After a Car Accident – Working With The Auto Insurance Company
Working With The Auto Insurance Company
Working with an auto insurance company can be a huge headache for accident victims. Insurers often use a variety of tactics on accident victims during so-called negotiations that may or may not be beneficial for the victim in the long run. What you should know as an accident victim is that whenever a claims adjuster shows some resistance with respect to a claim, you are not obligated to take a lower settlement offer as final.
Some individuals want to know if they need a lawyer for a car accident, especially if they do not intend to file a lawsuit. Even if an accident victim doesn’t intend to file a suit, having a lawyer by his or her side when attempting to work with the auto insurance company can prove to be quite valuable. More on this webpage
If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident and you believe that you need help working with the auto insurance company, contact one of our knowledgeable attorneys as soon as possible. Call us toll-free or email us today for more information.
Insurance Requirements Under Texas Law
Texas requires its drivers and vehicle owners to be financially responsible for their actions with respect to the vehicles they operate. All drivers and owners must have written proof of financial responsibility. Under state law, drivers can prove financial responsibility by having:
At least $30,000 of coverage for injuries per person, up to a total of $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for property damage. This is called 30/60/25 coverage. Individuals who don’t have the above-mentioned evidence can face legal penalties that will only make a bad car accident situation even worse.
Working With The Auto Insurance Company To Reach A Fair Agreement
Individuals who have suffered injuries and damages in automobile accidents want to obtain the most amount of compensation to which they feel entitled. However, claims adjusters are constantly looking to find ways to lower potential payouts and save the insurance company as much money as possible.
Two parties with competing interests can lead to some difficult negotiations. That said, accident victims who are concerned with ensuring that they obtain the best possible outcome should consider working with a local accident lawyer who has experience in dealing with insurance companies. More information here
One thing that accident victims should keep in mind is that insurers often attempt to rush victims to agree to settlements as quickly as possible. However, if an accident victim agrees too soon, he or she may miss out on compensation for additional medical and repair bills that the insurer or victim might not have considered initially.
If you or a family member has been in an accident and you’re thinking about handling insurance negotiations on your own, contact one of our lawyers first. Call us toll-free or email us to schedule an appointment today.
Uninsured & Under-Insured Motorist Accidents
Uninsured & Under-Insured Motorist Accidents
Have You Been in an Accident with an Uninsured or Under-Insured Texas Motorist? Our Law Office Can Help!
In Texas, numerous drivers are on the roads without car insurance or without the proper level of car insurance. The Insurance Research Council estimates that Texas drivers have a 14% chance of getting into a car wreck with an uninsured driver. What happens if an uninsured driver causes a car accident?
There May Actually be Coverage
Many drivers will simply pretend not to have insurance when they cause an accident. Some drivers actually do not have insurance but many more are simply lying and are trying to scam you to keep their own insurance premiums low. While this is certainly illegal, it is also hard for police to track and the responsibility to catch the defendant falls on you.
Scam 1: They Pretend That They Don’t Have Insurance
This is quite an effective little scam whereby someone will cause an accident, claim that they don’t have any insurance, the police will arrive and issue them a citation for not having insurance (or possibly, they will be arrested), and then they will simply take their insurance card to the courthouse at a later date and will get the ticket dismissed or charges dropped. Unfortunately, many people fall for this scam. The solution is to hire an attorney that can investigate the defendant. We have ways of tracking down their insurance information and holding them accountable.
Scam 2: They Claim There is no Insurance on a Particular Vehicle
In this scam, the person who causes an accident is borrowing a vehicle from a friend or relative. They will cause an accident and the car they are driving does not have insurance but their own car does. When you have insurance on your own vehicle and you drive someone else’s vehicle, often time your insurance will cover that other vehicle as well. The way to determine whether the driver’s insurance is applicable to a car they are borrowing is to hire an attorney that can investigate and examine the policy for specific language and legalese.
Scam 3: The Owner Lets an Uninsured Driver Borrow Their Car
This is a scam that is really the handiwork of the insurance company. You will get hit by a car that the owner has insured, but the owner lent the car to a driver with no insurance of their own and that driver causes the accident. When you contact the insurance company to file your claim (you should never file an injury claim without an attorney helping you) they tell you that the claim is denied because the vehicle policy only covers the owner of the vehicle and not a friend that he or she lent the car to.
This is a perfect example of the insurance company using your ignorance of the law against you. While the insurance company is technically right (they only insure the negligent actions of the owner and not of other drivers) the borrower that caused the accident is not the only one acting negligently. The owner of the car may very well be negligent under a legal theory known as “negligent entrustment”, provided you can prove that they knowingly lent their vehicle to a driver that they knew to be likely to cause an accident. This is a very specific legal tactic that does not always apply to every case and if handled wrong may result in a countersuit against you so you must hire an experienced attorney to handle such a claim for you.
Scam 4: Excluded Drivers
The caveat to the material mentioned in Scam 3 is that people can specifically exclude certain drivers from their policy. For example, if the vehicle’s owner has a 16-year-old child living in their household, the insurance company will raise their rates whether the child is known to be driving the car or not, simply because the risk of them possibly driving the car is considerable. However, if the vehicle owner amends their policy to specifically exclude the 16-year-old driver, then the insurance company is accurate in saying that the policy technically does not cover that driver. So if this minor driver does borrow the family car and cause an accident, the insurance company will maintain that they do not cover that driver and that your claim is invalid. By excluding such a driver, the insurance policy probably would not cover the negligent entrustment claim. In such a case, filing a suit against the vehicle’s owner or the guardian of the child (usually the same) may be your only option.
