Houston Car Accident Lawyer

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Experienced Car Accident Lawyers Protecting Your Rights

In 2021, 42,939 people lost their lives in car accidents. Insurance companies are not in the business of fairly compensating people injured in a car wreck. A car accident lawyer balances the playing field by fighting for your rights when someone else causes a wreck and injures you. If you have been injured in an auto accident, Our car accident lawyers are based in Houston, and can help put your life back together and get you on the road to recovery.

There are many injury & accident law firms to choose from in Houston, Texas, but few can say they have been exclusively speaking up for the injured since 1979.

If you have been injured in a car accident, contact the personal injury attorneys at Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., Injury & Accident Lawyers today. Dial 800-298-0111 to schedule your free car accident consultation today.

Every consultation is free and you pay no fees nor expenses unless we make a recovery.

Our Award Winning Car Accident Lawyers With Decades Of Experience

Paul H. Cannon tried his first car accident trial in 1996 and is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has tried over 50 car accident cases to verdict and has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in Texas Monthly Magazine by Thompson-Reuters from 2017 to 2021 and Top 100 Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Association from 2017 to 2021.

Sharon Simmons-Cantrell earned her Texas bar license in 1991 and has been practicing personal injury law with Simmons and Fletcher ever since. She was recognized as a Top Lawyer by H Texas Magazine from 2013-2019.

Christopher Keith Fletcher earned his law degree from Baylor Law School and passed the bar in 2009. Since then his relentless aggression has earned him recognition published in Texas Monthly Magazine as a Rising Star by Thompson-Reuters in 2020 and 2021 and a Top 40 Under 40 Attorney by the National Trial Lawyers Association.

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Types Of Accidents We Handle

Not all car accidents and injuries are the same. They vary depending on the vehicle you are operating, the vehicle the other driver is operating, the insurance coverage available or the driver’s mental state and/or degree of intoxication.

Not all car accident lawyers you hire for accidents and injuries are the same either. You need an lawyer with experience handling the tricks that insurance adjusters will throw at you. Here are some of the different types of accidents we handle:

Most Common Reasons Car Accidents Happen

Speeding
Broadside Collisions
Running Stops Signs & Lights
Texting and Driving
Unsafe Lane Changes
Distracted Driving Accidents

We Have Decades of Experience Handling Car Accidents With Serious Injuries

What Do Our Clients Say About Us?

Review: 5/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “This firm is very efficient and nice to work with. I was kept in the know on every aspect of the case. I would recommend this firm for their knowledge and expertise.”
– Rebecca P., actual client.

Should I Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?

While there are many considerations in deciding whether to hire a car accident lawyer in houston, these are the two most important factors to take into consideration:

Were you physically injured and to what extent? There more serious the injuries are, the more likely you need legal representation.
Do you have the means to get the medical care you need now? Insurance companies usually expect you to come out-of-pocket to get medical care after a wreck and settle the case at the end. This can cause a great financial burden on the victim–making it impossible to get the care you need. Insurance companies will then use your delay in getting care against you.

Working With Insurance Companies After Your Car Accident in Houston

Injury claims are often hotly contested by insurance companies even where liability is clear. Thus, if you were involved in an auto accident and suffered serious injuries, you cannot leave it up to the other party or their insurance company to fairly compensate you. It is their job to devalue your case.

Sadly, many people wait to talk to an automobile accident lawyer until after they have attempted to handle the case on their own with a friendly insurance adjuster who promised they would take full responsibility. These same adjusters will often return with an offer that doesn’t even begin to cover your out-of-pocket expenses and may stop returning your emails and calls when you do not sign your rights away.

These tactics cause you to delay in collecting and preserving critical evidence you should have gathered from the start. Even worse, they cause you to delay in getting the medical care you need. The absence of evidence and the delays are then used against you to justify a low-ball offer when it comes time to settle the case. This is why you should get a lawyer involved right away, especially when you have sustained injuries.

Non-injury accidents or accidents requiring little or no medical care with undisputed liability may not require an lawyer. But if you are injured, you need an experienced Houston car accident lawyer on your side.

