Common Mistakes That Undermine a Car Accident Claim in Texas

Getting into a car accident in Texas can be a harrowing experience. Even in the best of circumstances, it is the kind of frustration that can throw off your entire day. In the worst of situations, you or a loved one may be seriously injured or die. That is a much worse scenario than being late for work. Frustratingly, the consequences of a car accident rarely end on the day of the crash. Usually, they continue to pile up for weeks, months, or even years as your claim moves through the insurance or legal process. If you want to avoid the worst of these consequences and give yourself the best chance at getting good results, don’t make the following common car accident claim mistakes in Texas.

Waiting to Act

People often undermine car accident claims by waiting to act after getting hurt in a collision. There are plenty of reasons why they might wait to act. They might think their injuries aren’t especially serious or that the insurance company will handle the case for them. Alternatively, seriously injured people may be so focused on recovering from their injuries that they delay taking action to get compensation for their medical care. Regardless of the situation, you should never delay.

Time is not your friend after a car accident. Every day that you delay, all you are doing is helping the insurance company minimize your compensation. Evidence supporting your claim will disappear over time as physical records are tossed out, digital records are deleted, and the memories of witnesses fade. Furthermore, there is a hard limit to how long you have to act. In Texas, typically, if you don’t file a lawsuit within two years of the date of the accident, your case will be dismissed by the courts. (*Always speak directly to an attorney for the exact deadlines that apply to your potential claims.)

However, that isn’t the only way that delaying can undermine your claim. The longer you wait, the more your debt piles up. If you are staring at months of lost wages and medical bills, you might decide that you can’t wait any longer to get compensation. This could easily force you to accept a subpar settlement offer from the insurance company. Once you have received money, you are no longer eligible to get more. The insurance company knows this and will happily let as much time go by as possible in most insurance claims.

Every delay helps the insurance company more than it helps you. Act quickly, even if that means letting a proxy act in your stead because you are too injured to act yourself.

Failing to Receive Medical Care

After an accident, you can sometimes think you weren’t hurt when you actually have been. Several types of car accident injuries are invisible. Spinal cord injuries, for example, may not become apparent for days or even weeks after you first get hurt. However, that doesn’t mean your body isn’t suffering before your symptoms appear. Usually, these unidentified injuries are just getting worse while you go about your life.

By getting medical care as soon as possible, you allow medical personnel to identify these hidden injuries. If you are lucky, they will find your injury and start treating it when that treatment will be most effective. Even if you aren’t lucky, you made a reasonable attempt to get medical treatment. This matters when you file an insurance claim or a lawsuit. Getting medical care as soon as possible proves that you made a reasonable effort to protect your health. If your injuries are only found later, an insurance company can’t claim that your negligence resulted in the delayed diagnosis.

Finally, you want to get medical care to create documentation. The results of your car accident claim will largely be based on how much evidence you can provide. When you receive medical care, that produces medical records. Those records prove the extent of your injuries and provide documentation of how much they cost. Failing to get timely medical care just limits the evidence you have available to support your claim.

Were you seriously injured in a car accident in Texas? Avoid making common mistakes that can undermine your claim. Call Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law now at (713) 973-8888 or toll-free 1 (800) 444-5000 for a free and confidential consultation.

Discussing Your Case With Others

One of the biggest mistakes that you are likely to make happens almost moments after you are in an accident. You get out of your car, look for the other driver to share contact information, and start discussing how the accident occurred. This may seem only natural, but it can severely undermine your later accident claim. When you talk about the accident, you are telling the other driver your side of the case. Even if you don’t say anything you will regret, you have given them a head start if they try to fight your claim. That is the best-case scenario. In the worst-case scenario, you might say something that could be interpreted as an admission of fault, even if you weren’t at fault. That information will almost certainly be passed on to the insurance company of the other driver, making it harder for you to file a claim.

This mistake doesn’t happen only at the accident scene, either. You can make the same mistake if you discuss your case on any type of social media. Social media accounts are not private, no matter how many privacy filters you use. Someone may read something that you wrote and screenshot it or otherwise share it with someone you don’t want to see it. You should assume that anything you write on social media will eventually be found by an adverse party. Similarly, you shouldn’t talk to friends or family about the case, even in private. They may post about it on social media, creating the same problems for you.

Finally, you should not discuss your case with any insurance company except through a lawyer. Your attorney knows what to say and, more importantly, what not to say.

Not Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer Immediately

From watching feel-good insurance company TV ads, you may think that insurance claims are quick and easy. This bears little resemblance to the truth! Texas has a Consumer Bill of Rights that is supposed to protect individuals from predatory insurance companies. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop these businesses from trying to undervalue or deny legitimate claims. However, acting in bad faith is a lot harder for an insurer if you are represented by a Houston car accident lawyer from the very start. Your attorney defends your rights throughout the insurance claim process. From the moment you contact an attorney, they act swiftly to protect your rights. This means that they will investigate your case and preserve as much evidence as possible. Every piece of evidence that your lawyer can throw on the pile increases your likelihood of getting fair results.

Furthermore, experienced attorneys have handled similar cases. This matters when it comes to injuries. Off the top of your head, can you say how much it will cost in medical bills to recover from a fractured femur or a pierced lung? Unless you are a doctor, probably not. However, a personal injury lawyer has relevant knowledge. Because they have handled similar cases in the past, they can estimate the total expenses and losses that accrue from almost all types of common car accident injuries. Having a good understand of case values based on experience can be very helpful in negotiations, and all the way through trial when asking a jury to award specific amounts for different elements of damages included in the jury charge.

Your attorney also can negotiate on your behalf. Typically, you will receive a higher settlement offer during negotiations than you would if you filed a claim without a lawyer representing you. This is both because your attorney better understands the true value of your claim and because the insurance company knows that if it doesn’t negotiate in good faith, you are willing to file a lawsuit. Insurance companies will typically try to avoid the costs associated with going to trial. And, of course, if negotiations fail, your lawyer will argue your case at trial. If they have been a part of the case from the very beginning, they will generally do better at trial than if you hire them later in the process.

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer at Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law

When you’re in a car crash, there are some steps that you should take and others that you should avoid at all costs. An experienced lawyer can help you put your best foot forward on your journey toward fair compensation.

If you were seriously injured in a car accident in Texas, you don’t want to make common errors that will undermine your claim. Call us now at (713) 973-8888 or toll-free 1 (800) 444-5000 for a free and confidential car accident case review.