Houston Auto Accident Attorney | Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyer http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:28:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Policy Restrictions Can Prevent Recovery http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/02/20/policy-restrictions-can-prevent-recovery/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/02/20/policy-restrictions-can-prevent-recovery/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:28:38 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=343 The Houston Auto Accidents Attorneys at DeSimone Law Office have run into a problem more frequently lately  in recovering for our clients’ personal injuries and property damage resulting from traffic accidents.  In previous years all drivers had the same auto policy as determined by state law. If one policy covered all authorized drivers for an accident for example, then everyone’s policies in the state contained the same coverage. Recently the state of Texas allowed insurance companies to write policies that are not standard Texas automobile policies.  Most of theses policies are so restrictive that unless the person who actually purchased the policy is the one driving the insured car at the time of the accident, there will be no coverage under the policy for any insurance claim as a result of a car accident.  If the policy does not restrict coverage to just the named insured,  most of the insurance companies which issues these policies, being low end, normally have an insurance application riddled with questions, any of which not answered accurately, can void coverage under the policy for failure to answer the questions accurately.  One common example is the failure of the person purchasing the policy to name all family memberswho live with that person.  Invariably one of these unnamed family members will be driving the car at the time of a traffic accident.  The insurance company will seize on this to deny coverage for this accident stating the person was not named as someone living with their insured on the insurance application. Of course as we have discussed before on this blog the solution to this common occurence is to have the coverages on your own auto that will protect you from uninsured drivers.

If you have been involved in an auto accident, are hurt and need assistance in dealing with the at fault party’s insurance company, call the lawyers at DeSimone Law Office.  We have dealt with all auto insurance companies for 24 years and will obtain for you the monies to which you are entitled.

]]> http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/02/20/policy-restrictions-can-prevent-recovery/feed/ 0 Things Insurance Companies Rely On To Reduce The Value Of Claims http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/02/13/things-insurance-companies-rely-on-to-reduce-the-value-of-claims/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/02/13/things-insurance-companies-rely-on-to-reduce-the-value-of-claims/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:30:14 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=340 The Houston Auto Accidents Attorneys at DeSimone Law Office represent car accident  victims with a wide range of injuries. Clients with broken bones or open wounds requiring immediate medical care are automatically taken to the hospital from the scene of an accident and no fair minded jury would question their personal injuries.  However many traffic accident victims do not have any visible signs of injury and in fact may not experience any pain from an auto accident until the day after an accident. This fact situation occurs because an injury to the neck or back may not manifest itself until the next day, much like the delayed muscle soreness one would experience the day after a hard physical workout. Also the accident victim’s adrenaline is flowing at the scene of the accident, and any pain from the accident will not be felt until the next day because of this adrenaline flow. Of course the police officer at the scene asks the injured party at the scene whether he is hurt and the victim not experiencing any pain at that time tells the officer he is not. That statement is noted on the police report. Of course later on the at fault party’s insurance company will latch on to that at a settlement conference or trial to prove any subsequent claim of injury is made up. Most injury victims who wake up the next day sore assume because of all the insurance company propaganda that they will get better shortly. So the injured party delays medical treatment because they think the pain will go away shortly.  The injured party discovers in a couple of weeks that they are still hurting and they finally go to a doctor.  The insurance company will latch on to this delay in treatment in several ways in an attempt to mitgate the damages they have to pay on the insurance  claim. First they will say if the injured party was really hurt they would have gone to a doctor right away. They will insinuate that some other event must have happened in the interim between the car accident and the doctor’s visit to cause the injured party’s pain, and now the injured party is trying to tie it into the accident.  Any previous injury to the mentioned area hurt by the accident will be used by the insurance company to try to show that the injury existed before the accident and is not related to the car wreck the injured party had. Theses are just some of the tactics used by insurance companies to not have to fairly pay accident victims.

]]> http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/02/13/things-insurance-companies-rely-on-to-reduce-the-value-of-claims/feed/ 0 Make Sure To Obtain All Witness Information At Accident Scene http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/02/06/make-sure-to-obtain-all-witness-information-at-accident-scene/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/02/06/make-sure-to-obtain-all-witness-information-at-accident-scene/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:03:37 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=337 The Houston Auto Accidents Attorneys at DeSimone Law Office have handled thousands of traffic accident cases over the past 23 years, and one of the most crucial elements of a significant number of personal injury claims is witness testimony.  It all starts at the accident scene.  In most car accidents both drivers are going to have different stories about what happened without either driver admitting fault.  This scenario is especially prevalent in truck accidents where a truck driver’s job is at stake if he is found at fault in a traffic accident.  Most big trucks will not even stop, and if they do stop after an accident, they never admit fault. If an injured party is involved in an accident with any other vehicle, it is imperative that the injured party as soon as he can locate any witnesses to the accident. If two parties to an accident have two different stories and there are no credible witnessees on behalf of either party, then any injured party to the accident will not be able to collect for any of his property or personal injury damages from the other party.  If the injured party locates a witness, it is very important to get as much contact  information on the witness as is possible. Obtaining just a name and phone number can be calamitous if the number ends up being disconnected shortly after the accident, and there is no other identifying information on the witness making it impossible to find the witness. The injured party should try to get a name, address, all phone numbers and if possible the witnesses driver’s license information.  Nest week we will go into further detail as to what happens next.

