Every year, thousands of victims across Texas are injured and killed in car accidents. Injury victims have the right to be compensated for their losses. It is important to hold negligent drivers accountable for their dangerous actions in order to prevent other innocent victims from being injured in the future and keep the roads of Texas safer for everyone.
Our experienced legal team is here to help. Our car accident lawyers in Texas have recovered millions of dollars for many injury victims. Learn more about the causes of Texas car accidents, the people who can be injured by negligent drivers, and why you should hire an experienced injury lawyer to protect your legal rights after any car accident.
The Facts About Texas Car Accidents
The Texas Department of Transportation reports that 3,623 victims were killed in traffic accidents across Texas in 2019. Another 15,855 victims were seriously injured, and 256,797 were injured in car crashes that same year. All of this shows that nearly three hundred thousand victims were either killed or injured in Texas car accidents in 2019.
These accidents cost billions of dollars in property damage. Victims also suffered lost wages, and employers suffered lost productivity. The financial cost of this many accidents is staggering. There are also emotional losses. Injury victims endure pain and suffering throughout their recoveries, and if the victim does not survive, family members are left grieving an untimely death.
These emotional losses are often worse than financial losses. A damaged vehicle can be replaced, but there is no amount of money that will take away the pain of a wrongful death caused by a negligent driver.
The Common Causes of Texas Car Accidents
There are many reasons why car accidents happen. Ultimately, the person who was negligent will be found “at fault for causing a car accident and be responsible for compensating all the victims of that accident for their injuries and losses. What follows are a few of the most common causes of Texas car accidents.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving has quickly become one of the largest threats to public safety in the United States. Now, most drivers carry a smartphone with them at all times, in addition to laptops, tablets, and smartwatches. Many new cars also come with built-in entertainment systems and navigation programs.
All of these new distractions are on top of the usual distractions that drivers have always faced, such as children and pets needing attention, food and drink, the radio, and other drivers on the road. Drivers have a legal obligation to operate their vehicles with due care. When they allow themselves to be distracted, they violate this duty and are legally responsible for any injuries that occur as a result.
Impaired Driving
Drivers are also negligent when they operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs, alcohol, prescription medications, or other substances. Prosecutors work hard to press criminal charges against impaired drivers in order to keep them off the road. But even if a driver is not found guilty in the criminal court, they can still be found negligent and ordered to pay for their injuries and losses. It is important for injury victims to understand the difference between the criminal case filed by a prosecutor and their own civil claim.
These are two different cases in two different courts. While a prosecutor must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, civil claims are subject to a lower standard of proof. This lower standard makes it easier for injury victims to get the money they are owed, even if a prosecutor is unable to file charges or get a conviction.
Heavy Traffic
Heavy traffic creates several different risk factors for traffic accidents. First, drivers become impatient in traffic, and this causes many drivers to act aggressively. They might tailgate or change lanes without signaling. These drivers might speed, curse, or use rude gestures. All of this behavior increases the likelihood that someone will be injured in an accident.
Second, heavy traffic causes a lot of acceleration and braking. If a driver becomes bored and stops paying attention, it can be easy to miss the quick changes in “stop and go” traffic. Drivers must be very careful not to let their guard down in heavy traffic in order to prevent accidents.
Speeding
Speeding is a factor in many fatal car accidents. Speed increases the forces that are generated in a collision, and this, in turn, causes more serious injuries. Often these injuries are fatal. Speed also increases the stopping distance a vehicle requires while simultaneously giving a driver less time to react to obstacles in the roadway.
As a result, drivers are not only more likely to crash when they are speeding, but the injuries they cause are more likely to be serious (or even fatal). Drivers have a legal obligation to drive with reasonable caution in light of all current road conditions. If it is raining or snowing, or you are driving at night, your visibility will be limited. You have a legal obligation to slow down in these dangerous conditions. Even going the speed limit can be considered negligent if there are dangerous conditions that make it unsafe to travel that fast.
Dangerous Roadways
Texans are all too familiar with battered roadways. Potholes, cracks, ice and salt damage, excessive summer heat, and other conditions can make it difficult to control your vehicle on uneven road surfaces. In some cases, a jury might find that a government agency or construction company was negligent in failing to maintain the road in a safe condition.
