Car Accident Legal Process Explained

If you have been involved in an auto accident in the state of Texas, the road to recovery can be a long and complicated one. This document is designed to walk claimants through each step of the process and help them understand what to expect from those who represent them.

Treatment for Injuries Immediately After the Accident
Treatment for Injuries
Collection of Evidence
Retain a Qualified Attorney
Provide documentation
Get Vehicle Repaired
Follow Through with Medical Treatment
Finish Treatment - Get Released from Doctors, Notify Attorney
Attorney Requests Documentation
Attorney Prepares Demand
Meet with Attorney for Pre-Demand Conference
Attorney Demands Claim to Insurance Adjuster
Adjuster and Attorney Negotiate Value of Claim
Attorney Settles Claim or Files a Lawsuit
Client Comes in for Settlement Conference
Attorney Disperses Monies

Treatment for Injuries Immediately After the Accident

If you're in an accident you need to seek immediate medical attention. Victims are often in some state of shock after an accident. The shock period can often mask serious or mild injuries, and the injured will not feel any pain. Most people even deny being hurt because they don't want to make a "big deal" out of the collision. This is a trick the insurance companies use against them when settlement time comes. They claim "If your client was hurt in the accident, why didn't he or she go to the doctor right away." Don't let them win this argument; get medical treatment directly after the collision or as soon as symptoms develop.

Treatment for Injuries

You should return to each of your doctors as often as necessary and you should always tell them about all your symptoms. You should never minimize your ailments when talking with your doctors. Many people minimize their pain because they don't want to complain too much. Do not exaggerate, but make sure you tell your doctor about each and every problem. This is important to your treatment. If you see any other doctors, make sure that you tell both your other doctor and your attorney immediately.

Make sure that you carefully follow your doctor's advice. Money cannot ever replace good health, so you want to follow your doctor's advice and treatment plan. You want to recover from your injuries as quickly as possible. Your doctor will keep track of any missed appointments and deviation from his or her treatment plan. When we provide the medical records to the adjuster, they will be able to see these inconsistencies. Their philosophy: hurt people get the help they need and follow through with it. So you can see how they may think you are not injured as seriously as you are if you do not follow through with your doctor's orders.

Many victims feel that if it doesn't hurt, it isn't injured. Yet injuries caused by accidents may not develop for days - even weeks. Don't be too quick to rule out injuries just because they haven't yet appeared. Also, accidents can cause the injured victim to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This means the victim becomes less able to cope with stresses in his or her life. Depending on how well you cope with stress, you may want to be evaluated for this problem in addition to your physical injuries.

Stay under your doctor's care until your doctor releases you. Many people stop going to their doctor when they feel better, before the doctor releases them from treatment. Make sure you continue going to the doctor until your doctor releases you! Your doctor knows the complications that could result from your injury. And the other party's insurance company will in the end, pay the cost of going to the doctor if your case is settled.

Collection of Evidence

Make sure you collect witness statements, police reports, medical reports and anything else related to the accident. You or your attorney may need to hire private investigators and accident reconstruction experts. They can gather added physical evidence, such as pieces of the automobile. The other party's insurance company will collect all sorts of information, which may be used against you. You'll be at a serious disadvantage if you don't conduct a thorough investigation to help support your claim.

Get photographs of all the important elements in your case: These include your car and the car that hit you, the accident scene, your injuries, and so forth. Photos are vivid evidence of what you experienced. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Juries find photos to be powerful proof of your injuries. So make sure either you or your attorney gets plenty of photographs. Send your attorney the digital file, negatives and prints of any photos taken by you or anyone else that pertain to your case. If you are unable to take photos, an investigator from your attorney's office should also be available to do this for you.

Keep all bills and receipts related to your accident. If you don't save your bills and receipts, you may not be able to prove the amount of your damages. Be sure to save everything: doctor bills, hospital bills, pharmacy bills and all other bills you incurred because of your accident. Immediately give all bills to your attorney, so that he or she may deal directly with the medical providers on your behalf. Make sure you pay all of your bills by check.

Keep a record of your injuries and day to day progress. If your case goes to trial, you need to be able to tell the jury how many days, weeks or months you were in pain, how long you suffered from headaches, how long you experienced muscle spasms - and so forth. Unless you keep a daily log, your answers may be vague and inaccurate. Don't risk hurting your credibility. Keep a detailed diary so you can back up your claims for damages. And always take this record with you to all medical appointments and to meetings with your attorney.

Documentation is the key to keeping an insurance company honest. If you want to get paid for an expense and other items you are legally supposed to recover, you have to show proof. Many people let legitimate expenses fall through the cracks. But remember, not only does this get these items reimbursed, it also shows just how seriously you were injured. This may give the adjuster a better idea of what happened to you.

Retain a Qualified Attorney

The truth of the matter is that experience and training differs greatly from attorney to attorney. Some attorneys may have years and years of experience drafting wills or shuffling papers in real estate transactions. Why would you want that lawyer representing you in your personal injury case? If you have been injured, you want an experienced attorney on your side.

The lawyer you hire for your personal injury case should have a "proven" track record of taking cases like yours to court in front of live juries and succeeding. Only an experienced personal injury attorney can give you the peace of mind knowing you have given yourself the best chance of winning a fair settlement or verdict.

Many attorneys have lots of cases, but they would never take them to trial. Many lawyers prefer "out of court settlements," primarily because they don't have the skill to take their cases to trial, even if they are offered less than the case is worth. You can rely on the fact that insurance companies know this and take gambles with these soft attorneys. Those insurance companies will never offer you what you truly deserve knowing that your lawyer will never take your case to trial and doesn't have the skills necessary to try a case in court.

