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What is the worst advice or biggest misconception you read from non-lawyers on the internet or otherwise hear about personal injury claims?
Question: What is the worst advice or biggest misconception you read from non-lawyers on the internet or otherwise hear about personal injury claims?
Answer: There are two, actually. I will address the first one this week. When an injured victim (usually from a car or truck wreck) requests recommendations for a qualified personal injury attorney, Burress Injury Law is very often on that list. However, there will normally be a comment among the recommendations by a lay person (often who works for an insurance company) advising the victim not to retain legal counsel, but to instead just handle the claim directly with the insurance company(s). The comment usually goes on to state or imply that the insurance company will be fair and that it's wise to cut out the attorney (and the attorney fee). This is wrong for the following reasons:
1) First, legal fees in personal injury claims are typically calculated on a contingency basis - meaning unless a recovery is made, no fee is earned. This benefits the victim greatly because in almost every other type of law, you are paying by the hour whether your case is won or lost.
Explaining the Compensation Process in a Personal Injury Claim
In the unfortunate circumstance that you are the victim of any personal injury incident, it's important for your claim (as well as your body) to immediately obtain necessary medical treatment. Hospitals will treat you regardless of whether you have been in a motor vehicle crash or other incident. Primary care physicians and specialists, however, very often refuse to see even long-time patients in these circumstances. Some good personal injury law firms know of quality physicians, therapists and other medical providers who will treat injured victims even without health insurance or up- front payment. Moreover, in the right type of case, most of the post-emergency room treatment can be arranged so that payment is only required if enough compensation from the personal injury claim is obtained (note - there are circumstances in which it is strategically beneficial to utilize health insurance throughout a claim but only in a working minority of claims).
Depending on the injuries, medical treatment can require a few weeks to months, and in more serious cases, lifetime care may be required. Either after medical treatment is completed or the claim begins to approach the statute of limitations, our focus broadens from managing our client's medical treatment to positioning the case in the optimal light to "make you whole," in order to compensate you for your medical expenses and any lingering damages you have from any disfigurement, physical impairment, pain, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium and/or mental anguish. In an ideal world, the insurance company will concede liability on behalf of its insured and pay full value for the claim.
Maximizing the Claim's Value - NOT Settlement - Is Your Goal
If a lawsuit is handled well, the insurance company responsible for paying your claim will resolve the matter through settlement. If they do not, a case will proceed to trial, where it will be your legal team's responsibility to convince a jury to make the insurance companies pay you. This process may seem filled with stops and starts, but it is important to remain patient about that process to maximize your chances to recover the full value of your claim. Before you hire an attorney, there are several things you should consider about the conclusion of a case, in making your decision about who you ask to represent you. At Burress Injury Law, we take great pride in handling our cases with these considerations in mind, and we are happy to visit with you about them.
First, a settlement should not be your attorney's main goal. Less than policy limit settlements could arguably be considered a form of concession by both sides. The insurance company concedes that perhaps the other driver was responsible and that you are owed money. It is also a concession by you that your case is worth the amount that you accept, and not more. Most personal injury cases eventually result in settlements. So why should your attorney not focus on that? If the goal is to simply obtain a settlement - and therefore get paid something - this goal will not result in the insurance companies paying the full amount your claim actually is worth. In nearly every claim made, or lawsuit filed, an insurance company will offer something. An attorney may offer to take a case because something will be offered. Or he or she may think they can likely get a "quick settlement." They might tell you the other side should pay something to make the case go away. However, these statements suggest the attorney is only evaluating whether the case is worth anything, and not anything more.
11 Things An Injured Victim Should Do After A Car Wreck
More than 3.2 million people are injured in car crashes in the United States each year. Many people will get into at least one car wreck in their lifetime, but that does not make the situation any less scary.
Being involved in a car crash is an overwhelming experience that can affect you physically, emotionally and financially. Immediately after a car crash, you will likely have adrenaline coursing through your veins and be facing questions from emergency responders, the at-fault driver and others. It can be hard to remember what to do and say; the sooner you contact a personal injury attorney, the sooner you can get tailored guidance about the best steps to take in your situation.
In cases of serious injury, much of the advice below may be inapplicable. This article is intended for victims who suffer non-life-threatening injuries. In general, to give yourself the best chance of getting both the medical attention and financial compensation you need to recover, we recommend taking the following steps immediately after a crash.
Keep your mind on the road: the dangers of cognitive distraction
In March 2018, a pickup truck driver in a rural area of Texas plowed into a bus carrying Baptist church members who were on their way home from a three-day retreat. Thirteen bus riders were killed in the crash. Near Houston, three teenage girls were killed when the driver of their car veered out of her lane and smashed into an 18-wheeler.