If you have been in an accident with crucial witness testimony needed, call the attorneys at DeSimone Law Office.  They will make sure the witness information is secured and you collect the money you are entitled to on the case.

]]> http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/02/06/make-sure-to-obtain-all-witness-information-at-accident-scene/feed/ 0 Jury Verdicts Influence Offers On Personal Injury Claims http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/30/jury-verdicts-influence-offers-on-personal-injury-claims/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/30/jury-verdicts-influence-offers-on-personal-injury-claims/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:39:34 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=334 The Houston Auto Accidents Attorneys at DeSimone Law Office have to explain insurance company actions every day to clients or potential clients.  Why isn’t the insurance company treating me fairly on the value of my car?   What does the amount of damage on my car have to do with how hurt I feel?  Why does the amount of my medical bills have anything to do with what the insurance company is offering for pain and suffering on my case?   These questions are some of the questions that we are asked on a daily basis by clients and potential clients.  The short answer to most of them is that insurance companies know what a jury is likely to do with a case, and they make an offer commensurate with what they feel like their financial exposure is on any given case.  For example, no matter how hurt you are and how much you incur in medical bills and lost wages, an insurance company in Harris County, Texas is not going to offer very much if any money at all to settle the case if the damage to your car is under a thousand dollars.  Why is that? The damage to a car does not have anything to do with how hurt you are. That statement is correct in the real world but in the courtroom jurors come into the courtroom brainwashed by Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and other insurance company propaganda that most injured parties are fakers.  The insurance company attorney then shows a picture of the car without much visible damage to a jury givng them their excuse in accordance with their mistaken beliefs to not award any money to an injured party even for their medical bills. This result happens quite often in Harris County, Texas.  Insurance companies know this is a likely result so even though they know the injured claimant is hurt,  they will not may very much if anything on the claim because they know they have the jury pool in Harris County, Texas in their back pocket on this particular set of facts. We will go into this situation further next week.

If you are being treated unfairly by an insurance company on your claim, call the lawyers at DeSimone Law Office.  They will make sure you receive all the compensation you deserve.

]]> http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/30/jury-verdicts-influence-offers-on-personal-injury-claims/feed/ 0 Representing Yourself In Auto Accident Claim Normally Ends In Disaster http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/23/representing-yourself-in-auto-accident-claim-normally-ends-in-disaster/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/23/representing-yourself-in-auto-accident-claim-normally-ends-in-disaster/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:45:11 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=331 The Houston Auto Accidents Attorneys at DeSimone Law Office quite often hear from victims of traffic accidents who after an accident have tried to deal with the at fault driver’s insurance company themselves to recover their property and personal injury damages.  How does the old adage go? A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. The same can be said for a car accident victim who thinks he can represent himself on an auto accident and get a fair shake from the at fault driver’s insurance company. The insurance company representative seems friendly enough when you call. The insurance representative will say let us just take a recorded statement to clear everything up. What the unwitting claimant does not realize is that this statement is taken in an attempt to twist the injured party’s words around so as to relieve the insurance company from having to pay any or at least a part of any valid insurance claim.  After a few days the insurance company announces to the injured claimant that they will not be paying or will only be paying for part of the injured party’s damages. The injured party having never dealt with this situation before is furious. They are hurt with typically no way to pay for medical treatment, their car is not drivable, and they do not typically have the funds to repair the car or arrange for alternative transportation.  If that person is fortunate enough to call DeSimone Law Office , usually we can clean the situation up to get the person the medical attention they need and transportation until their car is  repaired. The other situation that is more devastating goes as follows.  When the insurance company realizes that its’ years of tactics in denying claims will not stop the fact that they have to pay, they will offer to settle the whole case immediately. For anywhere from a couple of hundred to a thousand dollars they will offer to settle the injury claim immediately.  Unbelievably many injured parties’ accept these settlements having bought into the insurance company propaganda that the injured pary  will be well in a few days with some hot baths. Of course this does not happen. Not only does the pain from the accident not subside, it get s worse. The injured party, who probably needs thousands of dollars in medical treatment, now calls DeSimone Law Office wanting to know what they can do to get the medical treatment and compensation for their injuries they deserve. In most cases nothing. The chances of proving that a settlement agreement once signed is not binding on the parties is almost nil. The injured party has signed away all their rights.

