Legal FAQ?

Do I need to hire a lawyer to handle my automobile accident claim?

Probably so. There is a presumption in the insurance claims industry that the average person knows little or nothing regarding what they have a right to expect after an auto accident. Unfortunately, the insurance adjusters that commonly handle personal injury claims arising out of auto accidents have become accustomed to being able to take advantage of the lack of knowledge of the people who are injured in auto accidents.

An adjuster handles hundreds or even thousands of claims each year while most people may only be involved in one or two auto accidents during their entire lifetime. Thus the adjuster has a distinct advantage. Because adjusters are so often able to capitalize on that advantage, there is an expectation among the insurance companies that their adjusters should be able to take advantage of claimants who have not hired a lawyer.

This means that regardless of what you do or how much you know, an auto accident insurance adjuster will probably not treat you fairly unless you hire an attorney. This is not fair but it is simply the way the claims industry works.

What is the best way to select a personal injury attorney?

The best way to select a personal injury attorney is to obtain the recommendation of other members of the legal community. The other lawyers still know which personal injury attorneys do a good job for their clients. Most of my clients are referred to my law firm by other East Texas attorneys. You should also look for a personal injury attorney that is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. Although there are many fine attorneys that are not Board Certified, an attorney who is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law has shown a commitment to representing injured people. I have been Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1990.

Look for a personal injury attorney who has years of experience. It takes years to learn how to handle all the insurance company games and tricks. They don't teach you these things in law school. I have been handling personal injury cases in East Texas since 1985 and have handled thousands of individual cases for my clients.

Look for a personal injury lawyer that goes to trial. Even if you don't want to go to trial you are better off with a lawyer who has established himself in the legal community as a lawyer who takes his cases to trial if the settlement offers are too low. Having a personal injury TRIAL lawyer represent you makes it more likely that your case will be settled.

Most importantly, find a personal injury lawyer that you respect and trust because at certain points in your case you are simply going to have to trust your lawyer's judgment and have faith that he is looking out for your best interests.

Should I give a recorded statement to the defendant's insurance company?

No, not unless you're just in the mood to be skinned. Insurance adjusters take recorded statements in an effort to find an excuse not to pay a claim. By giving a recorded statement you won't help and you may hurt yourself.

If I am involved in an automobile accident can I make the other driver's insurance company total my car rather than fixing it?

No. When you are the innocent party in an auto accident, Texas law requires that the at-fault driver pay the lesser of the reasonable cost of repair or the fair market value of your vehicle at the time of the accident. Current Texas law allows the other driver's insurance company to make the decision regarding whether a vehicle is totaled.

What are my chances of resolving my case by settlement as opposed to going to trial?

Studies show that settlements account for more than 99% of all cases. If your case is properly prepared by a good lawyer it is extremely likely that it will be resolved by settlement.

How much is my car wreck claim worth?

It depends on the facts of the case.  Some car wreck claims are worth a great deal.  I settled one car wreck claim for $6,000,000.00.Other car wreck claims are not worth anything.  I have seen studies that indicate that the majority of car wreck claims involving soft tissue injuries settle for an amount between $5,000.00 and $15,000.00.

The value of a car wreck claim simply depends on the facts and circumstances surrounding the wreck and the extent and duration of the injuries.  There is no one answer or rule of thumb that works in every case.

If I did not cause the automobile accident why should I file my medical bills on my Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance?

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is a no-fault, no subrogation interest, medical payments coverage that pays for the accident related medical expenses, lost wages, and certain other expenses, of all persons who are injured in a covered auto accident. PIP pays for accident related medical expenses regardless of whether there are other applicable insurance coverages.

Premiums that you pay for PIP coverage take into account the fact that PIP does not have any subrogation interest and that there may be other insurance that might otherwise pay for the applicable medical expenses. PIP coverage is oftentimes likened to life insurance. If someone with three life insurance policies dies then all three policies pay the specified benefits. PIP insurance is designed to pay an amount equal to your auto accident related medical expenses regardless of fault or the availability of other insurance coverage.

Is your law firm experienced in handling motorcycle accidents?

Yes. Over the 20 plus years that I have handled personal injury claims in East Texas I have handled many motorcycle accident cases including a number that involved catastrophic injuries. I recently concluded a motorcycle accident case that occurred when the motorcycle struck construction debris in the roadway causing the motorcycle to crash resulting in head injuries to the motorcycle rider. The life care plan exceeded 15 million dollars. The case was favorably settled for a confidential amount.

