Breaking Down What a Houston Car Accident Lawyer Can Do for You

Houston, Texas, is one of the great American cities. It has an amazing history and a lot to offer both visitors and residents. However, there are plenty of car crashes that take place there as well, and if you’re in one of them, you might not be sure about how to move forward. Here are the details about what can a Houston Car Accident Lawyer do.

Finding a lawyer to represent you is probably going to be your best bet. We’ll take some time in this article to talk about Houston car crash stats and some of the many ways an attorney can help you if you find yourself in this position.

Houston Accident Statistics

Before we get into the reasons you would consult with an experienced car accident lawyer in Houston if you get in a car wreck, you ought to know a little bit about Houston accident stats.

The first thing to understand is that Houston car crashes seem to be rising. For instance, in 2014, there were 59,981 collisions. By 2019, that number had increased to 68,682. That’s about a 7% increase, equating to approximately ten more car wrecks in the city every day.

In 2014, there were also more than 45,000 injuries that doctors classified as serious, unknown, or non-incapacitating. In 2018, there were more than 48,000 in those categories. It seems clear that as Houston flourishes, there are both more car accidents and injuries. The number of car accident deaths went up during that period as well.

What Can an Experienced Houston Car Accident Lawyer Do for You?

As for what an experienced attorney can do for you if you get in an accident, there are more than a few ways they can help you get through this challenging and confusing time. For instance, your attorney can negotiate with the insurance companies, both yours and the other driver’s. They can make sure you get the financial compensation to which the accident entitles you.

They can defend you against an insurance company if they try to blame you for what happened, but you know it was the other driver’s fault. You’d like to think that insurance companies wouldn’t do that, but some of them will try it if they feel like they can get away with it.

Your Houston car wreck attorney can also use experts to prove crash causation.  They can help you figure out liability and fault, which is vital if you’re trying to collect money in the days and weeks after the accident. They can consult with various accident reconstruction experts, the police, and any other entities you’ll need so you can get your money and resume your everyday life as quickly as possible.

Is There Anything Else They Can Do?

In addition to all of that, your car crash lawyer might launch a detailed, thorough investigation into what happened if either the other driver or their insurance company disputes your claim. It might seem clear to you what took place, but the other driver might offer a different narrative, and that’s when you’ll need help proving what occurred.

Your attorney can definitely handle every aspect of the case from beginning to end, and they’ll keep you in the loop so you do not feel abandoned as the various steps play out.

What Damages Might You Try to Collect After the Crash?

You might not have ever gone through something like this before, so you don’t know what damages you can collect. That is something you’ll need to know, though. 

It’s not because you’re overly litigious, and you’re trying to stick it to the other driver or their insurance company. It’s because you’re probably going to have all kinds of post-accident expenses, and you need the money to cover those.

For example, you might have what the courts and lawyers call economic damages. Those might include property damage costs. They may include permanent or temporary disability costs as well.

They might include lost wages if you have reduced earning capacity. Perhaps you’ll also have to look into rehab or physical therapy cost reimbursement. It’s more than likely you’ll have to pay for medical bills as well, such as doctor visits, surgery costs, medical equipment purchase costs, and so forth.

What About Non-Economic Damages?

You might also try to collect money for what lawyers usually call non-economic damages. These are sometimes a little harder to quantify, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t collect money for them.

Your pain and suffering are usually worth money under the law. You might also look for loss of consortium or mental and emotional trauma payments. Loss of life quality might be an issue as well.

What if You Can’t Afford an Attorney?

At this point, you’re probably wondering what you can do if you can’t afford an attorney that can handle all of this for you. You don’t want to be on your own trying to wade through this post-crash quagmire. You might have sustained serious injuries, and the last thing you want is to field aggressive phone calls from insurance companies all the time.

What you can do is locate and utilize a car crash lawyer who works on a contingency basis. This means that you don’t have to pay them any money upfront.

These attorneys and their firms often work with individuals and don’t accept money from them unless they can get cash for that person. This is the fee structure that makes the most sense for the average Houston car crash victim.

If you have to take the other driver or their insurance company to court, you only have to pay your lawyer if they can win the case for you. If for some reason they are not able to do so, you owe them nothing. This payment plan makes sense because it is now your lawyer’s responsibility to win your lawsuit, and if they can’t, you don’t pay them.

Make sure you locate and hire a highly experienced, well-regarded car crash lawyer, Houston residents. You will undoubtedly be glad that you did.