According to the Texas Department of Transportation, 14, 545 people sustained a serious injury in car accidents in 2020, despite travel down by about 50% due to the pandemic (TDOT). While not extremely likely you will be injured in a car accident, it is still good to know what to do should it ever happen.

Immediate Tips

• Stay calm, no matter the situation. Try not to get angry; your calm may help you prevent further injury to yourself.
• Focus on minimizing movement of the injured area until authorities arrive and you have been assessed by an EMT.
• Call the police immediately and get insurance information from the other drivers.
  • Once your immediate medical needs are seen to, collect as much information as you can at the scene of the accident: reports, photos, insurance information.
• Ask for a copy of the accident report from the police. Accidents must be reported to the police within 24 hours if they are not called immediately to the scene.

Texas is an “at-fault” state

• The person who is at fault in the accident will be responsible for their insurance company paying out the claim.
  • There are two types of claims:
    • Bodily Injury (BI) – for any injury sustained in the accident.
    • Property Damage Liability (PD) – for any damage to your property carried in someone else’s car.
• Having only the responsible party’s insurance pay out for claims avoids increasing your own insurance deductible when you are not at fault.
• If both parties are at fault, it must be determined that the other party is at least 50% at fault in order for you to file a claim on their insurance.

Proving Pain & Suffering

Compensation does not happen immediately. You will need to prove your pain and suffering in court, or at least to the insurance company. Be sure to keep clear records, including:

• Medical bills
• Medical records
• Medical prognosis
• Pictures of the injury
• Any psychiatric records 

Proving who is at fault can be tricky, especially if there is reason to claim some fault from multiple parties. This is why it can be beneficial to hire a practiced injury lawyer to represent your case in court, if need be. You can trust that Hoestenbach Law Group will make every effort to support you, should you ever need our help in resolving such a case.