General Information on Car Wrecks,

Motorcycle and Auto Accidents and

Other Motor Vehicle Accident Claims

         The largest percentage of personal injury and property damage claims requiring the assitance of a lawyer or attorney arise out of motor vehicle collisions involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians.   These claims can range from car accidents involving minor property damage claims to catastrophic injury claims.  While many assume that their car accident claim will be handled in an appropriate manner by the insurance carrier of the responsible party, they fail to recognize that under Texas law in a car wreck case the other party’s insurance carrier has, for the most part, no duty to treat anyone other than their own insured in a fair manner.  While Texas courts recognize that an insurance company has to deal in good faith with their insured, the courts have not recognized any duty to treat the insured’s car wreck victim in a similar manner.  Not only does the negligent party’s insurance carrier not owe the victim such a duty, if the claim cannot be resolved fairly, the victim is forced to sue the negligent party and not the insurance company. Texas law also provides that the jury is not to be informed of the fact that the negligent party has insurance to cover the claim. As insurance carriers have many of the cards stacked in their favor, it is important that you know your rights prior to dealing with the other party’s insurance carrier.

         The best way to determine what your rights are and to assure that your auto accident claim is handled properly is to consult an attorney Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law.   The Board Certified lawyers of Bemis, Roach and Reed will provide you with a free consultation on personal injury matters within our practice area, either over the phone or in the office, depending on your needs.   Our firm will also send a lawyer to meet with a prospective client who, because of a serious injury, is unable to travel.  There is no reason not to consult with a board certified attorney regarding your or a family member’s auto accident claim.   If a person has been in a car wreck and our lawyers believe that the prospective client would be better off handling the matter on their own, we will tell them so and give them advice as to how to handle the claim.   In fact, our firm has gained many referrals from potential clients who followed our lawyers' advice and successfully resolved cases on their own.

         Whether a person should handle the case themselves or have an attorney represent them depends on a variety of factors.  While the size of the person’s claim is an important factor, it is not the controlling factor.   We have found that often in even in a small car wreck case a person is much better off with a lawyer.   Even if the insurance company accepts responsibility for the damage to the vehicle, they regularly deny responsibility for all or a substantial portion the personal injuries caused by the collision.   Insurance carriers know that most individuals don’t know how to properly evaluate their claim and because of this the company feels free to discount the claim of those persons not represented by an personal injury attorney.  The insurance company also knows that if the victim is unwilling to accept the company’s low ball offer that the victim will have to hire an attorney, so the insurance company further discounts the claim by not only the amount of the fees that the person would have to incur to fairly resolve the claim, but by whatever amount they think they can get away with in order to wear down the victim.  This is supported by the fact that when one of the county’s largest insurance companies was forced to disclose its claims manual it was discovered that the company informed its adjusters that persons represented by attorneys did far better off than those who were not represented.  The manual then goes on to say that they are to tell the claimants that the opposite is true.

Another important consideration in deciding to hire an attorney is the issue of health insurance subrogation.  Very few liability insurance carriers will pay your medical bills as you incur them.  The insurance carrier will only want to pay your bills at the conclusion of your claim.  This is done in an effort to place you in an economic bind so that you will settle your case cheaply and prior to completing all necessary treatment. As a result, you will be placed in the position of being forced to either pay your medical bills out of pocket or use your own health insurance.  Using your health insurance, if available, is the preferred option.  However, your health insurance company may have a right under its insurance contract with you to recover out of any settlement with a negligent third party those amounts your health insurance company paid in medical benefits.  This right of recovery out of your settlement is termed the right of “subrogation.”  The problem that develops which requires the assistance of an experienced attorney is that many health insurance companies want to recover their costs out of the settlement even if that leaves you with no recovery at all.  Even if a liability carrier is willing to provide you with all of the available liability insurance limits, you will likely need an attorney to ensure that these limits are not paid directly to the health insurance carrier.  The goal is not to deny your health insurance company its right of subrogation, the goal is to be sure that your recovery of damages takes precedence over the subrogation claims of your health insurance carrier. It should be your position that you must be made whole before the insurance company has any right to recovery.  The health insurance company’s rights in this regard are dependent upon the health insurance policy and the complex interaction of both state law and ERISA, the federal law that governs many employer provided health insurance plans.  That is why it is imperative that you do not provide your health insurance company with information regarding your liability claim until you have taken the opportunity to contact a personal injury lawyer familiar with the application of ERISA to your claim. The attorneys at Bemis, Roach and Reed are very familiar with the workings of ERISA and our firm is one of the few firms in the nation which devotes a major portion of its practice to representing plaintiffs in ERISA cases.

See Also:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOLLOWING A COLLISION