Car wrecks are often issues that lead or pander if it was or wasn’t their fault so a dedicated Houston car wreck attorney can help immensely. While the insurance industry has made a killing with car wrecks and drivers blaming each other, the more present issue is that many people don’t contribute to their Houston crash at all.
In Texas, our system reflects “proportionate responsibility,” meaning that if you contributed to the wreck, your recovery for damages would reflect that contribution. But also, if you contribute to more than 50%, then it’s outright your “fault.” Now, knowing that you contributed 0% means that you should get complete compensation for all the damages.
Step One: Call the Houston Police Department
The Houston Police Department is a large force, but it’s also extraordinarily busy, and that means that you might not have an officer arrive on the scene. What you can do by contacting the Houston Police Department is to inform them that there’s been a wreck and that you need to file a Houston crash report, often called the Blue Form.
Filing this report or having an officer come out to the scene is a step in the right direction. By taking this step, you’re documenting that the crash happened, where it happened, and what exactly occurred during the collision.
The blue form asks for information from both drivers, and if an officer arrives on the scene, they’ll gather all of that information themselves and make the report available to both drivers within the next couple of days.
Step Two: Take Pictures and Video of the Wreck
Thankfully almost every driver has a camera in their pocket and can start gathering evidence for the wreck straight away. That means that you need to take pictures of the damages, the Houston road conditions, and even the weather at the time of the wreck. The evidence gathering process will continue after the scene is cleared up, and both drivers have gone their separate ways, but the biggest issue to worry about first is getting evidence of what the crash looked like before it gets cleaned up.
Don’t forget to photograph your injuries as well. Initially, your injuries might not look like anything but a little swelling. But, over the next few days, those could progress into some severe bruising or even invisible injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury and soft tissue injuries.
Step Three: Get a Medical Evaluation
Depending on the extent of your crash and your injuries, you may need emergency medical attention. IF that’s the case, then this step should come hand in hand with contacting emergency services or the police. When you call 911 after a bad accident, they’ll ask about your injuries. You may not feel anything right away, so it’s important to visually take in the situation and identify if anyone needs emergency medical attention.
If you don’t need emergency help, you should schedule an appointment with a general practitioner. They don’t usually see car accident injuries, but if you explain what happened, they should be more than happy to go through the possible injuries and make sure that if anything requires treatment that you get it.
Step Four: Call a Houston Car Accident Attorney
Calling an attorney in Houston is a critical step in resolving your case because it could be the difference between a measly settlement and reasonable compensation. You should go through an interview potential car accident attorney in Houston for your case before deciding on the right one. Contacting local law offices should give you a clear understanding of what each attorney can do for you, and how they would handle your case.
Step Five: Submit a Statement and Demand on Your Insurance Claim
When you’re ready actually to submit your claim, you’ll want the help of a professional Houston car accident lawyer.. Not only can these Houston lawyers provide guidance, but they can help you craft your statement and demand in a way that shows the full impact from your wreck. If you know, without any doubt, that you played no part in the fault of the wreck, then you have the right to make a demand for full compensation.
With McDonald Worley, you can organize your Houston claim through a statement submission about the wreck and a demand for compensation. That demand is the first step to opening a discussion about your options for a settlement, setting the bar for negations, and showing that you’re willing to take the case forward if you don’t get a fair amount.