If you have been in an accident, do not deal with the insurance company and sign away your rights.  Call the lawyers at DeSimone Law Office. We will make sure that you get the compensation you deserve.

]]> http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/23/representing-yourself-in-auto-accident-claim-normally-ends-in-disaster/feed/ 0 Talking To Insurance Company Without An Attorney Can Wreck Your Accident Case http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/16/talking-to-insurance-company-without-an-attorney-can-wreck-your-accident-case/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/16/talking-to-insurance-company-without-an-attorney-can-wreck-your-accident-case/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:27:06 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=329 The Houston Auto Accidents  attorneys at DeSimone Law Office have been involved in numerous cases where another negligent driver’s vehicle has failed to yield right of way from a stop sign, parking lot or at a red light. Many insurance companies for the negligent driver will try to either deny one of these claims or attempt to reduce their insured’s responsibility for the accident.  Texas is a comparative negligence state.  If the insurance company can put less than one hundred percent of an accident on their insured driver,  they will save themselves money and deny benefits rightly belonging to the victim of the negligent driver’s failure to yield.  How do they accomplish their objective?  The first thing they try to do is procure a statement about the accident from the victim of the accident before they hire a lawyer.  They will confuse the victim of the traffic accident with questions about times and distance.  For example, they will ask confusing questions about  how long before the accident was it when the victim first saw their negilgent insured’s vehicle, how far away was the other vehicle before the victim saw it, as well as what the victim did to try to avoid the accident.  When an accident happens in a split second there is no way to really know the answers to these questions but the insurance company hopes for an answer that they can use to prove the victim was not paying attention, did not hit their brakes in time or took some other faulty evasive action.  If a victim starts giving times and distances even though these estimates are likely to be way off, the insurance company can use these statements against the victim to either deny the claim or put some negligence on the victim.  If the insurance company can put just ten percent negligence through their trick questions on every victim, imagine the money they save on each claim.  When you have an accident and the other person’s insurance company calls, they are not calling to help you.  Their goal is to minimize the amount of money that they have to pay for the car accident.  Taking statements from naive accident victims who do not have an attorney is one of their methods.

If you have been in a car accident in which someone has caused an intersection collison, do not allow the insurance company to call you and take a statement reducing the value of any injury and property claim you have.  Call the Houston Accidents Attorneys at the DeSimone Law Office now.  They have been dealing with auto accidents for over twenty years and they know what to do to make sure all of your rights are protected and that you receive all the money you deserve.

]]> http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/16/talking-to-insurance-company-without-an-attorney-can-wreck-your-accident-case/feed/ 0 Hospital Liens Must Be Paid Out Of Auto Settlement http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/09/hospital-liens-must-be-paid-out-of-auto-settlement/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/09/hospital-liens-must-be-paid-out-of-auto-settlement/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:29:56 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=326 The Houston Auto Accidents Attorneys of  DeSimone Law Office handle many auto accident cases where many hands are in the pot trying to take our clients’ money.  Most of these hands are in the from of  liens, statutory or contractual, which must be paid out of any personal injury settlement.  Any time an injured party is in an accident and goes to a hospital within 3 days of the accident the hospital, any emergency room doctors and any other medical professional that has treated the injured party can file a lien with the county clerk’s office for these medical expenses.  Under the law in the State of Texas these medical providers have to be paid out of any injury settlement.  The problem arises many times in these cases because the hospital bill is many times astronomical and the amount of insurance available for the claim is not. We’ve seen hospital liens that are sometimes more than the insurance policy limits.  These hospital bills are many times what the hospital would charge health insurance.  In other words the hospitals know the law and hope to get many more times for their services out of an injured party’s settlement than they would when being paid by health insurance. Their position is strong. You cannot settle the claim without paying them their exorbitant prices which are well above what is reasonable for their area.   Many claimants are shocked to hear that the hospital wants to get more out of the settlement than they do, and they were the injured party with plenty of lost wages and pain and suffering.  Of course the hospital does not get paid until the injured party agrees to a settlement so the injured party’s attorney, if he is knowledgeable, can negotiate hospital bills down.

If you have been involved in an accident and the medical expenses are pling up, call the lawyers at DeSimone Law Office.  They will make sure you get your fair portion of any injury settlement.

