We sincerely hope you’ll never be involved in an automotive accident, but unfortunately, the statistical odds don’t exactly work in your favor. Car crashes cause millions of injuries and tens of thousands of deaths every year in the United States, with the Texas Department of Transportation reporting 476,875 accidents statewide in 2014 alone—over 1,300 per day, on average.
After a car accident, you should immediately contact emergency medical personnel and law enforcement. Call 911, explain what happened, and give your location and any details about injuries. If your accident is less severe, you might talk to the police and then drive yourself or get a ride to the hospital later that day. When ready, call a lawyer and ask how to get fair compensation for your injuries. We will need to take stock of your injuries and evaluate your damages so that you get the most compensation possible. It is best to get started soon, as you have only 2 years to file a case in court.
Call our Dallas car accident lawyers at The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797 and get a private, free case review to begin.
What Are the Driver’s Responsibilities Immediately After a Car Crash?
If you are ever involved in a Texas car accident which results in death, personal injury, or property damage, you are required to take the following steps:
Provide your name, address, vehicle registration number, and the name of your insurer to the victim (or, if they are too badly hurt, to other vehicle occupants).
Show your driver’s license to the other motorist, if they ask you to do so.
Offer reasonable medical assistance, like calling 9-1-1. It’s common for accident victims not to initially feel pain due to the huge amounts of adrenaline released in an accident. A person who says they feel fine may be seriously hurt. It’s wisest to let medical professionals make the call about whether an accident victim has been injured — including yourself.
Beyond being simple common sense, these actions are required by state law under Texas Transportation Code § 550.023, which summarizes these responsibilities as a driver’s “duty to give information and render aid.”
There are extremely serious consequences for disregarding these duties and prematurely leaving an injury or wrongful death car crash site. A motorist who fails to comply can be criminally charged with an offense called “leaving the scene of an accident” — better known as hit and run.
If you were the victim of a hit-and-run driver in Texas, you should speak with an experienced accident attorney immediately. In addition to the prosecutor filing criminal charges, you may be able to file a civil (non-criminal) suit against the driver who hit you.
What’s The First Thing You Should Do After an Accident in TX?
Once you’ve taken care of the immediate health and safety priorities, it’s time to start dealing with some other considerations.
First, determine if your vehicle is obstructing traffic. If so, you should move your vehicle, provided it is safe to do so. Do not risk further injury simply to avoid the temporary inconvenience of a traffic jam.
If you do decide to move your vehicle, try to take photographs of the accident beforehand. Try to get photos from as many different angles as possible, ideally supplemented by video footage. Additionally, don’t forget to document the area around the vehicles, which can also provide key information. Details like matted grass or tire skid marks can tell investigators and crash analysts much about the sequence of events leading up to the accident.
Of course, safety is again (and always) the number one priority. Do not place yourself in harm’s way for the sake of taking a photograph or video.
In addition to photographing the site, there are four phone calls you should make promptly after getting into an injury accident:
Who Should You Call First After a Car Accident in TX?
A car crash can be a painful, traumatizing, and frightening experience. Immediately after a collision, you might feel overwhelmed, and it can be easy to panic. Just remember that you need to stay calm and call for help. Make these four phone calls as quickly as possible after an accident:
The Police
Call 911 after a car accident and be sure to have the police sent to your location. The police might be able to render emergency aid while you wait for emergency medical personnel to arrive. They also de-escalate tense situations if one driver is angry or hostile. When the police arrive, be sure to get the badge numbers and names of the officers, as we need their information to get a copy of the crash report later.
Not all accidents are so severe as to require police involvement. Some accidents might involve some vehicle damage and minor injuries. Drivers might exchange insurance information and then drive themselves to a doctor or hospital. This is perfectly acceptable, but you should reach out to law enforcement soon and report the accident.
You should immediately report major accidents to local law enforcement. You should also get a copy of the police accident report, which, while typically inadmissible as “hearsay” evidence in court, can still be useful during settlement negotiations. Texas Transportation Code § 550.062(b) requires officers to file within 10 days written reports for accidents resulting in death, injury, or property damage exceeding $1,000.
Emergency Medical Care
In severe accident cases, you should call 911 and have an ambulance sent to the accident scene. You must prioritize emergency medical care above all else. The police and insurance can be dealt with later. If you feel uninjured or believe your injuries are not very serious, you might drive yourself or get a ride to a doctor shortly after the crash.
Whatever the case might be, you should schedule an appointment with your physician immediately. As we noted a little earlier, adrenaline can mask the pain of a serious injury, and tissue damage might not become apparent for hours or even days following a crash. The sooner you can see a physician after an automotive accident — ideally within 72 hours — the better.
Additionally, the sooner you see a doctor, the more accurate your medical records regarding injuries from the accident will be. In cases of serious or complex injuries, medical records might be necessary to prove your damages in court. If these records are less than accurate, your claims might be in jeopardy.