Often, however, a driver is found negligent for failing to adjust to the dangerous roadway conditions. Drivers must slow down and pay attention when they are faced with uneven road surfaces. Motorcycles and bicycles are especially vulnerable to these changes because they do not have the stabilizing features of a large passenger vehicle
The Many Types of Road Users Involved In a Car Accident
When you think of a car accident, you probably imagine the drivers involved. There are many types of drivers who can cause a traffic accident:
- Truck drivers
- Commuters
- Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare drivers
- Delivery drivers
- Taxi drivers
- Bus drivers
- Daycare and medical van drivers
- Emergency vehicles (such as police, fire, and EMS)
Drivers are usually found to be “at fault” for causing car crashes, but they are not the only road users who can be injured in car accidents. Our experienced Texas injury lawyers also represent:
- Passengers
- Motorcycle riders
- Bicyclists
- Pedestrians
- Electric scooter riders
- Rollerbladers
Even bystanders who were nearby can be injured in a car accident. If you have suffered any type of injuries as a result of a driver’s negligence, be sure to consult with our experienced Texas car accident lawyers.
Why You Should Hire a Texas Car Accident Lawyer
There are many reasons why injury victims who hire attorneys consistently receive higher settlements than those who settle their claims on their own. What follows are just a few of the many important things a Texas car accident lawyer will do to protect your legal rights after you have been injured in a crash.
- A lawyer can preserve the evidence that will be needed for your case.
If you do not take action right away, you could lose critical evidence that is needed to prove your case. Surveillance footage could be erased. The insurance companies could discard broken bumpers and other physical evidence from the vehicles involved in the crash. There are many types of evidence that might be used to prove what happened and who was at fault
An injury lawyer can work to preserve this evidence so that it is not destroyed before your case is resolved. It is important to work with an experienced car accident lawyer who knows what evidence should be saved, who to contact, and what to do if they are not cooperative with the investigation.
- A lawyer will protect you from accidentally saying anything to the insurance company that could hurt your case.
Anything you say can be used against you in a personal injury case. Even something you blurt out on the scene of the accident (like “I’m so sorry!” or “I didn’t see you!”) could be twisted to try to put the blame on you. Injury lawyers stop this from happening.
As soon as the insurance company is notified that you have a lawyer, all communications about your claim must go through your attorney’s office. The insurance company is no longer allowed to contact you directly about your claim, protecting you from accidentally saying anything that could hurt your case. It also protects you from high-pressure settlement tactics that the insurance companies use to get injury victims to settle their claims for less than they are worth.
- A lawyer can help you find medical providers who will wait for payment.
It is important to get all the medical care you need. Follow through with all of your doctor’s treatment recommendations to give your body the best chances of recovery. Following through with treatment also protects your legal rights. If you don’t get the recommended treatment, the insurance company could claim that you made your own injuries worse by delaying treatment.
But how do you pay for treatment when you are out of work and your claim has not yet been settled? Injury lawyers know how to find treatment providers who will wait for payment. Chiropractors and other medical providers will sometimes agree to work on a lien, meaning that you pay nothing upfront for your treatment.
Instead, the provider files a lien against your settlement and gets paid when your case is settled. Your attorney will pay off the lien (and deduct their own fees and administrative costs) before distributing the rest of the settlement proceeds to you.
- A lawyer will not advocate for your legal rights against multiple insurance companies.
If there are multiple defendants or multiple insurance policies involved, a personal injury case can quickly become very complicated. Insurance companies often use this confusion to try to point the blame at other defendants. With so much going on, the victim’s rights can get lost in the shuffle. It is critical that you have your own injury lawyer advocating for your rights. If you represent yourself, it will be difficult to stand up to the other attorneys and claims adjusters who have experience getting out of claims.
- A lawyer will give you a fair assessment of what your case is really worth.
You cannot trust anyone from the insurance company to give you a fair valuation of your personal injury claim. Remember, the insurance company is actively working against you for the other side. Their employees are paid to pay as little as possible on as few claims as possible. It is critical that all car accident victims get a fair valuation of their case from an injury lawyer who is on their side.
- If necessary, a lawyer will file a lawsuit and litigate your case through trial.
If the insurance company persists in making a low settlement offer or no offer at all, you will need to file a lawsuit in court. Filing a suit is the first step to a jury trial. Your injury lawyer will explain every step of the process and present a compelling case to the jury to help them understand what your case is really worth.
Experienced, Aggressive Car Accident Attorneys for All Texas Injury Cases
You could spend hours online searching for a “Texas car accident lawyer near me” but you have already found the best personal injury firm in the Lone Star State. Our skilled car crash lawyers have decades of experience handling all types of injury cases. We have collected over 200 million dollars for our clients, and we serve clients all across the Lone Star State.
Whether you are in El Paso, San Antonio, Odessa, Galveston, Austin, College Station, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Victoria, Plano, Grand Prairie, Pecan Grove, Hidalgo, Roma, Manor, or Pecos, our skilled legal team is here to help. Call (888) 398-4017 to schedule your free consultation. Don’t wait to get a Texas car accident lawyer fighting on your side to protect your important legal rights.