]]> http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/09/hospital-liens-must-be-paid-out-of-auto-settlement/feed/ 0 Pictures Prove Your Case http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/03/pictures-are-a-great-help-in-proving-your-case/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/03/pictures-are-a-great-help-in-proving-your-case/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:48:34 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=321 The Houston Auto Accidents Attorneys at DeSimone Law Office represent many clients whose cases would be more easily resolved or would settle for more money if clients took photos at scenes of car accidents and also of any injuries.  With the advent of cameras on cellular phones there is really no excuse to be able to get photo evidence at the scene of an accident unless a person is too injured to do so.  Photos of the traffic accident scene and or any personal injuries can be helpful in several ways. Often there is a dispute at the scene of any car or truck accident about how the accident occured.  Pictures of the positions of vehicles taken immediately after an accident can be excellent evidence to assist in an understanding of how an accident happened.  After the vehicles have been moved a negligent party can begin to spin his lies about the position of the vehicle after the accident. Photos of the position of the vehicles will prove up that the negligent party is lying. Pictures of the damage to the vehicles are excellent in backing up a claim of injury from an accident.  Pictures of both vehicles that show significant damage will put an end to the insurance company argument that the injury claimant is not really as hurt as he and his doctor are saying. Pictures of injuries such as bruising, broke bones, and bleeding are more effective in conveying an injury to a jury than words alone. Insurance companies know this and will pay more for claims where there are good pictures of any insurance claimant’s injuries.

If you have been involved in an accident, call the lawyers at DeSimone Law Office immediately.  They have investigators that will help document how your accident happened and your injuries through photographic and other means.

]]> http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2012/01/03/pictures-are-a-great-help-in-proving-your-case/feed/ 0 Back Injuries That Are More Than Strained Muscles http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2011/12/27/back-injuries-that-are-more-than-strained-muscles/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2011/12/27/back-injuries-that-are-more-than-strained-muscles/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:22:25 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=318 The Houston Auto Accidents Attorneys at DeSimone Law Office last week talked about what is known as a soft tissue injury to a traffic accident victim’s neck and back. Basically the muscles and ligaments in the neck and back are strained because of a violent front and then back whipping of the car accident victim’s head and body .  Often besides pain that is localized in the neck or back a clent will experience pain that radiates from the neck into the arms or hands. Also numbness in the hands or fingers or a tingling sensation will be felt. Sometimes pain in the low back will radiate in to the legs and numbness may be felt in the feet.  The personal injury that the client has probably sustained is known as a herniated disc.  In between the vertebrae are discs that keep the vertebrae from touching each other and provide a cushion for the back. When one of these liquid filled discs gets out of place and shifts this is known as a bulge or in more severe cases as a disc herniation.  Along the spine run the nerve endings of the back. If a disc gets out of place and impinges on a nerve, this will cause pain in the neck or back along with radiating pain.  Physical therapy and medications will probably not help here and other methods will have to be used to get well.  We will address those in next week’s blog.

If you have been injured in a car accident and have pain in your back that radiates, call the lawyers at DeSimone Law Office.  They will make sure you can obtain the medical treatment you need and the money you deserve.

]]> http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2011/12/27/back-injuries-that-are-more-than-strained-muscles/feed/ 0 Proving Up Cases Against Chemically Impaired Drivers http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2011/12/20/proving-up-cases-against-chemically-impaired-drivers/ http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/2011/12/20/proving-up-cases-against-chemically-impaired-drivers/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:44:15 +0000 desimonelaw http://blog.houstonautoaccidentsattorney.com/?p=315 The Houston Auto Accidents Attorneys at DeSimone Law Office have represented many clients in traffic accidents involving impaired drivers.  Impaired drivers usually means drivers who were intoxicated  from drinking alcohol and were involved in DWI accidents.  If the alcohol concentration in a driver’s blood, breath or urine is .08 percent or higher, then the driver is considered to be legally intoxicated.  If you are the victim of an accident with a legally intoxicated driver, you are not only entitled to your medical bills, lost wages and monies for pain and suffering but additional monies for the gross negligence of the intoxicated driver for getting behind the wheel while impaired.  The question is how do you prove the other driver was impaired at the time of the accident. The simplest way is if the other driver takes a breathalyzer or blood test administerd by law enfocement and the test shows that the other driver had a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more.  If the other driver refuses to take a test, then cooperating with prosecutors to get  a criminal conviction against the intoxicated driver would be another way. Filing a lawsuit and requesting the intoxicated party’s hospital records after the accident could provide information on an intoxicated driver’s blood alcohol content after an accident.  This information is important because sometimes police do not arrest intoxicated drivers for DWI even when the offending party is guilty. Also an intoxicated driver can be impaired from substances other than alcohol such as cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs.  These drugs would show up in an intoxicated driver’s medical records. Now there are many drivers who are impaired by prescription drugs causing car accidents on the road.  Proving those cases up are hard but the difference between proving the case up or not is sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars on a typical car accident case.

If you have been the victim of a car accident involving an impaired driver, call the lawyers at the DeSimone Law Office immediately. They will take the steps necessary to prove the impairment of the intoxicated driver and obtain you the money that you deserve as a result.

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