What do these two tragedies have in common? Drivers responsible for the crashes were distracted because they were texting. Nearly 20 percent of all Texas crashes involve distracted driving. In 2017 in Texas alone, 100,687 car wrecks were caused by distracted drivers, which resulted in 444 deaths and 2,889 serious injuries.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are main types of distracted driving:
- Visual (when you take your eyes off the road)
- Manual (when you take your hands off the steering wheel)
- Cognitive (when you take your mind off driving)
Visual and manual distractions are easily understood, but what exactly is cognitive distraction?
Is speeding to save time worth the risk?
Whether you are running late or just trying to shave some time off your commute, it can be tempting to speed, especially if you see others doing so. But how much time can you really save? And is it worth the risk of a ticket or a wreck?
It is relatively easy to calculate the time saved by speeding while driving at constant speeds for a long period. For example, a 10-mile drive would take 10 minutes at 60 miles per hour, but only about 8 minutes and 34 seconds at 70 miles an hour, a savings of nearly a minute and a half — as long as you can maintain that speed for the entire 10 miles. However, most commutes do not take place entirely on open roads, making it difficult to calculate time savings, especially in urban areas.
A 2015 study conducted in Australia is one of the most comprehensive analyses of how much time is actually saved by speeding in urban areas. Researchers collected data from GPS units installed in the cars of 106 participants over a period of five weeks. The study found that the average driver drove for 5.75 hours per week, but only spent 30 minutes per week speeding. After all, in urban areas there are limited opportunities to speed, given the amount of time drivers spend in traffic, decelerating and stopping.
Who is liable when self-driving cars hurt innocent victims?
In December, a self-driving Chevy Bolt in San Francisco collided with a motorcyclist who was attempting to pass the automated vehicle. The injured motorcyclist is now suing General Motors, which manufactures the self-driving technology, saying that the automated vehicle was behaving unpredictably.
As self-driving technology is developed and tested on roads across the country, incidents like this are raising legal issues that will become increasingly important as driverless cars become more common. Who is at fault when self-driving cars injure innocent people: the person on board, the owner of the car, or the manufacturer of the technology? To some extent, the answer depends on the level of automated vehicle technology in use at the time of the crash.
The levels of automated vehicle technology
We expect a driver using cruise control on the highway to still stay alert and slow down when traffic conditions change. However, when an automated system is monitoring traffic conditions and adjusting the vehicle's speed accordingly, expectations for the human operator start to change.
Wrecks caused by drunk drivers spike over holidays
The cold front that swept the nation at the end of 2017 made roads especially hazardous for holiday travelers. However, one of the biggest dangers around the holiday season has nothing to do with the weather: despite increased enforcement efforts, drunk drivers continue to cause a significant number of traffic crashes in Texas and across the nation.
From Dec. 1, 2016, to Jan. 1, 2017, at least 82 people were killed in crashes related to drunk driving in Texas - about 25 percent of all traffic deaths during this period - and an additional 199 people were seriously injured, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. A total of 2,321 DWI-related crashes were reported in the state during that period.
Data have not yet been released for the most recent holiday season, but we will likely see that drunk drivers caused additional deaths and serious injuries, unfortunately, despite increasing enforcement efforts and campaigns encouraging people to make plans for sober rides home.
What Are The Safest Cars On The Road?
When it is time to buy a new car, many people focus on the fun features: heated seats, the latest audio electronics, a cool color. Safety may not always be the most attractive feature we are considering, but it should be a top priority.
In a previous blog post, we discussed the deadliest cars on the road, looking at the different vehicles the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found were more likely to be involved in a fatal crash. Not surprisingly, smaller cars had higher rates of driver fatality.
If we are going to review which cars are the deadliest, it's worth noting which cars are the safest as well. The IIHS releases their Top Safety Picks every year, looking at several factors to determine a vehicle's safety rating.
- Crash avoidance: Does the vehicle include technology that can help avoid crashes?
- Crash mitigation: Does the vehicle include technology to help reduce the severity of a crash?
- Crash worthiness: How well does the vehicle protect passengers in a crash?
Do You Have To Wear A Motorcycle Helmet In Texas?
There's no question that motorcycle helmets can save lives. Still, many people choose to ride without a helmet - and this can be a perfectly legal decision in some states, including Texas.
This wasn't always the case. In 1975, nearly every state required all motorcyclists to wear helmets because of a federal law that tied highway construction funding to helmet laws. However, states began to chip away at their helmet laws after Congress ended the funding incentive in 1976. Texas was one of the first states to repeal its universal helmet requirement in 1977, although it was later temporarily reinstated between 1989 and 1997.
Under current Texas motorcycle helmet laws, you are allowed to ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet if you are at least 21 years old and have completed a motorcycle safety course (which is also required to receive a motorcycle license). While this exemption covers most licensed riders, you may also be exempt from wearing a helmet if you carry health insurance that covers injuries from an accident.
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