Chris Rehmet

Chris Rehmet learned how the other side thinks long before he represented his first injured client. He spent the early part of his career as a prosecutor in the district attorney’s office, trying cases in front of North Texas juries and standing up for victims of crime. That courtroom background is now pointed squarely at the insurance companies that undervalue claims after a serious accident.

At Tate Law Offices, PC, Chris handles injury claims for clients across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, from Sherman and McKinney down through Dallas and Denton. He knows how insurers build a file, where they look for reasons to pay less, and what it takes to push a claim toward a fair number. He also knows that most people calling a lawyer after a wreck have never done this before, and he treats that first conversation accordingly.

From the District Attorney’s Office to the Injury Side

Prosecutors live in the courtroom. During his time with the district attorney, Chris tried cases, questioned witnesses, and represented crime victims, work that teaches a lawyer how to build a case and how to hold steady when the pressure is on.

That is a different education than the one most injury lawyers get. A prosecutor has to prove things to a jury, on a deadline, against an opponent whose whole job is to poke holes in the story. Chris carried that habit of mind to the injury side, where the opponent changed from a defense attorney to an insurance adjuster but the work stayed familiar.

He still builds every file as if a jury will eventually see it. That means clean documentation, medical records that connect the wreck to the injury, and a timeline that holds together. When a case is put together that way from day one, there is far less room for an insurer to argue later.

The Advantage of a Trial-Tested Lawyer

Most injury claims settle rather than go to trial, and the ones that settle for a fair amount are usually the ones an insurer genuinely believes could end up in front of a jury. That belief is the leverage, and it only exists when your lawyer can actually try the case.

An adjuster’s job is partly to guess what a lawyer will do if the offer is too low. A lawyer who has never tried a case is a safer bet to accept whatever is on the table. Chris’s history of trying cases removes that comfort, because the company on the other side is dealing with someone who has stood in front of a jury and is prepared to do it again.

That reputation does quiet work throughout a case. It shapes how seriously an early offer is made, how quickly an insurer responds, and whether the company decides a fair settlement is cheaper than a fight. Clients get the benefit of that pressure whether or not their case ever reaches a courtroom.

Why Does Chris Take On Insurance Companies?

Because he watched people accept far less than their claims were worth, simply because no one had told them the rules. Chris built his practice around that frustration, and it is still the work he chooses every day.

“Insurance companies don’t just roll over and voluntarily pay what they should,” Chris says. “You have to fight them for what is fair. This is what I do every day.”

An insurer is not on your side after a crash, and Chris does not pretend otherwise. The company’s business runs on collecting premiums and paying out as little as it can, and a hurt person without a lawyer is exactly the kind of file it can close cheaply.

Chris answers that with documented medical evidence, a clear account of what the wreck actually cost, and a real willingness to litigate when an offer falls short. You can read more about how the firm handles insurance companies after a claim.

How Do Insurers Try to Pay Less After a North Texas Crash?

They move fast, and they move early, usually before you know how badly you are hurt. The adjuster who calls you within days of a wreck is friendly for a reason, and that reason is not your recovery.

A few of the moves Chris sees over and over:

• The quick offer. A check arrives before your medical picture is clear, and accepting it usually closes the claim for good, even if you need surgery later.
• The recorded statement. You are asked to explain the crash on tape, and ordinary phrases like “I’m okay” or “I didn’t see it coming” get used against you.
• The gap in treatment. If you wait to see a doctor or miss appointments, the insurer argues your injuries are not serious or not related to the wreck.
• The blame shift. The company points to something you did, because under Texas law your recovery shrinks with your share of fault and disappears entirely if your share crosses a certain line.
• The slow walk. The claim sits, calls go unreturned, and the hope is that bills and stress push you into taking less.

None of that is illegal, and none of it is a mistake on the insurer’s part. It is the process working as designed, and Chris’s response is to get involved before those tactics take hold, so the company is talking to a lawyer instead of a worried person on their own.

What Are the Texas Deadlines That Can Affect Your Claim?

Texas gives most injury victims two years to file suit, and missing that window usually ends the claim no matter how strong it was. The clock generally starts on the date of the crash under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, so time is not on your side after a serious accident.

Two years can feel like plenty until you are living it. Medical treatment stretches on, the insurer delays, and evidence quietly disappears. Skid marks fade, vehicles get repaired or scrapped, surveillance footage records over itself, and witnesses forget what they saw or move away.

Fault in Texas follows a rule called proportionate responsibility, set out in Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 33.001. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, and if you are found more than 50 percent responsible, you recover nothing. That is exactly the rule insurers lean on when they try to pin part of the blame on you, and it is one more reason to get a lawyer counting the deadlines and locking down the evidence early.