How Much Do Our Car Accident Lawyers Charge?

In Houston, Car Wreck Lawyers are typically paid a percentage of what they recover plus they get reimbursed for any expenses they payout along the way. It is common to pay 33.33% if the case is settled without a lawsuit filed, 40% if a lawsuit is filed, and 45% if the case is appealed after trial to a higher court.

What Is A Contingency Fee Structure?

Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., Injury & Accident Lawyers work on the same contingency fee structure as above. As the case is being prosecuted, we pay all the litigation expenses upfront so you do not have to come out of pocket and we only get reimbursed these expenses out of any recovery we make. This means that you pay nothing unless we make a recovery in your case. And, if we do not make a recovery in your case, we eat our expenses.

Here Is How Our Car Accident Lawyers Help You

After a serious injury, there are many factors to take into consideration. Our law firm can help you with:

locating doctors who are willing to see you and provide you with the medical care you need
identifying and notifying all of the potential parties and their insurance companies and employers
pursuing compensation for all elements of damages the law allows you to seek recovery for
investigating the causes of the wreck, preserving evidence, and taking witness statements
drafting a demand letter
negotiating a settlement
negotiating medical, insurance, and government liens
litigating the case and trying the lawsuit.

How Much Is My Car Accident Claim Worth?

There is no exact formula for determining the amount of a car accident settlement in Houston, TX. Factors that contribute to a settlement amount include:

The severity of a person’s injuries, scarring, disfigurement, pain, and emotional duress.
The cost of necessary medical expenses and predictable future medical expenses
The total amount of your property damage
The total amount of your lost wages and lost earning capacity
How much you contributed to the cause of the accident
Your lawyer’s ability to present evidence and argue your case

Each accident has unique circumstances that will impact the amount of a claim. As a “fault” insurance state, the laws in Texas allow an injured person to file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance. Furthermore, Texas law requires drivers to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance coverage. However, the presence of insurance coverage does not mean a person will recover the entire amount of the policy.

Should I Go To The Doctor After a Car Accident in Houston, TX?

If you are involved in an automobile accident you need to assess all injuries and determine if an ambulance is required. Often, individuals experience a rush of adrenaline after a car accident and do not feel their injuries until time has passed. Remaining safe after a car accident is the most important thing, so any injuries sustained should be examined by a medical professional as soon as possible.

How do I Obtain a Crash Report in Houston?

All police reports associated with car accidents in Texas eventually end up in the Texas Department of Transportation’s Crash Reporting and Analysis for Safer Highways (C.R.A.S.H.) where you can download them online. The time it takes to get a report may vary depending upon what city or county department the report comes from, but 7-14 days is the norm unless there are special circumstances. Sometimes, you can obtain a copy of the police accident report sooner by contacting the local department that investigated the collision. Below are links to pages with more detail on obtaining accidents locally:

Why Won’t the Other’s Driver’s Insurance Company Pay for My Medical Care as I Go?

Auto insurance companies often refuse to pay your medical as you get the care because it is in their best interests for you to not get the care you need timely. By doing so, you reduce the potential settlement value of your case. They also know that delays and gaps in care make juries second guess whether you were really hurt. Thus, stalling your case is in their best interest and saves them money in the long run.

Will the Other Parties Car Insurance Company Pay For My Medical Bills?

No. The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that insurance companies do not have to accept and pay the full bill that you incur from a medical provider even though you have no control over the charges. They can now use a computer program to challenge even the emergency room bills to show that they are above the ‘average’ rates that doctors routinely accept. By doing so, you could get left owing the hospital more than the insurance company is ordered to pay even by a jury! You need an auto accident lawyer fighting for your rights because when it comes to holding insurance companies responsible, the deck is stacked against you in Texas.

Do I Need a Lawyer If The Other Insurance Company Accepts Liability in Texas?

If injured, yes. When an insurance company tells you they are accepting liability for an accident, this does not mean they are agreeing to pay for all of your medical bills and losses. It certainly does not mean they will pay you fair compensation for your pain and suffering. By telling you this, they know they are deterring you from seeking legal counsel and getting advice before you do something that might harm your own case.

