Mesquite Car Accident Lawyer

Car accidents are some of the most common causes of personal injuries and deaths in the state of Texas. In 2020, a reportable car accident occurred in Texas every one minute, seven seconds, according to the Department of Transportation. A total of 3,896 people died and 12,107 suffered serious injuries in motor vehicle traffic accidents in Texas in 2020. If you were in a car accident in Mesquite, Texas, a driver or another negligent party may owe you financial compensation. While a compensatory award might not fix everything, it could give you and your family the financial support you need to move forward. Please call (214) 609-1580 today for a free consultation at the Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C.

WHY CHOOSE US?

• Our lawyers have experience helping clients with car accident claims of all types throughout Texas. We understand the state’s related laws and how to build strong cases on behalf of our clients.
• Our lead attorney has the highest possible AVVO rating, membership into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the honor of Top 100 Trial Lawyers from National Trial Lawyers. He has more than 50 jury verdicts under his belt.
• Our car accident lawyers in Mesquite, Texas accept clients on a contingency fee basis. We do not charge any legal fees to negotiate or litigate crash claims unless we win. You never have to pay upfront to retain our services.

DO YOU NEED A LAWYER?

Taking a stand against a negligent or reckless driver may take assistance from an attorney in Mesquite. Otherwise, you might fall for an insurance company’s tactics to try to get you to settle for less or accept no compensation at all. A lawyer can communicate with the other driver’s insurance company on your behalf, ensuring you do not fall prey to insurance bad faith practices. Your lawyer can fight for fair compensation for your medical bills, vehicle repairs, lost wages, and emotional injuries while you focus on recuperating. A car accident case can be complicated and difficult to handle on your own – especially while you’re also dealing with serious and painful injuries. Hiring an attorney in Mesquite can take the legal burden off of your shoulders, allowing you to relax and focus on healing. While you’re in recovery, your lawyer will be investigating your car accident, collecting evidence against the other driver and demanding maximum financial compensation from an insurance company. If your case does not reach a fair settlement, a lawyer can go to trial on your behalf.

Steps to Take After a Car Accident

If you get injured in a car accident, there are steps that you should take right away to protect yourself. Do your best to remain calm and not get angry at the other driver. Then, take the following steps to begin building your car accident claim:

1. Pull over and check for injuries.
2. Call 911 without delay to report the crash.
3. Do not admit fault for the car accident.
4. Exchange contact information with the other driver.
5. Write down the names and phone numbers of any eyewitnesses.
6. Take photographs and videos of the crash scene.
7. Go to a hospital in Dallas for professional medical care.
8. Call your own insurance company to report the crash.
9. Do not rush into a fast settlement.
10. Contact a car accident lawyer in Dallas to discuss your rights.

Print out this list and keep it in your glovebox or take a screenshot so that you have it handy. Taking the correct steps after a collision is important to demonstrate to an insurance company that you did what you were supposed to and have a valid claim.

Common Car Accident Injuries

A car accident is a traumatic event that can have wide-ranging effects on a victim – both physical and emotional. The gravitational forces exerted upon the human body in a vehicle collision are often too much to withstand. This can result in injuries to virtually every part of the body. Although a motor vehicle has safety equipment in place to reduce the injuries inflicted in a car crash, seat belts and airbags are not infallible. Every year, thousands of Texans end up in hospitals with various injuries from car crashes, such as:

• Broken bones
• Soft-tissue injuries
• Deep lacerations
• Burns
• Road rash
• Head injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Neck and back injuries
• Whiplash
• Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
• Internal injuries
• Loss of limb/amputations
• Wrongful death

You may be eligible for financial compensation from another driver’s car insurance company with any type of injury – major or minor. The value of your case, however, will most likely be higher for a more serious injury, as your injury will require greater medical expenses and impact your life more significantly. At the Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C., we can use our years of experience as personal injury lawyers to help you with a car insurance claim if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with any type of injury.

IS SOMEONE LIABLE FOR YOUR DAMAGES?

Despite the serious or catastrophic nature of your car accident, you may not have grounds to file a personal injury claim unless another person or entity caused the collision. Texas’ civil laws only allow victims to demand compensation from at-fault parties. You or your attorney will need to determine the at-fault party before you can bring an insurance claim or lawsuit.

• Vehicle driver. The other driver might owe you compensation if he or she caused your accident through speeding, driving while intoxicated, driving recklessly, driving distracted or another act of negligence.
• Vehicle manufacturer. The factory that made your car or its parts may be liable for your injuries if a defective auto part caused or contributed to them. A malfunctioning airbag, for example, could give you grounds for a product liability claim against the company.
• The government. The city or state that owns the roadway where your crash occurred has a responsibility to oversee proper road maintenance. Failure to do so, resulting in a dangerous condition such as a pothole, could lead to the government’s liability for a crash.

