Millions of people visit Texas each year, while millions more reside in Texas permanently. Inevitably, Texas sees more than its fair share of motor vehicle accidents. Texas recorded 4,481 fatalities and 18,880 serious injuries sustained in traffic accidents in 2022. The estimated economic loss for all motor vehicle crashes in Texas in 2022 was $55,900,000,000.
After a Texas car accident, many clients want to know:
- Whether they should hire an attorney,
- How to get more money from a car accident settlement, and
- What losses they can recover in a car accident settlement.
Our team at Armstrong Lee & Baker, LLP, can answer these questions and address any other concerns you may have about filing a claim. With more than a decade of experience helping clients receive the compensation they deserve for car accident injuries, our team is confident in our ability to represent you.
Contact a car accident attorney at Armstrong Lee & Baker today to discuss your accident claim. Our office offers free, no-obligation consultations.
How to Get More Money from a Car Accident Settlement
The best way to get more money from a car accident settlement is typically by hiring a qualified attorney to handle your case. Your attorney will guide you through the damages you can recover in a personal injury case. We will gather invoices and other documentation to calculate the true value of your losses and fight to obtain a settlement offer that fully compensates you. We can consult with experts to ascertain the economic value of your losses, like pain and suffering or emotional distress.
What Should I Do After a Car Accident to Maximize Money from a Car Accident?
Many car accident victims feel helpless in the aftermath of their collision. However, there are a number of steps you can take to preserve information about your accident that will help your attorney calculate the full extent of your losses.
Report Your Accident to Law Enforcement
The first thing you should do after an accident is contact law enforcement and request an officer to respond to the scene. The police officer will create an accident report containing basic information about your collision, such as:
- Identifying information for the parties involved in the crash,
- The officer’s impression of who caused the accident,
- Insurance coverage information for involved parties, and
- Names and statements from eyewitnesses.
The police report can provide valuable proof for your accident claim.
Additionally, if you leave the scene before police respond, you may face criminal charges for hit and run. The last thing you need to deal with while you navigate your injuries is a criminal charge. Thus, you should wait for law enforcement to arrive and provide them with the information they need.
Collect Evidence at the Scene
Car accidents are unplanned, spontaneous events that typically end as quickly as they start. Thus, the evidence of your accident will start to deteriorate almost immediately. If you are physically able, you can preserve some information at the scene of the crash to give to your attorney for your lawsuit.
Evidence you should collect at the scene includes:
- Locations of surveillance cameras that captured the collision,
- Photographs of the accident scene, and
- Statements from anyone who witnessed the rear-end collision.
You can also jot down what you remember about the moments before, during, and right after the crash. Your memory of the accident will start to fade once the accident ends. Your written recollection can help refresh your memory about your thoughts and feelings in the immediate aftermath of the collision.
Seek Medical Attention
Your injuries will play a critical role in the amount of your car accident settlement. Thus, seeking medical attention after your accident is a critical step to documenting the injuries you sustained. You need to seek medical treatment as soon as you can after the accident. Otherwise, the opposing party may claim you suffered injuries in a separate incident.
Can I Still Recover Car Accident Money If I Was Partially at Fault?
Yes, you can still recover a car accident settlement if you were partially to blame for the accident. Texas is a fault-based state for purposes of insurance coverage after a car accident. In a fault-based state, the at-fault party is responsible for compensating the injured party for certain losses sustained in the accident. A person is at-fault for an accident if their negligent or wrongful act caused the accident.
Texas uses the rule of modified comparative negligence to determine whether a party can recover for their accident. This means you can recover through a personal injury claim as long as you are less than 51% responsible for the collision. Your judgment is reduced by your portion of the blame.
For example, if a jury finds that you suffered $250,000 worth of damages, but you were 20% percent at fault in causing the crash, the net verdict would award you $200,000.
This is because the total damages of $250,000 would be reduced by your percentage of fault.
Contact Armstrong Lee & Baker Today to Discuss How to Get Money from a Car Accident Claim
While no amount of money can heal your car accident injuries, a car accident settlement can compensate you for the expenses you incur due to the collision, like medical expenses and lost wages. We can help hold the opposing party accountable for the losses they caused in the crash.
At Armstrong Lee & Baker, we treat our clients like members of our family, not just another case walking through the door. We will take the time to sit down with you and listen to the details of your car accident. If you or a loved one suffers injuries in a Texas car accident, contact us to schedule a free initial consultation. We look forward to putting our knowledge and resources to work for you.
C.J. Baker represents victims with serious injuries and has won millions of dollars for victims of 18-wheeler crashes, oilfield equipment failures, offshore platform explosions, and defective medical devices. C.J. graduated summa cum laude from Texas Tech University School of Law in 2016. He was an editor of the Texas Tech Law Review and a top national trial and moot-court advocate.