Car Accident Attorney in Missouri City, TX
According to recent statistics from the Missouri City Open Data Initiative, there were over 2,000 automobile accidents across the city in 2019 alone. With a population of about 75,000, about 2.7 percent of all citizens in Missouri City, Texas, have been involved in an accident. Of course, residents are mobile and can be subject to roadway accidents anywhere throughout Houston, The Woodlands, and the Sugar Land metropolitan region.
Injuries and fatalities are, unfortunately, often the result of automobile accidents, and those who are injured or have lost loved ones are often left wondering what their options are for obtaining just compensation. Are they bound by whatever their insurance providers offer them?
If you or someone you love has been injured or lost their life in an auto accident, contact K.E. Bradley, Attorney & Counselor at Law, for a dedicated car accident attorney in Missouri City. Our founder, Kendrick Bradley, has spent years helping accident victims get the compensation they deserve, and our firm can do the same for you.
Contact our car accident attorney in Missouri City at (832) 440-0585 | (915) 240-6027 or online today!
Who is Liable for an Auto Accident in Texas?
Texas is considered an at-fault state. No-fault states require you to recover claims from your own insurer unless special circumstances allow you to sue the other driver. However, in an at-fault state like Texas, when the negligence of another driver has injured you, you have three options:
- Report the accident to your insurance company, which will then seek a subrogation claim against the at-fault driver’s insurer
- Report the accident and file your claim with the other driver’s insurance company
- File a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver
Have You Been Injured in an Accident?
Successfully Proving Liability
To win your claim against the other driver, whether through an insurance settlement or lawsuit, you, your insurer, or your Missouri City car accident attorney must show that:
- The other driver had a duty of care toward you (by law, all drivers must exercise reasonable care and attention toward others)
- The other driver breached their duty of care (that is, they failed to exercise reasonable care and attention)
- This breach of care resulted in your injury
Texas Insurance Requirements
Texas law requires all drivers to carry minimum liability insurance, known as 30/60/25 coverage. The 30 stands for a personal injury limit of $30,000 for one person injured in an accident. At the same time, the 60 refers to the total personal injury cap of $60,000 for all persons injured in an accident. The 25 refers to $25,000 of liability coverage for damages to the other driver’s vehicle and property.
If an accident results in claims exceeding these limits, the driver will be responsible for making up the difference. Therefore, it is always a wise choice to purchase higher limits.
State Laws Affecting Personal Injury Claims
You should be aware that the Texas statute of limitations for a personal injury legal claim is two years from the date of the accident. Insurance companies, however, are unlikely to honor a claim not filed within a few days of the accident. Our car accident attorney in Missouri City advises that their policies contain stipulations about timely reporting, which can void your claim if you wait too long to inform them of your accident or injuries.
Modified Comparative Negligence
When consulting a car accident attorney in Missouri City, you must consider the Texas legal standard of modified comparative negligence. While the other driver may have ostensibly caused the accident resulting in your injuries, you, too, can be held liable for any part you played in the accident.
Say, for example, you have been rear-ended at a stoplight, but at the time of the accident, one of your brake lights was not functioning. The insurance claims adjuster, or jury in a trial, will use the modified comparative negligence standard to assess your level of fault in the accident.
If you are found to be 20% at fault for the accident, your insurance settlement or court reward will be reduced by 20% to account for your level of fault for the accident. Suppose you are awarded compensation for medical expenses and lost wages of $100,000, and you’re judged to be 20% at fault for the accident. In that case, you will only be eligible to receive $80,000 — as the $100,000 settlement will be reduced by 20%.
Additionally, if you are found to be more than 50% at fault for the accident, you will not be allowed to recover any compensation.
Schedule a consultation with our Missouri City car accident attorney to know how much you will owe.
Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
In Texas, wrongful death is said to have occurred under any of the following circumstances:
- An injury causes another person’s death or a fetus’s failure to be born alive
- The injury is caused by another person's or entity's "wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default"
- If the deceased had survived, they would have been eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit.
State laws allow the deceased person’s surviving spouse, children, or parents to file a wrongful death lawsuit with the help of their Missouri City car accident attorney or wrongful death attorney within three months of the person’s death. After that, the deceased’s personal representative, who has been named in that person’s will or trust, must file the lawsuit on behalf of the survivors entitled to compensation.
Speak with a wrongful death attorney at (832) 440-0585 | (915) 240-6027 or online.
Work with an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney
If you file a claim with your insurance company or the other driver’s insurance company, you will soon be contacted by those companies’ claims adjusters. Claims adjusters are professionally trained to protect the parent company’s bottom line. Drawing on past experiences, our Missouri City car accident attorney knows that adjusters use every trick in the book to pin the whole or part of the blame on you. By using what you say or do out of context, they can reduce your settlement or deny your claim altogether.
Don’t go it alone. Let the K.E. Bradley personal injury team handle the big insurance companies and their adjusters. We will be able to investigate and assess the fault in the accident to determine if you’re better off filing a claim with insurance or a personal injury lawsuit. No matter your circumstances, our personal injury attorney service at K.E. Bradley is here for you and the compensation you deserve.
Speak with a Car Accident Attorney in Missouri City, Texas!
If you have been injured in a car accident and live in Missouri City, El Paso, or surrounding areas, rely on K.E. Bradley, Attorney & Counselor at Law, to obtain compensation for you. Whether you’ve been injured in a car accident or, worse, lost a loved one, we will help you assert your full rights and work to bring you the justice you deserve.
And if you’ve been in another type of auto accident, such as a truck, motorcycle, or rideshare accident, you can trust that your claim is in good hands with our firm.
Schedule your consultation with our Missouri City car accident attorney online or at (832) 440-0585 | (915) 240-6027 today!
