Auto collisions cause more personal injuries in Texas each year than any other type of accident. Even at low speeds, collisions between multi-ton motor vehicles can cause long-lasting injuries to drivers, passengers, and unprotected bicyclists and pedestrians nearby. In many situations, those injuries could have been avoided completely if someone had acted more responsibly.
If you are dealing with injuries and associated financial and personal losses due to a car crash caused by another person’s misconduct, you should consider speaking with a Houston car accident lawyer sooner rather than later. Whether you were injured as a driver, passenger, pedestrian, or bicyclist, we are here to help.
You could have grounds to pursue substantial financial recovery for your damages, and having a dedicated personal injury attorney’s assistance during that process is often crucial to achieving the best possible case result.
Establishing Fault for a Car Wreck
The litigation process for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision begins with determining who is to blame for the crash, as most car accidents happen due to negligence. Every driver on public roads assumes a “duty” to act responsibly by avoiding foreseeable harm and following applicable traffic laws. A driver who fails to do so could be found negligent.
Negligence can happen in a number of ways. For example, perhaps the negligent party was speeding or ran a red light. Perhaps they were texting or driving under the influence of an intoxicating substance. Either way, an injured person should be made whole and placed back into the position they were in before the car accident.
Drawing a causal link between a single irresponsible act and an ensuing crash can require substantial forensic, documentary, and testimonial evidence. For this reason, it is important to act quickly immediately after a car accident. Always call the police and take pictures of the scene of a car crash. It happens way too often where a claimant does not call the police or is swayed by the other party to accept responsibility. A prompt police report can prevent this from happening.
When taking pictures, it is important to take pictures of both vehicles’ damage to have a complete picture of how the auto accident happened, as well as of the at fault driver’s insurance, license plate, and driver’s license. This will help identify them later should their insurance company give you a hard time. Footage from surveillance and dashboard cameras can also be crucial to establishing exactly what happened and who bears most of the fault for an auto accident.
In some situations, it may be necessary to solicit testimony from eyewitnesses, collect debris from the accident scene, subpoena phone records to see if someone was texting while driving, or even seek help from experts in accident reconstruction. Assistance from a Houston auto accident attorney may be key to efficiently collecting, compiling, and presenting information to support a finding of negligence by the defendant in a car crash claim.
How Could Comparative Fault Affect Civil Recovery after an Auto Accident?
Beyond proving that someone else was negligent in causing or contributing to a car crash, it is also often necessary for the injured person filing suit to establish that they themselves were not responsible for the incident in any way. This is because Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §33.012 allows local courts ruling on car accident claims to reduce the value of a plaintiff’s damage award by the percentage of blame that court assigns to them for causing or worsening their own injuries.
Furthermore, TX Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §33.001 bars claimants who are found more at fault for their own injuries than all defendants in their case combined from recovering any compensation for any damages whatsoever. The support of a skilled lawyer could make a substantial difference in successfully contesting allegations of comparative fault during a Houston auto collision case.
Talk to a Houston Car Accident Attorney Today
Car wrecks can be traumatic, even if you are fortunate enough to walk away without any serious injuries. If you do end up injured because of another person’s reckless or careless driving, however, pursuing civil litigation against them may be the best way to protect your financial security and long-term prospects despite the harm you were subjected to.
Retaining a Houston car accident lawyer should be a priority for anyone considering a claim of this nature. Our goal for you after an accident is to make sure you are getting the treatment you need and to make sure you get compensated for your damages. In Texas, you may make a claim for medical bills, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, impairment, lost wages, and property related damages. If any of these apply to you, you can get compensated accordingly. Call today to learn more.