CAR ACCIDENTS

After being involved in a car accident, many people mistakenly believe that an auto insurance company, especially their own carrier, will have their best interests in mind when making an offer to settle or resolve their injury claim. However, many insurance companies are more concerned with the bottom line. It is likely that an insurance carrier will offer you less than is necessary for you to obtain a full recovery, especially without the assistance and guidance of an experienced personal injury attorney.

Evaluating the Insurance Company’s Offer

How do you determine whether the current settlement offer from the insurance company is reasonable? There are many factors and issues that should be considered to determine whether an insurance company’s settlement offer is reasonable. Many people mistakenly believe that if the insurance company’s settlement offer covers the cost of their medical expenses and replaces their lost wages, then the offer is reasonable and they should accept the offer. However, Texas law typically allows for the recovery of not only medical expenses and lost wages, but also non-economic damages such as past and future physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, and/or disfigurement. Depending on the facts surrounding how the auto collision occurred, it might also be possible to recover exemplary or punitive damages against the at-fault driver and/or their employer. An experienced personal injury attorney can be an invaluable resource of information even if you ultimately decide to resolve any insurance claims on your own without formally retaining an attorney to pursue the matter. If you would like assistance in evaluating an insurance company’s settlement offer and/or you have questions about the process, our firm would be honored to help you.

Common Pitfalls in Pursuing an Injury Claim Without Legal Representation

Not only do injured parties commonly settle their injury claims with the auto liability carrier(s) for the at-fault parties for less than a full recovery when doing so without legal representation, but they fail to pursue other insurance claims and/or coverages that were also available to compensate them for their injuries and/or damages. Our firm can advise you on other potential insurance claims and/or coverages that might be available to compensate you for your injuries and/or damages arising from a car accident in addition to any auto liability policies providing coverage for the at-fault parties. Another common mistake by injured parties is assuming that no recovery can be obtained for their injuries and/or damages simply because the at-fault driver did not have an auto liability insurance policy on the date of the subject car accident. However, it is possible that an actual monetary recovery can still be obtained even if the at-fault driver did not have an auto liability insurance policy. Our firm can advise you on whether a monetary recovery is still possible even when the at-fault driver does not appear to have any auto liability coverage. When an injured party agrees to settle their claim with the at-fault driver’s auto liability carrier, the insurance carrier will typically require the injured party to sign a release. Many injured parties mistakenly sign a release without fully understanding the meaning and/or consequences of the release simply because they want to receive the agreed settlement amount, but don’t realize the full extent of what they have given up or lost by signing the release. Our firm can advise you on the meaning, intent, and potential consequences of signing a release provided by an auto liability insurance carrier.

Choosing the Right Attorney to Help You Along the Way

Our attorneys have handled personal injury cases on behalf of residents of Central and South Texas in car, truck, and motorcycle accidents in numerous venues spreading from Waco to the Rio Grande Valley and from El Paso to Beaumont. However, our attorneys also have extensive experience and intimate knowledge of Bexar County since they have resided and practiced law in Bexar County for over 35 combined years. Our attorneys strive to provide exceptional, but also compassionate, legal services. Our clients also benefit from cost-effective solutions, all injury claims arising from car accidents are handled on a contingency basis, which means there are no up-front costs to our clients. Our firm is only paid for its services on your behalf once we obtain a recovery for you. Our fees will be based on a percentage of the recovery obtained on your behalf. If we are unable to obtain a recovery on your behalf for any reason, then you will not owe our firm any attorney fees for the matter.