When they say they are accepting liability, they simply mean they are going to offer you what they think is fair for the bills they think are reasonable. This does not mean they will not dispute your medical care and/or the amounts the doctors charged you for it. And it is not a promise to compensate you for your pain and suffering.

Further, payment of property damage to your vehicle is not an admission of liability for your personal injuries suffered in an accident. Neither an adjuster’s acceptance of liability nor payment of the property damage are admissible in court to prove liability. Thus, if no agreement can be reached as to a fair settlement amount, then you start over from ground zero having to prove your case.

Paying for property damage before denying an injury claim is a common tactic used to try to prevent a jury from ever seeing photos of the property damage. When your case goes to trial, you are typically not even allowed to tell the jury that the insurance company paid for the property damage their insured caused.

Do I Need An Car Accident Attorney If The Houston Police Ticketed The Other Driver?

Yes. A traffic citation is not admissible to prove fault unless the offending driver admits to the crime in open court. Since they usually plead no contest, rarely are traffic tickets admitted into evidence. Moreover, the fight is often over damages, not fault.

Should I Give A Recorded Statement After A Car Accident?

No. Do not ever give a recorded statement without having a lawyer present. Recorded statements can be used against you. Your own company’s insurance adjuster or the other parties involved may use recorded statements to deny your claim or trick you into settling your claim before you know all of the long-term effects associated with your injuries.

Can The Other Driver’s Insurance Company Refuse To Disclose Policy Limits In Texas?

Yes. If you are making a claim against someone else’s insurance policy, they do not have to tell you what the policy limits are unless you file a lawsuit. Each state is different. In many states like Texas, insurance companies do not have to tell you how much insurance coverage their insured has unless you file a lawsuit and force them to disclose the policy limits under oath. If your damages are likely to exceed $30,000 (the minimum limits required), you may need to file a lawsuit to find out how much coverage there really is.

Read more on discovering the other driver’s policy limits after an accident.

What Damages Can I Recover In A Houston Car Accident?

Texas law allows for the recovery of many kinds of damages. If you have suffered injuries due to an auto collision, you are entitled to claim the following damages:

Lost Wages & Lost Wage Earning Capacity
Pain & Suffering
Mental Anguish/Emotional Distress
Medical Expenses
Scarring & Disfigurement

What Damages Can A Spouse Recover in a Car Wreck That Happened in Houston?

When you suffer a serious injury, spouses have the ability to assert claims for the following:

Loss of Consortium
Loss of Household Services
Loss of Spousal Support
Loss of Inheritance
Wrongful Death

Do I Need A Lawyer If I Only Have Vehicle Damage?

Download our free property damage claim guide.

If you have damage to your vehicle but no one was injured, you will likely need to handle the claim on your own. Like most personal injury lawyers, we do not take cases that involve property damage but no injuries. However, you can download a copy of our free property damage claim guide to help you get the most out of your claim on your own.

The law is pretty clear that the obligation of a party who is 100% at fault is simply to return the car to pre-accident condition. This means that if the car is totaled, they pay you the fair market value as of the day of the wreck. If it is not totaled, they pay to repair it. If you have to pay a lawyer out of the property damage settlement, you will likely not be left with enough to repair or replace the vehicle.

Additional Auto Accident Resources

Tips For Filing Auto Accident Claims

If you would like to learn more about filing car accident claims, please read: Tips for Filing Claims Against Insurance Companies

Download a Free Accident Checklist

We have created a free one-page checklist that you can keep in your glove box in the event you are involved in a collision. This will help remind you of everything you need to document when the time comes. Download the free Car Accident Checklist now.

Texas Car Accident Fatality Statistics

There were 38,824 people killed in car accidents in 2020 across the United States. In 2021, there were 4,489 people killed in auto accidents in Texas. This is up from the 3,619 people killed in 2020 and the 1,876 people killed in Texas car wrecks in 2019. Thus, fatal auto crashes continue to rise year over year in Texas.

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Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., Houston Texas.