Injured in a Crash?
Houston Car Accident Attorney on Common Types of Collision Claims
For nearly three decades, Houston car accident attorney Phillip Brantley has been fighting for the rights of car accident victims and their families. Phillip Brantley & Associates, P.C. takes each one its clients and their cases personally. We get to know who you are, what you are going through and what you need moving forward. You need someone representing you who has your best interests in mind, knows your struggles and will not rest until every avenue has been explored to secure the most favorable outcome possible in your case. Let us help you. You can speak to us for free today with no obligation to hire us. There is no time to waste. You need help, the evidence that you need must be preserved and there are time limits to how long you have to file a lawsuit. Make the call. Se habla español.
What Happens After a Car or Truck Accident?
Every time we venture out onto the road in an automobile, we could be involved in a wreck. Despite that fact, the reality that we or a loved one could be involved in a car accident is just not something we give much thought to until it actually happens. However, following an auto accident, you are often too overwhelmed with all the difficulties you are facing to know where to start. In many cases, car accident victims are dealt circumstances that they simply have never encountered before and/or do not have the resources to overcome, including:
- Hospital bills that they cannot afford to pay
- A wrongful death that takes away someone they had hoped to spend the rest of their lives with
- Figuring out a way to afford long term care expenses, because they are no longer able to take care of themselves without assistance due to a catastrophic injury such as paralysis or a traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- A long, difficult and expensive rehabilitation process
- Loss of income because of their inability to continue working for a living due to their injury
Common Types of Car Accident Cases
- Distracted driving accident – Accidents caused by a driver engaging in a distracting activity while driving, such as eating, operating a GPS, adjusting the radio, talking to a passenger, grooming, talking on the phone or texting and driving.
- Underinsured and uninsured motorist accidents – In this type of auto wreck, one of the drivers in a car accident either does not have car insurance or does not have enough insurance coverage to pay for the damage caused in the wreck or the medical treatment for the injuries caused in the crash.
- Truck accident – Auto accidents involving large trucks, such as tractor-trailer trucks.
- Read-end collisions – A car accident where one vehicle crashes into the rear of the vehicle in front of it.
- Fender bender – A minor car wreck that results in no injuries and little to no damage to the vehicles involved.
- Auto accident involving a parked car – These wrecks can happen when cars drive too close to vehicles parked on the side of the road and sideswipe one of them. It can also involve a crash involving vehicles that are parked to too close together either when one vehicle hits another while trying to park or while trying to leave a parking spot. Another version of this type of incident can involve a car backing into another car or pedestrian as it is backing out of a parking space.
- Pedestrian accident – A car accident where a vehicle and a pedestrian collide.
- Hydroplane car accident – These accidents can occur when a vehicle drives through standing water so fast that the tread on the vehicle’s tires cannot push all of the water away, leaving a thin layer of water between the tires and the road. This causes the vehicle to slide and lose control like it is on ice. Since the car is not contacting the road, the driver cannot control it, which can result in it colliding with pedestrians, other vehicles in traffic or stationary objects, such as a parked car, tree, home or business.
- Traffic wreck involving an animal – A collision between a vehicle and an animal. This can include but is not limited to a car hitting a dog, cat or deer that darts out into the road in front of it.
- Car accident involving road debris – This type of auto accident involves a vehicle colliding with an object on the road. In some cases, road debris can already be on the road when the collision takes place, such as a safety cone from a roadside construction site that falls over into a lane of traffic. In other cases, road debris can fall off a moving vehicle, such as a box, piece of furniture tumbling from the bed of a truck as it travels down the highway.
- Side-impact collision – These are also known as “T-bone” accidents. They involve one vehicle crashing into the side of another vehicle and generally occur when one vehicle has the right of way and another vehicle fails to yield.
- Defective vehicle car accident – Auto accidents caused by a vehicle defect, which can include ignition system issues, acceleration problems, tire defects or braking system failure.
- Hit-and-run accident – These collisions happen when the driver of one vehicles involved in a car accident flees the accident scene without checking to see if the other driver is okay, exchanging insurance or contact information with the other driver or speaking with the police.
What Should I Do After a Car Accident?
The aftermath of a car accident is often chaotic. It is not something you expected to happen and you will be disoriented, possibly injured and more than likely unable to think clearly. As a result, even if you know what to do, actually doing it in that moment can be extremely difficult. That is why it is crucial that you have a resource, such as this webpage and the list below, bookmarked on your phone, so that you can just reference it and follow the step-by-step instructions it provides for what to do after a car accident:
- Call 911.
- If you or anyone else involved is injured, seek immediate medical attention.
- If possible, take pictures of the accident scene, the damage to the vehicles and your injuries.
- Get the names and contact information of the other drivers, passengers and any witnesses and also exchange insurance information with the other drivers.
- Write down any information you can about the car accident, the accident scene and your injuries.
- Unless medically necessary, do not leave the accident scene until the police arrive, you talk to them and they say you can go.
- Do not speak to the insurance company of any other driver involved in the accident.
- Tell the truth when you speak to the police, but do not admit fault in the wreck as you do not have the full information to determine exactly what happened.
- Do not speak to the other drivers and passengers involved in the crash about the accident itself.
- Call your insurance company to report the accident. Tell them the truth, but do not admit fault. Stick only to the facts as you know them.
- Talk to an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible.
I Need a Houston Car Accident Attorney. Se Habla Español.
Talk to an experienced Houston car accident lawyer for free about your situation. At Phillip Brantley & Associates, P.C., we handle these types of cases on a daily basis. Attorney Brantley has faced negligent parties, their insurance companies and their high-priced legal teams at the negotiating table and in the courtroom. They do not intimidate him. He knows the law and has a history of helping victims overcome tough opposition to recover the compensation they need. Give us a call or fill out our online contact form to set up a free consultation with Phillip Brantley & Associates, P.C. today. Se habla español.