Houston Auto Accident Lawyer
Driving is an everyday activity for many Americans, and in a major city like Houston, it is often necessary to spend hours on the road for a daily commute or to get across town during high traffic periods. Because we spend so much time on the road and behind the wheel, it can be easy to forget how dangerous driving can be. Recent statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation can remind us. In 2019, 3,623 people lost their lives in traffic fatalities in Texas, and 15,855 sustained an injury. Houston and Harris County accounted for most of those crashes, injuries, and deaths by a wide margin.
Not a single day goes by that someone doesn’t die in a fatal crash on Texas roads, whether on a rural farm road or the Katy Freeway. This isn’t a statistic anyone should just accept, because the fact is that almost all traffic crashes are preventable. If drivers stuck to the speed limit, kept an appropriate distance, signaled their intentions, obeyed traffic lights, stayed off their phones, and didn’t drink and drive, then an auto accident would be a rare thing in Texas. Rather, one occurs on average every 56 seconds.
If you get hurt in an automobile accident caused by another driver’s negligence, they should have liability insurance to cover your losses, and Texas law is on your side to recover compensation for your medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other legal damages. But the burden falls on you to prove the other driver was negligent and caused your injuries, and to prove how badly you were hurt. Don’t be surprised if the insurance company pushes back and says that their driver wasn’t negligent, that you were partly to blame, or that you weren’t hurt all that bad. They make a habit of it. Well, at Gilde Law Firm, we make a habit of holding negligent drivers accountable to the people they hurt and making sure their insurance companies pay a full and fair amount. We are a trial law firm – ready, willing, and able to go to court whenever the insurance company chooses not to settle for an appropriate figure.
If you or a loved one has been hurt in an auto accident, call Gilde Law Firm for a free consultation with experienced Houston auto accident lawyers and immediate assistance getting the medical care and compensation you need and deserve after being injured because of another driver’s negligence.
Texas Auto Accident Law
Every Texas driver is required by law to carry liability insurance or proof of financial responsibility in the event they get into a crash that is their fault. The minimum amount required by law is $30,000 for bodily injury per person and $60,000 per accident, plus an additional $25,000 in property damage per accident. Many drivers carry higher limits than the minimum required by law to protect their personal assets in a lawsuit, knowing how expensive a serious accident can be.
Many drivers also choose to carry Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on their auto policy. Even though all drivers are required to have liability insurance, recent estimates from the Insurance Information Institute are that over eight percent (about one in twelve) of Texas drivers are uninsured. UM/UIM coverage will pay you if you are hit by an uninsured driver or a hit-and-run driver, which is a type of auto accident that is becoming increasingly more common. The UIM portion of your coverage will protect you if the other driver is insured but only to the minimum amounts, and your damage exceeds their policy limits. We recommend all drivers carry UM/UIM coverage in the same amounts as their liability coverage.
How Gilde Law Firm Can Help After a Houston Auto Accident
Whether you are making a claim against the other driver’s insurance or your UM/UIM coverage, the insurance company is likely to act in ways that are not in your best interest. They might argue that the other driver was not at fault in causing the accident or that your own negligence at least contributed to the accident. Any amount of negligence attributed to you reduces how much you can recover, and if you are considered to be more than 50% at fault, then under Texas law you can’t recover anything from the other driver.
Even if the insurance company can’t dispute the other driver’s liability, their claims adjusters will tell you the accident wasn’t very serious and your injuries can’t be that bad. They’ll say you are exaggerating your injuries or that they were caused by a pre-existing condition they aren’t responsible for.
When the insurance company pushes back against your claim, we push back even harder. They handle car accident claims every day, but so do we. We know what it takes to prove the other driver’s fault, document your injuries, and build a case that justifies how much money you will need to deal with the medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other legal damages you are likely to accumulate from the accident. As a trial law firm, we’ll settle your case for a fair amount or litigate the case as far as it needs to go, including trying the case to a jury verdict.
Our Houston Auto Accident Law Firm Is Here for You
If you’ve been injured in a Houston auto accident or lost a loved one in a fatal crash, call Gilde Law Firm at 281-973-2772 for a no-cost consultation. We’ll let you know how we can help, and we’ll go to work right away making sure you get the medical care and compensation you need to move forward after a serious accident to the fullest extent.
