A car accident can leave you dealing with more than vehicle damage. You may be facing medical bills, missed work, ongoing pain, and an insurance company that wants to resolve your claim before you know the full extent of your injuries.
Knowing what to do after a car accident in Texas can affect the strength of your injury claim. If another driver’s negligence caused your accident, a Laredo car accident lawyer can help preserve evidence, document your injuries and losses, deal with insurers, and pursue the compensation you may be entitled to recover.
Call Guzman Law Firm at (956) 516-7198 to discuss your accident and your legal options with an attorney.
What should you do after a car accident in Texas?
The first priority after a crash is safety and medical care. Once you are safe, begin taking steps to preserve the evidence you may need to establish your claim.
1. Seek medical attention
Do not assume that you are uninjured simply because you feel fine immediately after a collision.
Some common car accident injuries like whiplash can take hours or days to become apparent. Adrenaline can temporarily mask pain, while certain soft-tissue, neurological, and other injuries may develop or worsen over time.
If you experience pain, headaches, dizziness, numbness, limited movement, or other symptoms after a crash, seek medical attention. Even if your symptoms initially seem minor, medical records can also establish an important timeline connecting your condition to the accident.
2. Report the accident
Texas law requires drivers to report certain collisions. Under Texas Transportation Code §550.026, a collision involving an injury or death, or a vehicle that cannot be normally and safely driven, must be reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency. If police respond to the scene, obtain the report number and request a copy of the completed crash report when it becomes available.
Even for a minor car accident in Texas, having an official report helps to establish the basic facts of the collision and may prevent the other driver or the insurance company from unduly assigning blame to you later on.
How long do you have to file a police report after a car accident in Texas? Texas doesn’t give drivers a set window to file their own report: the duty under §550.026 is immediate, not a matter of days. If an officer investigates a crash involving injury, death, or property damage of $1,000 or more, that officer is required to submit a written report to TxDOT within 10 days, but that deadline belongs to the officer, not to you. Texas also no longer uses a separate driver self-report form; the old CR-2 (“blue form”) was discontinued in 2017 and TxDOT no longer accepts or retains it.
If police don’t respond to the scene, don’t go looking for a form to fill out yourself. Instead, ask whether a report was filed and how to request a copy once it’s available. And don’t assume the absence of an immediate police report means you cannot pursue a claim. Other evidence may help establish what happened.
3. Document the scene
Take photographs and videos of as much as possible, including damage to every vehicle involved, your injuries, and the roadway and surrounding area. Photos taken immediately after an accident can become important evidence later, particularly if the vehicles are repaired or the scene changes.
The Texas Department of Insurance similarly recommends documenting accident details, obtaining witness information, taking photos and videos, and keeping receipts for expenses associated with an insurance claim.
4. Preserve your medical and financial records
A personal injury claim is not simply about proving that a crash occurred. You also need evidence showing how the crash affected you.
Keep copies of important documents like emergency room and hospital records, prescription expenses, pay stubs and employment records, and documentation of missed work.
You should also keep a record of how your injuries affect your daily life. Pain, difficulty sleeping, inability to perform certain activities, and limitations at work can all be relevant when documenting the impact of an injury.
How do you file a personal injury claim following a car accident?
A strong injury claim generally requires more than a police report and a few photographs. Your attorney may need to establish several important pieces of the case:
- Proof that the other driver was at fault: You must be able to establish what caused the collision and why the other driver should be held responsible. Evidence can disappear quickly. Surveillance footage may be overwritten, vehicles may be repaired or destroyed, witnesses may become difficult to locate, and physical conditions at the accident scene can change.
- Proof that the accident caused your injuries: The fact that you were injured after an accident does not automatically establish that every medical condition you experience was caused by the collision. Insurance companies may examine your medical history, the timing of your symptoms, gaps in treatment, and the nature of your injuries when evaluating a claim.
- Proof of your financial losses: Depending on your injuries and circumstances, damages may include medical expenses, future medical care, lost income, reduced earning capacity, property damage, and other losses.
Why should you call a Texas car accident lawyer?
One of the biggest mistakes an injured person can make is assuming that they need to wait until they know exactly how serious their injuries are before talking to an attorney. You do not need to wait until your medical treatment is finished to seek legal advice.
Injuries can manifest later
A person may walk away from a crash believing they are fine and begin experiencing significant symptoms later. Neck and back injuries, concussions, nerve injuries, and other conditions may not be immediately obvious. A delayed diagnosis can make the timeline of your claim more complicated.
An attorney can help you understand what documentation should be preserved while you continue receiving medical care.
Insurance companies have their own interests
After an accident, the other driver’s insurance company may contact you for information about the crash and your injuries. The insurer’s investigation is not the same thing as having an advocate who is focused on your interests — insurers count on accident victims not knowing how to talk to insurance claims adjusters.
Statements you make, medical records you provide, and documents you sign can become part of the claim evaluation. Before giving a recorded statement or accepting a settlement, consider speaking with a lawyer about the potential consequences.
Evidence can disappear
The longer you wait, the more difficult it can become to preserve certain evidence. A Texas car accident attorney can begin identifying potentially important evidence early, including photographs, surveillance footage, electronic vehicle data, witness information, medical records, and other documentation.
In more complicated cases, an attorney may also work with accident-reconstruction or other experts to determine how the collision occurred.
Your first settlement may not reflect the scope of your losses
An early settlement offer can be tempting when medical bills are arriving and you are missing work. But accepting a settlement generally means resolving the claim. If you later discover that you need additional treatment or that your injuries are more serious than initially understood, you may not be able to return to the insurer for additional compensation.
Before accepting an offer, make sure you understand what it covers and whether your future losses have been adequately considered.
Take the right steps after a car accident. Call Guzman Law Firm.
The accident itself may last only seconds. Building a personal injury claim can take months. After a serious collision, your job should be focusing on your recovery — and knowing what to do after a car accident in Texas can have the biggest influence on whether you receive a fair settlement.
Guzman Law Firm can investigate the circumstances of your accident, help gather and preserve evidence, communicate with insurers, document your damages, and pursue your claim. The sooner an attorney becomes involved, the sooner your legal team can begin identifying the evidence necessary to build your case.
If you were injured in a Texas car accident, contact Guzman Law Firm online or call us at (956) 516-7198 to discuss your case with an attorney.
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