Understanding How a Houston Car Accident Attorney Can Help You in a Car Injuries
After being involved in a car accident, many people wonder how they can move forward with their lives as quickly as possible, and sometimes hiring an attorney may seem like an unnecessary expense that delays the process. However, you might be surprised to learn that in certain circumstances, having a Houston Car Accident Attorney represent you can speed up the process of recovering from your injuries and moving on with your life. To understand how this works, let’s break down exactly what attorneys do in these situations so you can decide whether or not one might be useful for you.
What is Personal Injury Law?
As you get familiar with your injury case, it’s important to understand that no one will be able to help you through it if you don’t have a basic understanding of how personal injury law works. For instance, what exactly is personal injury law?
It’s when someone gets injured on another person or entity’s property (whether it be from their negligence or not) and is legally entitled to financial compensation for their injuries. Personal injury cases are very common, especially car accidents—and they can be very complex. If you’ve been injured in a car accident and want to know more about your rights as well as what steps you should take next, read on!
What Should I Do After a Car Accident?
First things first: you need to make sure everyone involved in your accident is okay. That means taking stock of yourself, checking out anyone else involved, and getting medical attention if necessary.
Next, call 911 so that police officers can come and write up a report; even if you aren’t seriously hurt, it’s still good to document everything for later.
Finally, once you’re feeling better, talk to a personal injury lawyer Houston. A lawyer can help you determine whether or not there was any wrongdoing on behalf of either party (you and/or other drivers). Once that determination has been made, they can also walk you through your options moving forward. Looking for a Car Accident Lawyer in Houston TX? While there are many ways to find a lawyer, one way is by asking friends and family members who may have had similar experiences in the past. Simply request a free consultation online!
The Role of the Personal Injury Attorney
If you’ve been involved in an accident caused by someone else, you must get legal representation. Why? Because insurance companies don’t have your best interests at heart. While they might offer to settle with you or make payments toward medical expenses and other costs incurred as a result of your injuries, they won’t always do so on agreeable terms. Many times insurance companies will attempt to pay less than what is fair for your situation. This is where a personal injury attorney can help you secure a fair settlement from the party responsible for causing your injuries.
A auto accident attorney Houston tx will be able to negotiate on your behalf and ensure that you receive compensation for any financial losses stemming from your accident. Your attorney will also guide you through all aspects of your case including negotiating with insurance companies, gathering evidence, drafting legal documents, and filing lawsuits if necessary.
Additionally, should criminal charges be filed against another driver who injured you, your lawyer will guide court proceedings as well. Your lawyer will work hard to ensure that you obtain just compensation for all damages suffered in an accident—and will likely prevent any insurer from providing substandard offers on your behalf.
An experienced car accident attorney will not only take care of these details for you but will also keep you informed throughout every step of your case. It is common practice for insurance companies to try and delay claims until victims forget about their cases, which is why it’s important to have a competent lawyer working diligently on your behalf. The more time passes after an accident, the more difficult it becomes to pursue compensation – which means obtaining legal counsel quickly is vital.
Types of Personal Injury Claims
There are three basic kinds of personal injury claims that you can file against someone who hurt you:
1) general negligence
2) intentional tort
3) strict liability.
General negligence means you were hurt because someone didn’t take reasonable care to prevent injuries from happening. Intentional torts are acts committed on purposes, such as assault or battery, and usually require proof of intent on behalf of your attacker. Strict liability is when something inherently dangerous injures you—for example if your friend’s dog bites you while it’s not on a leash. In these cases, it doesn’t matter whether or not your friend intended for his dog to bite anyone—he still owes damages to anyone he hurts because he owns a dangerous animal. If you have been injured in a car accident, you may be able to claim any one of these categories. Need help? Visit our car wreck attorney Houston today!
How Your Lawyer Can Help: An attorney can help you with each step of your case. From negotiating with insurance companies on your behalf to helping prove fault at trial, an attorney has all sorts of tools at her disposal to get results.
Tips for Choosing an Attorney
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, your first instinct might be to start researching car insurance companies. Don’t do it! Instead, focus on choosing and working with an attorney. Here are some tips for doing so:
1) Ask friends and family members for recommendations
2) Contact your local or state bar association to see if they have any referrals
3) Contact your local court system to see if there are lawyers who specialize in personal injury work and ask them for recommendations.
Also, when interviewing potential attorneys, consider asking these questions:
1) What percentage of your practice is devoted to representing people like me? (You want someone who regularly works with people in your situation.)
2) Do you handle all aspects of my case or will I need to hire additional experts? (You want someone who will take care of everything.)
3) How long have you been practicing law? (The longer someone has been practicing law, generally speaking, the more experience they will likely have.)
4) Are you comfortable talking about money? (Some attorneys don’t like discussing fees until after a client has hired them.)
5) Do I pay anything upfront and how much does it cost overall? (If you’re hiring an attorney, most likely you’ll need to pay at least a retainer fee—usually around $1,000—and then hourly fees once that’s gone.)
6) What’s your success rate? (Ideally, you want someone who wins cases like yours.)
7) Do you charge extra for things like phone calls and emails? (It’s not uncommon for attorneys to charge clients extra for phone calls and emails—but make sure those costs are spelled out clearly before signing any contracts.)
8) How do we communicate going forward? (Make sure everyone knows what their preferred method of communication is going forward.)
9) When can I expect results from my case? (Again, ideally as soon as possible but no later than six months from now).
If you are injured in a car crash but don’t know how to proceed legally, we can help you better! Reach to our Houston top rated car accident attorney today and get free consultation for your cases.