Find out who may be legally responsible for your auto accident with help from the lawyers at the Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. We can travel to the scene of your accident, take photographs, work with reconstructionists, gather evidence and take other steps to identify the at-fault party. Then, we can bring your car accident claim in Dallas County before the state’s two-year deadline.

How to Deal With a Car Insurance Claims Adjuster

Before you can receive financial compensation for your injuries, property damage and other losses after a car crash in Mesquite, you will have to deal with an insurance claims adjuster. This is the title given to the representative of an insurance company that has been assigned to review your case and determine if you qualify for financial benefits. The main thing to know about an insurance claims adjuster is that he or she is not on your side; the claims adjuster is trained to save an insurance company as much money as possible on your claim payout. Keep these tips in mind when speaking to an insurance claims adjuster to protect your rights as a crash victim:

• Be prepared to record the conversation or take detailed notes immediately afterward. Identify the person you’re speaking with at the beginning of your conversation.
• Remain calm and polite. Starting an argument with the claims adjuster will not result in greater financial compensation.
• Do not admit to causing the car accident or contributing to your injuries, such as by saying that you weren’t wearing a seat belt.
• Do not agree to give the claims adjuster a recorded statement. The insurer does not need this statement to process your claim, no matter what the adjuster says.
• When describing your accident and answering the adjuster’s questions, give only limited personal information. Only answer the questions asked.
• Do not answer any questions about your injuries until you’ve seen a doctor and have received an official diagnosis. Do not give the adjuster permission to access your medical records.
• Do not sign anything sent to you from the insurance company – especially a Release of Liability Waiver. Instead, take all documents to an attorney for review.
• Do not rush into a fast settlement. Initial settlement offers are often low, as the insurer expects you to negotiate.

If you aren’t comfortable communicating with an insurance claims adjuster on your own after a car accident in Mesquite, you have the right to have an attorney take over phone calls and conversations for you. A car accident attorney will know exactly what to say and what not to say to a claims adjuster to optimize your odds of a successful claim.

What if You Contributed to the Crash? Can You Still Receive Compensation?

In Texas, even if you contributed to a car crash, you could still be eligible for at least partial financial compensation from the other driver. This is because Texas uses a modified comparative negligence law. This law permits injured accident victims to recover compensation with up to 50 percent of the fault for a car accident. If you are 51 percent or more at fault for the crash, however, you are barred from making a financial recovery. If you are assigned less than the majority fault for the car accident, this could still decrease the amount of financial compensation that you receive from the other driver’s insurance provider. The courts in Texas use the comparative negligence law to reduce a victim’s monetary award by a matching percentage. If you are 10 percent at fault for a crash, for example, you will receive 10 percent less than you would have.

What Compensation Is Available for a Car Accident Case?

No dollar amount could ever reverse your injuries or make up for a traumatic car accident. Recovering fair and full financial compensation from a defendant, however, can go a small way toward allowing you and your family to move forward. A fair settlement can enable you to pay for your necessary medical care and ease the financial strain of a car crash on your family, for instance. In Texas, you could recover compensation for the following losses, and more:

• Medical bills (past and future)
• Lost wages
• Lost capacity to earn
• Property repairs
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional damage
• Loss of consortium
• Wrongful death damages
• Punitive damages

Every car accident case in Texas is unique. The value of your case will depend on variables such as the extent of your injuries, how long it will take you to recover, the pre-crash value of your vehicle, the extent of the property damage and the amount of insurance coverage available. It is important to discuss the value of your case with an attorney who you can trust before accepting a settlement offer from an insurance company. This is the best way to make sure that the offer you accept is fair and reasonable. Once you accept an offer, you generally cannot reopen your case.

What Is Texas’ Deadline to File a Car Accident Claim?

As a car accident victim in Texas, you should always file a car insurance claim as soon as possible – ideally, within 24 hours of the crash. State law gives you more time to file a personal injury case for the car accident, however. A law known as the statute of limitations gives you two years to file a related civil lawsuit. The clock typically starts ticking on the date that your car accident takes place. If you did not discover your injuries until a later date, you will have two years from the date of discovery, instead. If you are going up against a government entity, such as a cop or government employee who caused your car accident, you will have less time to file a lawsuit. The Texas Tort Claims Act gives plaintiffs no more than six months to submit Notice of Intent to Sue letters to the government agency in question. Deadlines for filing can be complex; the best way to ensure you meet your deadline – and preserve your ability to file – is by contacting a car accident lawyer as soon as possible after a car accident in Mesquite.

REQUEST A FREE CONSULTATION IN MESQUITE TODAY

You do not have to take a stand against negligence alone as the injured survivor of a serious car accident in Mesquite. Attorney Aaron A. Herbert and his associates represent clients after auto, commercial truck, rideshare, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian and other vehicle accidents. Ask how we can help you today during a free consultation. The law may entitle you to compensation. Call us at (214) 609-1580 to request a meeting in Dallas County.