The Texas Department of Insurance publishes consumer information on how these claims are supposed to work, and the reality on the ground often looks different.

What Can You Recover in a Texas Injury Claim?

It depends on what the wreck actually took from you, and Texas law sorts those losses into a few categories. Chris looks at every one of them, because insurers routinely acknowledge the medical bills while ignoring everything else.

Economic damages cover the costs you can put a number on: emergency care, surgery, physical therapy, prescriptions, lost wages while you cannot work, and the future medical care a serious injury demands. These are the losses with receipts, and Chris documents each one so the insurer cannot wave them away.

Non-economic damages cover the harm that has no invoice, such as the pain, the lost sleep, the hobbies you can no longer manage, and the strain a long recovery puts on a family. Texas does not cap these damages in ordinary injury cases, though the rules differ for medical malpractice claims.

In cases involving drunk driving or other conduct that crosses a clear line, Texas also allows exemplary damages meant to hold the responsible party accountable, governed by Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 41.003. Chris weighs each category when he values a claim, so the demand reflects the full picture rather than just the bills.

The First Days After a Crash Matter Most

A claim is only as strong as the proof behind it, and that proof starts slipping away the moment the wreck is over. What you do in the first days can shape everything that follows.

Get medical attention even if you feel functional, since adrenaline hides injuries and a gap in treatment is the first thing an insurer points to. Photograph the vehicles, the scene, and your injuries while they are visible, and keep the name and number of anyone who saw what happened. These are the pieces that turn a disputed claim into a documented one.

Then be careful with the insurance company. You are not required to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement, and doing so rarely helps you. Write down your own account while it is fresh, hold onto every bill and repair estimate, and let your lawyer do the talking once you have one.

Chris can build a strong case from good early evidence, but no lawyer can recreate a skid mark that has already faded or footage a business has already recorded over.

What Kinds of Cases Does Chris Handle?

Chris takes serious injury claims across North Texas, the kind where the medical bills are real and the insurer is already digging in. His trial background matters most in exactly these situations, where the money at stake gives the company a reason to fight.

His work regularly includes:

• Car accidents, including high-speed collisions on the region’s interstates and tollways
• Truck accidents, where a commercial carrier and its own defense team enter the picture
• Motorcycle accidents, which often bring severe injuries and unfair assumptions about the rider
• Wrongful death claims, when a family has lost someone because another party was careless

North Texas roads give him no shortage of these cases. The stretch of I-35 splitting through Denton, the tangle of interchanges around Dallas, and the daily commuter traffic pushing between Sherman, McKinney, and the metroplex all produce the crashes that land on his desk. Chris knows these roads and the courts that serve them, from Grayson and Collin Counties in the north down through Dallas and Denton.

The Texas Department of Transportation tracks how often people are hurt on them, and the numbers stay high year after year.

Life in North Texas

Away from the office, Chris lives on a ranch with his wife and fellow attorney, Claire Tate Rehmet, and their two children. He gives his time to several charities and cares in particular about the fight against multiple sclerosis.

That local footing shapes how he practices. The people he represents are his neighbors across North Texas, not case numbers, and he treats their claims that way. It is also part of why the insurer tactics bother him as much as they do, because he watches them land on families in his own community.

What Does It Cost to Hire Chris?

Nothing upfront, and nothing at all unless he recovers money for you. Chris works on a contingency arrangement, which means his payment comes as a share of the recovery at the end of the case rather than a bill you pay along the way.

That structure exists for a reason. It lets a hurt person hire a trial lawyer without having cash on hand at the worst possible moment, and it puts Chris on the same side as his client, since he is paid only when the client is. The free consultation carries no obligation, so you can learn where you stand before you decide anything.

What Working With Chris Looks Like

Here is what the firm commits to when Chris takes your case. You deal with him and his team, not a call center, and you get straight answers about where things stand.

We handle the insurance company so you do not have to, from the first adjuster call through the final number. We build your file for trial from the start, which is what gives a settlement its weight. The point of all of it is to take the fight off your plate, so you can focus on your treatment and your family while Chris focuses on the insurance company and what your claim is actually worth.

Talk to Chris About Your Claim

If an adjuster is already calling you after a wreck, you do not have to handle them on your own. Chris will look at what happened, tell you plainly where you stand, and deal with the insurer while you concentrate on getting better.

Reach Chris at (972) 499-4813, any hour of the day, or send your details through our contact page to set up a free case review. Consultations are free, and there is no fee unless you collect.