Auto Accident Injury Attorney

When You are Injured in a Car Accident, Call Our Auto Injury Attorneys

Texas is no different from any other place in the world that experiences a lot of vehicle traffic. Wherever large numbers of cars, trucks, buses and other motorized vehicles congregate, accidents are going to take place. Whether it’s a relatively innocuous fender-bender or a life-altering major accident, it’s inevitable that mishaps are going to occur.

Should you be involved in an automobile accident, the main thing you want to know is that your rights will be protected, and you get whatever compensation you have coming to you for any injuries you may have experienced as a result of the wreck. All of these kinds of cases are different, so to be ensured that your rights will be protected, you need to call on the experienced auto injury attorneys at our Law Office. In this article, we provide some basic information in regard to how to win any litigation that may arise from your accident plus other information you should seriously consider before you hire an attorney to handle your accident claim.

Basics of Automobile Accident Law
There aren’t too many grey areas concerning what you need to successfully prove in regard to winning your automobile accident litigation. You, the victim, will be considered the plaintiff, and as such you bear the burden of proof in your case. From the start, the court will assume that the other driver will not owe you anything. You have to prove to the judge or jury that you deserve to be paid for your claim. If you fail to do so, you’ll leave the courtroom with no more than you entered it with. In order to prove you are entitled to payment, you have to fulfill three requirements: 1. You have to prove the defendant behaved in a manner in which a reasonable person would not behave. 2. You suffered harm as a result. 3. The defendant’s behavior caused that harm.

Here are some more details involving those three requirements:

1. Proving the unreasonableness of the defendant – Every driver on the road is required to operate his or her vehicle in a way that any reasonable person would be expected to do. You have to prove that the defendant in your case did not drive as a reasonable person would be expected to drive. In legal terms, all drivers have a “duty of care” to act in a reasonable manner. If a driver does not, he or she is said to have breached that duty of care. Examples of not driving in a reasonable manner include speeding recklessly, running red lights, or driving without headlights at night.

2. Proving you suffered harm as a result of the other driver’s unreasonable actions – You must not only prove that you were harmed by those unreasonable actions, you must also prove the monetary worth, or damages, of that harm. It is obvious to you that you’ve suffered a significant injury, but you’ll still have to prove it to the court. Establishing the level of damages can be very difficult, especially when you’ve suffered a soft tissue injury such as a back injury or whiplash. Often, judges and juries will look at such injuries with a doubtful eye. They’ll be much more skeptical of that kind of injury than they would a more “tangible” injury such as a broken or severed limb, for example. The auto injury attorneys at our Law Office are experienced in helping clients establish the value of their damages, know what kind of evidence needs to be gathered to do so, and know-how to present that evidence effectively in court.

3. Proving the defendant caused you harm – Finally, in order to prevail in your accident claim case you will also have to prove the other driver’s actions (or in some cases, inactions) led to your injuries. This is referred to as “causation” in legal terms. This causation can often be proven through evidence such as video footage, photographs, measurements at the accident scene, police reports, and the testimony of witnesses. It is vital to your case to gather that evidence as quickly as you can because it is easy for evidence to disappear. The auto accident attorneys with Our Law Office know how to thoroughly investigate the accident scene and preserve the evidence you will need to prevail.

Understand Your Opponent
You, the plaintiff, will be opposed in your accident claim by, obviously, the defendant. That defendant, however, can take many forms. It can be the other driver, the other driver’s insurance provider, a bicyclist, a pedestrian, or anyone else who could have played a role in causing your accident. A seasoned auto accident attorney is very familiar with identifying each and every defendant who may be responsible for the accident that caused your injury.

Of course, we strongly urge you to seek legal help so that you have the best chance possible of getting all the compensation you deserve for the pain and suffering you’ve experienced and the medical expenses you have incurred. Whether or not you choose to do so, it is critical that you realize the difference between defendants who are insured and defendants who are uninsured. All motorists in the State of Texas are mandated by law to carry insurance, but we all know very well there are way too many drivers in this state that choose to ignore that law. If the accident that caused your injuries occurred as a result of the actions of an insured motorist, then you are likely to face having to deal with insurance company adjusters and other professionals. Anyone the insurer sends your way will have one thing in mind – make you the lowest settlement offer possible in order to make your case go away. It’s likely that whatever settlement offer you receive will not come close to compensating you for the medical bills and lost work wages you’ve incurred, not to mention the pain and suffering you’ve experienced. The settlement offer may sound good in the short term, but in the long run, you’ll be seriously short-changed. If you agree to that offer, any chance you may have of pursuing further legal action will be gone. Should the accident be caused by an uninsured driver, the good news is you won’t have to deal with any insurance company operatives. The bad news is that driver probably didn’t have insurance because he or she can’t afford it. It stands to reason, then, that person probably won’t have the resources necessary to provide you with the compensation you deserve.