Provide documentation

Insurance companies are very skeptical of any claimed injury and will try to dispute that it even actually exists unless unequivocal proof can be provided. Complete documentation in the form of doctors' bills, reports, receipts, diaries and photographs are provided to the insurance adjuster.

As your case progresses, it's important that you work with your doctors, employers and lawyer to properly document the case. When it comes time to provide proof to the insurance company, it should be relatively east to gather these documents and organize them.

Get Vehicle Repaired

Most often, you have two options to have your vehicle repaired. You may have the insurance company covering the person who hit you pay for repairs (the adverse insurance company). If you have collision coverage on your own insurance, you may have your own insurance company make the necessary repairs. Sometimes your own insurance may be more reasonable and provide a better repair than the adverse insurance since you are their customer and they should want to make you happy. Either way, the insurance company is obligated to repair your vehicle to substantially the same condition as it was before the collision. If the cost of repair is greater than the vehicle's current market value, they may declare it to be a total loss. They are then obligated to pay the fair market value to you.

Often, a dispute arises about the fair market value of a vehicle. The insurance company has access to huge databases that seem to indicate a very low value whereas you may be looking at a NADA or Kelly Blue Book value as a more appropriate number. This dispute is often aggravated when a person owes a bank or finance company more money than the car is worth. Sometimes this difference is several thousand dollars. Many people assume if someone destroys your car, they are obligated to pay off what you owe the bank. Unfortunately, the only obligation is to pay the actual market value. However, often the insurance company will increase their perception of fair market value with a little effort and persistence.

Follow Through with Medical Treatment

Finish Treatment - Get Released from Doctors, Notify Attorney

Your doctors will treat you until they feel you have completely recovered or reach a point where medical care will not improve your injuries. The later condition is called maximum medical improvement. When either point is reached, your doctor will release you from further care. You should notify your attorney as soon as released by your doctors. It is at that point that your attorney begins to perform the largest part of his or her role in resolution of your injury case. It is possible that you will return to one or more of your doctors so they may provide a report or produce further documentation for use in negotiation of your claim.

Attorney Requests Documentation

When your injuries are repaired as well as your doctor thinks possible, its time to provide a complete picture of your injuries, treatment and permanent condition to the insurance company. Your attorney will request medical records, bills, narrative reports, radiographic reports, documentation of lost wages, and documentation of all other expenses related to your injury from each provider. There is usually a significant expense to obtaining these documents, which the attorney will advance on your behalf. Also, in some instances it is important to obtain certified copies of the evidence in your case so that is admissible in court. An attorney will be able to collect the proper format of the relevant evidence for you.

Attorney Prepares Demand

Once all documentation is received, they are organized, summarized and packaged for a settlement proposal to the insurance company. This proposal is called a settlement demand or settlement brochure.

Meet with Attorney for Pre-Demand Conference

Your attorney will want to work closely with you to ensure that the settlement package is accurate, complete and proposes a settlement that you approve. This conference is where your attorney should go over each aspect of your personal injury case, translate what it means and will mean to the insurance company and will give you his or her estimate of the value of the case. The value should be based on both settlement value and the amount a jury is likely to award. A jury amount is larger and naturally most people want to proceed to Court. However, going to court has many additional expenses that are deducted from the final award. The attorney's fee usually increases to a greater percentage of the final amount. Both values should be boiled down to the amount you are likely to receive in the end.

A note about juries. Even the most talented attorney with the most airtight case can be scuttled by a jury. Countless experts have attempted to explain what happens when six or twelve people get together to decide a case and why they decide as they do. There seems to be no real explanation. Perhaps the jurors didn't like the shoes you wore on day three of the trial. Maybe they were daydreaming during the most important piece of evidence. They might just be angry that they couldn't think of a reason to get out of jury duty. Whatever the explanation, great cases sometimes get a verdict of $0.

Attorney Demands Claim to Insurance Adjuster

Once you and your attorney agree that the settlement package is perfect, the claim is sent to the insurance company.

Adjuster and Attorney Negotiate Value of Claim

Once the adjustor has reviewed the demand package, he or she will propose a certain dollar amount to settle your claim. Do not be alarmed by the insultingly small initial offer. The adjustor always initiates negotiations this way and your attorney MUST communicate all offers to you as they are made. Your attorney consults with you and makes a counter offer which is usually ridiculously high. Don't expect that your case will settle for that amount.

Your attorney's negotiation skills are important here. After several more offers and counter offers, a number will be reached that is the most the insurance company will offer. You are the sole decision maker on whether to accept or reject that offer. Your attorney will advise you one way or the other based all the factors of your case, but you make the final decision. If you reject the claim, the case proceeds through the courts over the next year or so.

Attorney Settles Claim or Files a Lawsuit

If you decide to accept the settlement offer, the insurance company will mail the settlement check and release to your attorney. If the settlement negotiations have gotten to a point where the parties are not able to come to an amicable agreement, you and your attorney may need to proceed to file your lawsuit and proceed to the litigation process.

Client Comes in for Settlement Conference

Your attorney will try to negotiate for each of your medical providers to accept a smaller amount than the full medical charge. For instance if you owe the hospital $7,000, your attorney may propose they accept $5,500. The balance goes in your pocket. Some medical providers will routinely reduce their bills and others will not.

Once all the final numbers are determined, you and your attorney meet to go over all the final paperwork releasing the other party from any further liability and disburse the funds. All funds are detailed down to the penny. A check for your portion should be available within s few weeks after this conference.

Attorney Disperses Monies

After the settlement check is deposited into the attorney's trust account and clears. (yes, insurance companies have returned checks and banks have not accepted them for improper endorsements or a myriad of other reasons). All monies are then disbursed to the medical providers, attorney and you.