Is the law regarding motorcycle accidents different from the law that applies to other motor vehicle accidents?

No. Motorcycles fall under the same laws and regulations as other motor vehicles for the most part. However, motorcycle accident cases involve tactical considerations unique to motorcycle cases.

If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident you would be well-advised to find an experienced trial lawyer who has handled a number of motorcycle accident cases.

What does Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law mean?

A lawyer is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law if he has completed all the requirements for Board Certification as set forth by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The Texas Board of Legal Specialization is a division of the State Bar of Texas. The State Bar of Texas is the professional and regulatory organization that oversees the practice of law in the State of Texas.

What are the requirements to become Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law?

Board Certification requires both experience and the successful completion of a written examination.

To be eligible to sit for the Board Certification exam a lawyer must

  1. have practiced for at least five (5) years and devoted a substantial part of his practice to personal injury cases
  2. have tried at least ten (10) trials to verdict and,
  3. receive favorable recommendations from fellow lawyers and judges.

The Board Certification examination for Personal Injury Trial Law involves a rigorous day long written examination covering all areas of both state and federal law and procedure applicable to personal injury cases. About one out of every four lawyers who take the Board Certification exam for Personal Injury Trial Law fails the exam.

Why won't the defendant's insurance company pay for my medical treatment before we settle?

The only incentive that the defendant's insurance company has to pay any funds to an injured person is to finally settle the claim. If they paid for your medical treatment they would be helping you document your injuries and relieving your financial pressure. The insurance companies want you to be financially stressed in hopes that you will feel pressure to settle your case cheaply in order to pay your medical bills.

If the defendant's insurance company is ultimately going to have to pay for my damages why are we making a claim directly against the defendant?

Texas law requires that a claim be made directly against the at-fault party. This is true even though the at-fault party will not ultimately pay any part of the settlement or verdict.

Many states have a "direct action" statute that allows an injured party to make a claim directly against the responsible insurance company. Thus far the insurance lobby in Texas has prevented Texas from having such a direct action statute.

Why can't the jury be told that insurance will pay for my damages?

In most cases Texas law prohibits the jury from knowing that insurance covers the injured person’s damages. This law is a testament to the power of the insurance lobby in Texas.

Texas insurance companies want to trick juries into believing that the individual defendant will have to personally pay the verdict. Insurance companies hope that by deceiving the jury a lower verdict will result than if the jury knew the truth.

Can an injured worker sue an employer for an on the job injury?

Yes. If the employer does not have worker's compensation insurance then the employer is a "nonsubscriber" and the injured employee may bring an ordinary negligence claim and recover monetary damages for pain and suffering, physical impairment, disfigurement, loss of wage earning capacity, and medical expenses.

Furthermore, a negligent employer that does not maintain worker's compensation insurance loses the right to reduce the injured worker's recovery by alleging that the accident was the result of the injured worker's own negligence unless the injured worker's negligence was the sole cause of the incident.

If an employer carries worker's compensation insurance the injured worker cannot sue the employer for an on the job injury.

There are two exceptions to the immunity granted by the worker's compensation law to negligent employers. An injured employee can sue an employer for an intentional injury and the dependent family members of a deceased employee can sue an employer to recover punitive damages if the employer's gross negligence causes the worker's death.

What is a bad faith insurance claim?

Your insurance company has a duty to handle your claim promptly, reasonably, and in "good faith." A "bad faith" lawsuit is really a lawsuit for the breach of the common law duty of good faith and fair dealing in the performance of a contract under Texas law. If an insurance company fails or refuses to honor its contract and pay a valid claim, you may have the right to bring a civil action for damages against that insurance company. The primary Texas statute that regulates the conduct of insurance companies in Texas is Chapter 541 of the Texas Insurance Code.

What damages can I recover for the wrongful denial of my claim by my insurance company?

If your insurance company wrongfully refuses to pay a valid claim, engages in delay tactics, fails to pay a reasonable amount, or commits one of any number of the other abusive tactics that are so commonly used by insurance companies then you may recover not only the amount that you are entitled to receive under the contract but also extra-contractual damages.

Extra-contractual damages caused by your insurance company's bad faith claims handling practices may include economic damages caused by the bad faith conduct, mental anguish damages caused by the bad faith conduct, attorney's fees, and punitive damages. Some insurance company misconduct falls under the regulation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

If an insurance company commits a "false, misleading of deceptive trade practice" as defined by the Act then the misbehaving insurance company may be forced to pay actual damages, double damages, treble damages, attorney's fees and costs of court.

