18-Wheeler Wreck
Fatality
When you get into a car accident that is caused by another driver, it can be bad enough. However, matters can seem even worse if the at-fault driver:
Flees the scene
Has no insurance
Has insurance that won’t fully cover your losses.
You may be confused about how you will pay for the repair or replacement of your car or your medical bills. You may also be wondering how you will handle all of your other expenses while dealing with your injuries and being unable to work.
Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common in Texas. In fact, according to news reports, 14 percent of the state’s drivers are on our roads without legally required auto insurance, or around 2.5 million drivers.
If you find yourself facing this difficult situation after getting into an auto accident in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston or elsewhere in Texas, Tate Law Offices, P.C., wants to help you.
Our lawyers have many years of experience with handling auto accident claims involving hit-and-run, uninsured and underinsured drivers.
At Tate Law Offices, P.C., we understand the problems that can arise when you are injured in an accident involving a hit-and-run, uninsured or underinsured driver. Our goal is to help you to overcome those problems and seek the compensation you deserve.
Our attorneys can review your case and sort through all of your options, which may include:
Our goal is simple: We want to maximize your compensation. We will charge no fees unless we secure a settlement or verdict that benefits you and your family.
In your consultation, we can explain how auto insurance works in Texas and review the policies involved in your case. Ultimately, we can pursue all options for your financial recovery.
Under Texas law, all drivers who register a car in our state must carry liability insurance. This auto insurance pays for the property damage and bodily injury that you cause someone else to suffer in an accident that was your fault.
The law requires drivers to carry this insurance in the following minimum amounts, or limits::
When you buy an auto insurance policy in Texas, the insurer must also offer you the following types of coverage:
As part of our investigation of your car accident, Tate Law Offices, P.C., can determine the amount of liability coverage available through the at-fault driver’s auto insurance policy. We can also review your own policy.
In addition to PIP benefits and UM / UIM, your policy may also provide:
After your crash, you may be contacted by the other driver’s insurance company or your own insurer. Never give a recorded statement or agree to a settlement of your case without first talking with Tate Law Offices, P.C.
You should know that insurance companies often make initial offers that fail to fully cover all of your losses. Also, an insurer may take anything you say and try to use it against you.
Tate Law Offices, P.C., will make sure your rights are protected. We can deal directly with the insurance company while you focus on getting better after your crash. We can also review any settlement offers you receive and advise you on whether they fairly compensate you. If not, we can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf.
If another driver’s negligence cause you to suffer injuries, you have the right to be fully compensated for all of your losses, including your past and future medical expenses, past and future lost income, pain and suffering and more.
If the other driver lacks insurance or has insurance that fails to cover all of your losses, we can pursue options that include:
Filing a UM / UIM claim in Texas can be a complicated process. The lawyers of Tate Law Offices, P.C., can carefully guide your case through every stage.
For instance, most insurance policies will require you to receive written consent from your auto insurance policy in order to bring a claim against an uninsured / underinsured motorist. We can work with your insurer to obtain this consent.
Additionally, in some cases, whether the driver who caused your crash is “underinsured” may be an issue. We can establish the full extent of the losses you have suffered and determine whether the at-fault driver’s coverage will satisfy those losses.
Another issue may be whether you can “stack” your UM / UIM coverage. In Texas, if you have purchased more than one policy, the amount of coverage available to you would be the sum of those policies. We can determine whether stacking applies to your case.
Insurance companies may claim that you are “in good hands” with them or that they will be by your side if something unfortunate such as an auto accident happens to you.
However, in reality, they are for-profit businesses. Their goal is to maximize their revenue by paying as little as possible in claims – including your claim. If an insurance company unjustly denies your UM / UIM claim or otherwise fails to deal with you in good faith, Tate Law Offices, P.C., will fight for you.
Depending on the facts of your case, we may pursue a “bad faith insurance claim” on your behalf. Such a claim may be warranted if the insurer denies your claim after failing to investigate, negotiate or settle your claim in good faith. For instance, in some cases, an insurer may misrepresent your policy and assert that an exclusion provision applies to your case and bars your claim.
At Tate Law Offices, P.C., we know common auto insurance company tactics, and we know how to counter them. You can count on us to aggressively protect your rights.
Let one of our personal injury lawyers review your case, explain your legal options, and answer all your questions in a free case evaluation.
Evidence is essential in order to get top dollar for an injury case. This means there must be proof of who was at fault for the accident and that the accident caused your injuries. Police reports and witness statements go a long way to proving fault while detailed medical records from qualified doctors (many times orthopedics or neurologists) are used to show the cause and extent of the injuries. We work to build a solid case in order to seek maximum compensation for our clients’ injuries.
Most of the time in an accident injury situation, an insurance company will be your opponent. Insurance companies are very skilled at denying or minimizing injury claims – that’s how they make money. Insurance adjusters regularly deny claims that should be paid, or they offer only a small percent of the fair value of a claim. Our goal is the opposite. We develop a settlement package presenting our client’s case that often can result in our client receiving 10 to 20 times more compensation than what the insurance adjusters might offer for their injury claim. In such cases, even after legal fees, our clients can net more money in their pocket. Even better, we work on a completely contingent basis, so there are no legal fees unless we are successful in collecting compensation for our clients.
Do not talk to anyone at the insurance company. This includes their insurance adjusters and defense lawyers. Insurance companies frequently record phone conversations during which they ask leading questions designed to produce testimony that they can use to deny your case. If we are your lawyers, we will do the talking for you so you do not fall into the insurance company traps that are designed to decrease the value of your claim.
Medical bills can be paid through various manners such as health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Personal Injury Protection insurance funds, deferred billing, and letters of protection. Depending on all of the facts surrounding your case and the insurance companies involved, we produce a strategy that we believe will best benefit our clients. Also, even if our clients do not have access to health insurance, we can assist them with getting medical care that is paid at the end of the case – which means no upfront medical bills.
Even if an injured person is not able to work after an accident, insurance company tactics are to disagree and assert that the person could work so the insurance companies can deny the claim for lost income. It is important to have a qualified doctor’s medical documentation that proves the inability to work for a certain period of time due to an injury. We work with our clients’ doctors and employers to prove the medical reason for not working and the calculation of lost earnings. This frequently results in a fight with the insurance company, but we believe that with solid evidence we are ultimately able to win the fight and collect our clients’ lost income.