Scam 5: A False Claim That the Car was Stolen
The more you know about the law, the more you realize that friends and family that give pseudo-legal advice about the law are usually wrong. Most of the “conventional wisdom” about how to avoid liability is all nonsense. One such rumor is that if someone you lend your car and they cause an accident, you can just report the car as stolen and then your insurance company won’t have to pay anything and you can just get away without any hit against your insurance policy. That is not accurate. Unfortunately, the police don’t often have the time to delve into every such accusation far enough to determine that the vehicle owner is lying. By hiring an experienced Texas car accident attorney you can ensure that scams like this are uncovered and exposed. Our attorneys have helped thousands of car accident victims and we can typically help people who are the victims of these types of scams as well.
Another Option: Your Own Policy’s Supplemental Coverage
In the event that the other driver genuinely does not have any insurance coverage, you may be able to file a claim against your own policy. Many people are rather disinterested in this since they feel like they are hurting themselves by filing such a claim. On the contrary, that is precisely what certain portions of your policy are for and, if handled properly, you will not risk hurting your insurability. Not filing an uninsured motorist claim when the situation legitimately warrants such action is like buying health insurance and then paying your doctor in cash. It just doesn’t make any sense.
It’s Not Quite That Easy
However, filing an injury claim against your own policy is not the same and filing a property damage claim. Your own insurance company will put forth great effort to keep you from receiving the compensation you deserve because, frankly, they sell the additional coverage to your liability policy (known as a “rider” or “add on”) hoping that you never use it.
The state legislature recognizes this problem with insurance companies trying to sell policies that they have no intention of paying out on. As such, they have passed laws that enable plaintiff’s attorneys to sue an insurance carrier on behalf of their clients in the event that the carrier unfairly denies a claim that a policyholder makes on their own policy. But it’s a delicate process and certainly one that only the most experienced attorneys should attempt.
What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
According to the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (the rules that govern civil law in Texas), a personal injury is a type of injury that occurs “as a result of the actions or inaction of another person or entity.” Personal injuries include physical injuries, the physical pain, and emotional suffering that those injuries caused, and fair compensation for all your bills lost income and possible disability as a result of the injury. In a personal injury lawsuit, the victim is called the plaintiff and the party that caused the injury is the defendant. And there though there can only be one plaintiff (or plaintiff family), many times there can be more than one defendant, depending on the specifics surrounding the injury.
One of the most basic concepts that many don’t fully understand about personal injury lawsuits is that the victim is not uniformly entitled to collect money from the defendant just because the defendant may have injured the victim. It’s never that simple, even if many would like you to believe that it is. Very rare is the personal injury lawsuit that ends up being an open-and-shut case. But occasionally, it does happen.
In fact, the scales of justice are tilted in favor of the defendant, and the law presumes that he owes the victim nothing. All the defendant has to do to win is say “prove it.” Then, if you can’t, the defendant wins. The only way to recover what you deserve for your injuries is to gather sufficient evidence and present it persuasively enough to tip the scales of justice in your favor. This is called the “burden of proof” which is always on the victim/plaintiff. In every instance, your evidence must demonstrate that the defendant was clearly negligent, that the defendant was the proximate (or immediate) cause of your injuries, and that you are entitled to damages. If you fail to accomplish even one of these three important tasks, the law won’t allow you to recover fair compensation for your injuries.
In a defendant’s efforts to avoid liability, their insurance company (or representing attorneys) will offer a grab-bag of apparently good reasons why he is not liable. So in addition to proving the defendant’s guilt, you must also clearly disprove all of their arguments for the defense. And sometimes their responses and charges can get rather vicious. So be prepared for a bumpy ride.
Put our years of experience to work for you if you want to know what your rights are, how to proceed with your claim and how much compensation you can win from your personal injury case. Regardless of how it happened, we’ll answer all of your questions. Call our Law Firm now at 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation and find out how we can help you.
San Antonio Dog Bite Attorneys | Animal Attack Lawyers
San Antonio Dog Bite Attorneys | Animal Attack Lawyers
Dogs, like most instinctual beings, do not like to feel threatened or endangered by another person or animal. When a dog feels vulnerable, its natural instinct is to protect itself, using force if necessary. The most common dog attacks happen because the animal is threatened, excited or provoked by a human being. click on this link for more information about dog bite law @ https://no1-lawyer.com/animal-attack-dog-bite-lawyer-midland/
Certain breeds of dogs are more likely to attack because of their genetic make up. The most common breeds involved in dog attacks are pit bulls and rottweilers, together contributing to almost half of all reported dog bites. Heredity does have an impact on the aggressiveness of the animal, however a dog can be trained to be less violent with proper care and socialization.
Dogs that are neglected, beaten or not accustomed to being around people are generally more likely to bite or attack, especially if they feel threatened. All dogs are very protective of their personal space and, if this space is violated, may act viciously to keep people away. You should never approach a dog that is not aware of your presence, especially if the dog is eating, playing with a toy, or protecting its young. Any dog that feels threatened may attack if it thinks it is necessary. More here @ https://truckaccidentattorneysa.com/dog-bite-lawyers-san-antonio/
Dogs that are taught to play aggressively with their owners are more likely to attack other individuals. Therefore, even if you are playing gently, the dog may begin to act forcefully and even try to bite you. To be safe, it is a good idea to avoid playing roughly with a dog especially if its owner is not around or it is not comfortable with you.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a dog bite or animal attack, you need the representation of an experienced Texas dog bite injury lawyer at our firm. Our attorneys have successfully recovered damages for dog bite victims and appropriately held negligent dog owners responsible for injuries and hardships resulting from the attack.
If you have been the victim of a dog bite or animal attack, contact a reputable dog bite lawyer at our firm today for your free legal consultation or click here @https://caraccidentattorneysa.com/dog-bite-lawyer-san-antonio/