Insurance Company
You’ll need to report the crash to your insurer. The insurance agent will probably pressure you to give a recorded official statement, to which you do not have to consent at this time. You should also avoid accepting any immediate settlement offers, which are typically insufficient to cover the losses and expenses associated with the injury. Remember, the severity of the injury may not even be apparent at this very early stage. Speak to your doctor and lawyer about the extent of your injuries and the value of your damages before accepting anything from an insurance company.
Call a Lawyer
Once you have received emergency medical attention and spoken to the authorities, call an experienced Arlington car accident lawyer. In addition to handling all of the legal work so that you can focus on resting and being with your loved ones, your attorney will also represent you during settlement negotiations, and protect you from the “bad faith” insurance tactics some unethical insurers use to limit or deny coverage.
Throughout the process, it is crucial that you keep detailed, organized records of all documents and correspondence. It’s a good idea to make scans of physical items, like receipts and prescription slips. Save and copy emails, bank statements, and other virtual records. Record the time and date every time you speak to the insurance company. Get a name from every person you speak to, and jot down the topics of conversation on that occasion.
Taking Stock of Your Injuries and Damages After a Texas Car Accident
Once you have received medical care and spoken to the police about the accident, call a lawyer and discuss the possibility of filing a civil case to recover damages. It can be tempting to accept a quick settlement offer from an insurance company, but this is not always the best idea. You might not fully realize the value of your injuries and damages until later. Waiting can help you recover all the compensation to which you are entitled.
Possible Injuries in Auto Accidents
First, we should consider your physical injuries from the car accident. Injuries like fractures, lacerations, and whiplash are common and not always severe. However, the more serious an accident is, the worse these injuries can become and the more expensive it is to treat them.
More severe injuries may include brain damage, back and spine injuries, neck injuries, and more. These kinds of injuries often involve a great deal of pain and may reduce your overall quality of life. For example, a traumatic brain injury might leave you with cognitive disabilities, and you might be unable to live independently or have a career. Back or spinal cord injuries might leave you paralyzed and unable to walk or enjoy certain physical activities. Even if your injuries do not exactly include a disability, they can still upend your life. Soe injuries come with severe and long-term chronic pain. While pain medication and management can help, it can be physically and mentally exhausting to deal with constant pain for the rest of your life.
Many injuries not only come with physical pain and steep medical bills, but they also come with psychological trauma and mental anguish. For example, significant scarring or disfigurement can be emotionally difficult to cope with. If your injuries come with permanent complications or disabilities, you must learn how to live your life differently, and certain things you once enjoyed might no longer be possible. This can be very hard to accept, and many plaintiffs experience serious mental anguish.
Recoverable Damages
Your injuries factor heavily into the value of your recoverable damages. These damages may be economic or non-economic in nature, meaning they may be proven by documentation of costs or more subjective evidence. The more serious your injuries, the higher your damages should be.
Economic damages may include the cost of medical care. Not only should be claim current medical expenses, but we should estimate the value of future medical care if you need ongoing or long-term care. Similarly, we should calculate how much income you have missed out on because you are too injured to work. The longer you are out of work, the greater these damages should be. If you lost property in the accident, even small personal items, their value should also be factored into your economic damages.
Non-economic damages may be quite valuable but are somewhat more challenging to evaluate. They tend to be more subjective and unrelated to financial costs. For example, your injuries might leave you with significant pain and emotional distress. You might have to quit your job and leave behind a thriving career, which can take a serious emotional toll.
How Much Time You Have to Prepare a Car Accident Case in Texas
Your time to prepare your case is limited, and it is wise to act quickly and hire a lawyer as soon as possible. The statute of limitations under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) gives plaintiffs only 2 years to file cases in court. This limitation period begins on the day of the car accident, so your time might already be slipping away. However, we can help you pause the clock and buy more time, but only under specific conditions.
Tolling options allow plaintiffs to pause the limitation period, thereby giving them more time to file their cases. According to § 16.001(a), tolling may be possible for plaintiffs who had legal disabilities at the time of the car accident, including being a minor or being of “unsound mind.” Under subsection (b) – the time of the legal disability is not included when calculating the limitation period. This means that if you were under 18 when you were injured in a car accident, the limitation period would not even begin until you turned 18. Similarly, if you were under a mental or psychological condition that made filing your claim or understanding your rights impossible, the limitation period would not run until the condition was lifted.
Remember, the legal disability must exist at the time of the car accident. According to subsection (d), if a legal disability arises after a car accident, it may not be used to suspend the limitation period.
Rely on the Attorneys at Queenan Law Firm
To set up a free legal case review, call Queenan Law at (817) 476-1797. Our Dallas personal injury lawyer can handle accident claims in the metropolitan areas of Texas.