there is at least $1,000 of damage.
Accident reports are generally written up by the police. If anyone is injured in the crash or there is an emergency situation, call 911. When authorities arrive on the scene, a police officer can take the report. If there is not an emergency, you can call the police department’s non-emergency number and let them know that you’ve been in an accident and need a report. Ask the officer(s) where you can get a copy of the report when it is finished.
What Is Pain and Suffering?
In personal injury litigation, the term “pain and suffering” refers to the kinds of harm that don’t come with a bill. It accounts for the personal toll of things like pain, anxiety, depression, trauma, and emotional distress.
In the case of a car accident, vehicle damage and physical injuries are only part of the story. The other mental, physical, and emotional repercussions can be just as impactful, if not more so. In addition to payment for expenses incurred, payment for pain and suffering is often necessary to fairly compensate for those issues.