Harlingen – Brownsville – Rio Grande Valley Serious Auto Accident Attorneys

Serious car and other motor vehicle accidents require the guidance of an experienced attorney. At O'Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath, our motor vehicle attorneys have experience and an impressive track record representing people who have suffered significant injuries in auto, truck (commercial and personal), motorcycle, and other motor vehicle accidents. We work with physicians and other health care providers to assess and review all the short and long-term medical aspects of your case. Our years of experience with Texas automobile, insurance, and liability laws mean that we understand all of the recovery options available for accident victims and their families. Contact us today.

How To React To An Auto Accident

Many people think that common sense dictates what is to be done after an auto accident. Maybe so, but our common sense can desert us under stress. It is a good idea to keep this simple checklist in mind when you are involved in an incident.

• Get help for anyone injured.
• Call the police if someone is injured or killed, if a vehicle can’t be moved, or if the accident involved a hit-and-run driver.
• Move your car, if possible, to avoid blocking traffic and to protect it from further loss or damage. But be careful—many people are injured at accident scenes each year by other drivers who are not paying attention.
• Get the other driver’s name, address, telephone number, license plate number, driver’s license number, and insurance information. Give the other driver the same information.
• Record the insurance company name and the policy number exactly as they appear on the other driver’s proof-of-insurance card.
• Don’t sign anything except a ticket, citation, or report issued by the police.
• Notify your insurance company promptly. It will want the names and addresses of witnesses and injured persons. Never sign any document that gives up a legal right.
• Contact us to find out about your right to recover for your injuries.
• Remember, insurance companies are not in the business of paying claims, no matter what their advertising says. They are in the business of collecting premiums. Insurance adjustors definitely do not have your best interests in mind. Be careful.

Texas law gives you two years to settle or file an accident claim from the date of the accident. Call us to learn all of your legal rights. We will advise you and, if appropriate, we will deal with the insurance company or other parties on your behalf.

What Our Car Wreck Injury Law Firm Can Do for You

1. Evaluate any bodily injury claim to determine the amount of money to which you are entitled.
2. Help you with the property damage portion of your claim.
3. Resolve complex issues and negotiate an overall settlement.
4. Deal with your doctors, obtain your medical records, reports, and billing statements, and notify medical care providers as to whom to bill.
5. Have an investigator interview witnesses, take statements, and photograph the accident scene and your vehicle.
6. File a lawsuit, if necessary.

Uninsured Motorist Insurance – A Good Idea

Even though all South Texas motorists are required to have automobile insurance, it is hardly a secret that not all drivers obey the law. To protect yourself if you are hit by another driver who does not have any insurance, or who does not carry enough insurance to pay for all of the damages his negligence causes, it is a good idea to carry uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance coverage, known as “UM/UIM.”

UM/UIM insurance covers you for personal injuries and some other kinds of damages caused when you are hit by a person with no insurance or not enough insurance. If the driver who hits you does not have insurance of his own, UM/UIM coverage is the best way to protect yourself and those riding with you from the damages these uninsured motorists cause. The only alternative is to sue the uninsured motorist, and a driver who does not have enough money to afford insurance usually does not have enough money to pay the judgment you get if you win the lawsuit.

For the protection it provides, UM/UIM coverage is a wise insurance buy. If you do not already have UM/UIM insurance, contact your insurance company about adding it to your policy. If you already carry UM/UIM insurance, it would be wise to make sure that you have enough to protect you from an unexpected loss.

Auto Wreck Duty of Care

Did the person who caused the car wreck meet the duty of care? Frequently, the answer is “no.” Although many people feel morally obliged to look out for the safety and welfare of others, the law has generally proven itself reluctant to require people to take affirmative steps to protect others, even where they are able to do so. This means that, in order to be held legally liable for another person’s injuries, the law generally looks for some reason to impose a specific duty to be careful—some reason other than just because care is required. Without a legal duty of care, no legal liability for negligence exists.

In connection with the ownership of a car, this means that, while husbands, wives, sons, and daughters may share their lives and their households, they usually do not also share liability for each other’s negligent driving. Even if a parent or a spouse has given another family member permission to use a car, and even if the parent or spouse is the owner of the car, and even if the car is on a policy of insurance with other family cars in the parent’s or spouse’s name, the parent or spouse has no automatic liability for the unexpected negligence of the driver. Likewise, loaning a car to a friend does not make you liable for the friend’s unexpected negligent driving.