When does my insurance company have to act in "good faith"?

Under Texas law the parties to a contract must act in good faith in the performance of a contract. Thus, in most situations your insurance company is legally obligated to act in "good faith" while they are dealing with you regarding a claim on your own insurance policy. Unfortunately, insurance companies often ignore their legal obligations until you hold their feet to the fire.

Why is my own insurance company treating me so badly on my underinsured and uninsured motorist claim under my own policy?

Because recent insurance friendly changes to Texas law have eliminated the ability of the personal injury lawyers who police the insurance industry to sue the insurance companies for bad faith until after the primary underinsured/ uninsured motorists claim is resolved.

The duty of good faith and fair dealing in the performance of the contract still applies to your insurance company when they are dealing with you while you are making a claim under you own insurance policy.

However, like most of the legal doctrines that regulate insurance companies in Texas this area of the law has been eroded by the insurance friendly courts over the last 15 years.

If you are injured by the negligence of an uninsured or underinsured motorist and you have uninsured or underinsured coverage then you have a right to make a claim for those benefits.

In the past if your insurance company drug their feet, ignored you, took ridiculous positions, or engaged in other dilatory conduct as they are prone to do then you could sue them immediately for "bad faith."

This immediate consequence made insurance companies behave. Now you must first file a lawsuit for UM/UIM benefits, go to trial, and prove that you are entitled to the benefits before you can sue your insurance company for their bad faith conduct during your UM/UIM claim.

The insurance companies aren't stupid. They know that many lawyers rarely or have never tried a personal injury or insurance case and thus the chance of one of these lawyers holding them accountable at trial for bad faith is very remote.

If you're having trouble with an insurance company and are considering hiring a lawyer to help you then you may want to ask the lawyer how many personal injury or insurance cases he has tried to verdict. The insurance companies will know whether your lawyer goes to trial and you should too.

If an insurance company has to act in good faith how does the insurance company for the people that caused the accident get away with treating people so badly?

In Texas, parties to a contract have a duty of good faith and fair dealing in the performance of the contract. Until the 1990's this duty applied to not only the parties to the contract but also to the "intended beneficiaries" of the contract. In the past, if you were injured by someone else's negligence and they had insurance covering their conduct then you were considered to be an intended beneficiary of the contract and the insurance company and their adjusters were obligated to act in good faith in handling the matter.

If the insurance adjusters got out of line then they could be sued for "bad faith" which is really just the breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. Using the bad faith laws the personal injury lawyers did a good job of policing the insurance companies and making them behave.

However, over the last 15 years the Texas courts have become increasingly "insurance friendly" and during the 1990's the duty of an insurance company to conduct themselves in good faith while handling claims against their negligent insureds was eliminated.

At this point if you have been hurt by someone else's negligence and their insurance company is treating you unfairly then your choice is either to just accept the abuse or to hire a lawyer that will file a lawsuit.

Many lawyers do not go to trial and the insurance companies take this into account when settling their client's claims. My law firm files lawsuits and goes to trial when necessary.

Why won't the hospital file on my health insurance for my accident related medical expenses?

Hospitals frequently refuse to file on an accident victim's health insurance and instead file a grossly inflated hospital lien against the insurance of the person causing the accident. This practice is a violation of Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code Chapter 146.

Years ago Chapter 55 of the Texas Property Code was enacted giving Texas hospitals a lien for the "reasonable and regular" charges for emergency medical services upon the insurance of the person at fault in causing an accident.

The idea was that because Texas hospitals are obligated to provide emergency medical care to injured persons who present with emergency medical needs at an emergency room that the hospital should in exchange have a lien for the cost of these emergency medical services upon the insurance of the person causing the accident.

Unfortunately, most hospitals "regularly" send out bills that are inflated by several times more than the "reasonable" charges. A recent study concluded that hospitals initially charge approximately 250% of the reasonable and necessary charge for emergency medical services.

If the hospital submits the inflated bill to private health insurance then they will be reimbursed only the reasonable and necessary charge.

A Texas hospital bill is like a Texas prison sentence, it doesn't mean what it says. However, if the hospital files a lien for the full amount and gets away with it then they have gotten a 250% "bonus".

After more than twenty-five years and thousands of personal injury cases there is virtually nothing that we haven't seen and successfully handled. There is no substitute for experience. If you want the assistance of an experienced Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney in the Tyler / East Texas area contact us today.

Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law

903-531-9300