{"id":169,"date":"2023-10-12T21:13:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T21:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.themejialawfirm.com\/?p=169"},"modified":"2024-04-01T17:04:15","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T17:04:15","slug":"how-car-accident-lawsuits-in-texas-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themejialawfirm.com\/blog\/how-car-accident-lawsuits-in-texas-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Car Accident Lawsuits in Texas Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You suffered serious injuries in a car crash somewhere in Houston. Now, not only do you have mounting medical bills, but you can&#8217;t make ends meet in light of the significant lost wages you&#8217;re accumulating. What do you do? You may realize that taking legal action is the best course of action when you suffer losses and want to recover a settlement. However, you may be unclear about how car accident lawsuits in Texas work, knowledge that is necessary to determine the best path forward in your case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Continue reading below, where an attorney here at The Mejia Law Firm will provide you with a brief primer on how the post-collision insurance claim or lawsuit filing process works in Texas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Texas Views Fault for Car Crashes<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Texas is an &#8220;at-fault&#8221; state, meaning an individual injured in an auto accident can file a claim with the insurer of the negligent motorist who struck them, causing them harm whenever a wreck occurs. However, the Lone Star State also subscribes to the modified comparative fault rule, which requires injured parties to be less than 51% liable for a crash to be eligible to recover crash-related damages, such as the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Medical bills<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lost wages<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Noneconomic damages like pain and suffering or mental anguish<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The combination of the two doctrines above dictates whether a car accident victim may have a valid insurance claim or lawsuit that ultimately entitles them to recover compensation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding the Role of Car Crash Claims and Lawsuits<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the terms are often used interchangeably, there&#8217;s actually a difference between an auto accident claim and a lawsuit. A claim is actually a type of legal demand you make with an insurance company, for example, requesting compensation post-wreck. In contrast, a lawsuit is a type of legal action whereby a plaintiff, like an injury victim, sues another party, the defendant (the person they allege struck them). In the case of the latter, an impaneled jury would reach a verdict for or against a plaintiff, which directly correlates to whether they are entitled to a settlement award.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Long You Can Expect It To Take To Settle Your Texas Car Accident Case<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There&#8217;s no specific length of time it automatically takes to resolve a car crash claim out-of-court. Instead, a wide range of factors, including the following, may impact case timelines:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you&#8217;re still receiving treatment for your injuries (and accumulating medical bills)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If there&#8217;s a denial of liability<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How many other claims your insurance adjuster is currently managing (as the review of documentation submitted may slow an offer)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The length of time it takes to negotiate an amenable settlement amount with you or your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themejialawfirm.com\/practice-areas\/car-accidents\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Houston car accident attorney<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (and then draw up a release of all claims and cut a check)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Litigation may become necessary when you and an insurer aren&#8217;t having a meeting of the minds. In those cases, the following factors may impact how long adjudication of the claim in the courtroom takes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Court schedules and how long it takes their case to ultimately go to trial (considering how there may be multiple pre-trial motions before this happens)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How long the presentation of evidence takes once the trial gets underway<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How long deliberations last (according to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.txcourts.gov\/about-texas-courts\/juror-information\/basics-of-the-texas-judicial-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State of Texas Judicial Branch<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, at least five-sixths of jurors must agree for a verdict to be valid in a civil case)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep in mind that if a claim isn&#8217;t resolvable through pre-litigation, a civil trial becomes necessary, and a jury decides in your favor, that doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean that a settlement check is cut on the spot in the courtroom. Like any civil case, a defendant (the person who struck you) has the option to appeal the judgment for up to 90 days after it&#8217;s entered in, and, if accepted, you may have to await a new trial date and for all the other steps above to play out for you to see compensation, provided the jury once again rules in your favor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Benefits of Having a Lawyer Handle Your Texas Car Accident Lawsuit<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As for filing a claim with or suing the other driver&#8217;s insurer (or your own if you have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage), Texas allows its residents to do so in their individual capacity without a lawyer&#8217;s help. However, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themejialawfirm.com\/what-are-the-pitfalls-of-handling-your-personal-injury-claim-alone\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by yourself isn\u2019t advisable. Many car accident victims do so with the help of a lawyer like ours at The Mejia Law Firm. Why is that the case?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Injured parties like yourself align with attorneys:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the expectation that they&#8217;ll handle all the seemingly incessant, pesky phone calls from insurers once they report a claim that only adds to their stress and inhibits their recovery<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To ensure they paint a strong picture of how the other driver was at fault for your crash since proving liability is your responsibility as the plaintiff in civil matters like this.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because they want to know that there&#8217;s a skilled advocate to fight for their interests during pre-trial settlement negotiations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To help them navigate the legal system if reaching an out-of-court settlement seems like an effort in futility and having a jury make a decision at trial becomes necessary<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sooner you sit down with The Mejia Law Firm to discuss your case, the quicker we can get to work on compiling the evidence necessary to paint a picture of liability that has the best chance of helping you secure a solid out-of-court settlement instead of having to weather a long and drawn-out trial with an uncertain outcome. Contact our law office for a free case consultation today.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You suffered serious injuries in a car crash somewhere in Houston. Now, not only do you have mounting medical bills, but you can&#8217;t make ends meet in light of the significant lost wages you&#8217;re accumulating. What do you do? You may realize that taking legal action is the best course of action when you suffer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.6 (Yoast SEO v22.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Car Accident Lawsuits in Texas Work - The Mejia Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Did someone crash into you, leaving you with significant losses in Houston? Here\u2019s what to know about how car accident lawsuits in Texas work.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themejialawfirm.com\/blog\/how-car-accident-lawsuits-in-texas-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Car Accident Lawsuits in Texas Work\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Did someone crash into you, leaving you with significant losses in Houston? 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