El Paso Distracted Driving Accident Attorney

Potential defendants are usually covered by insurance. The insurance companies are notified immediately when an accident occurs, and they usually hire attorneys and expert witnesses to investigate the claim. It is important that witnesses be interviewed as soon as possible and evidence be preserved. Witnesses will often be more difficult to locate or will have a poor memory if they are interviewed much later after the accident has occurred. Evidence such as machinery parts or skid marks on the highway will disappear unless preserved quickly. Insurance companies have insurance adjusters who will contact you and try to be friendly. You should not trust the statements that insurance adjusters make to you. They are not working for you and will sometimes make misleading statements in an effort to trick you into resolving your case. Insurance adjusters also might record your conversations with them and use your statements against you in order to try to save money for the insurance companies.

The main thing we try to impress upon people is that it’s never too early to talk to an attorney, and it’s always too late. By that we mean that speaking with an attorney very soon after a crash or other accident in no way will harm you. Along the same lines, the longer you try to handle a claim on your own or delay hiring competent counsel, irreparable damage can be done in the form of recorded statements given to the insurance companies and evidence not being preserved. There is no risk or fee for speaking with an attorney and arranging an initial consultation.

Call 911 and report the accident.Move your vehicle off of the roadway, if it is possible to do so in a safe manner.
Do not apologize for the accident. If you are able, ask to see the other driver’s license and proof of insurance. From the driver’s license, write down the other driver’s name, address, date of birth and Texas driver’s license number. From the proof of insurance card, write down the name of the insurance company, the policy number and the insurance company’s telephone number if listed.

If anyone saw the accident and stopped afterwards, ask them what they saw, and make sure to write down their name and telephone number. Witnesses like this can be very helpful in determining who caused an accident.

Talk to a personal injury attorney before contacting the insurance.

Most personal injury attorneys work on what is called a contingency fee basis, which means that you pay the attorney only if and when the attorney has successfully made a recovery in your case, either by settlement or by winning a jury trial. Our philosophy is that clients have enough to worry about, so clients at Glasheen, Valles & Inderman never pay us a dime out of their pockets directly; when you’re case is finished, the insurance company sends a check to our law firm, we take our percentage fee from that check, and send the remainder to the client.

In the rare event we are unable to make a recovery on your case, you still don’t pay us a dime, and that even includes case costs, court costs, expert fees, and any advances. There is truly zero risk in hiring a personal injury law firm like Glasheen, Valles & Inderman.

If your employer truly does carry workers comp insurance at the time of your injury, then you are barred from suing your employer; you must go through the Workers Compensation Commission to recover damages for your injuries. However, we have had dozens or more clients come to us under the impression that their employer carried work comp insurance, and when we checked it, the employer in fact did not. The only way to be sure is to seek the counsel of a personal injury attorney. At Glasheen, Valles & Inderman, we will perform this check for free before a contract is ever signed.

Even if your employer does carry workers compensation insurance, you might still have what is called a third-party claim. This refers to if your injury was caused by a person or company other than your employer or a co-worker. This is especially common in oil field cases where there may be three, four, or more different companies represented at a drilling site. In these cases, the fact that your employer carries work comp does not affect your claim against third parties, and seeking the services of a personal injury attorney is highly advised.