Practice Areas of Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers

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.

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.

In Texas employers are not required to carry workers’ compensation. However, if an employer does not have workers’ compensation and an employee gets injured at work, then a claim can be made against the employer for the employer’s negligence, if any, that caused the injury. Our firm handles quite a few of these claims against employers who do not carry workers’ compensation. These claims are known as “non-subscriber” work injury claims. Because there is no limit on the damages in a non-subscriber case, there can sometimes be a substantial recovery. We have recovered in excess of a million dollars for many different clients with non-subscriber cases.

For personal injury claims the time period to file a claim could be anywhere from one year to four years depending upon the type of claim that you have. Generally, the time limit is two years to file suit in Texas. It is important to get advice from an attorney because the exact time limits can depend upon the specific facts of your case. It is important to hire an attorney soon after an accident. The insurance companies usually respond immediately and so should you. An attorney can help preserve evidence that otherwise may be lost forever.

An unfortunate and illegal practice in personal injury law is known as barratry, or more commonly referred to as ambulance chasing or case running. Lawyers and people who work for lawyers are prohibited from making unsolicited contact with potential clients in the form of in-person visits or telephone calls. Often times after a highly publicized accident where a potentially valuable claim exists, unethical lawyers will—either themselves or through someone they hire—attempt to contact the claimants or meet them at their homes or hospital rooms. Sometimes they pose as grief counselors, funeral home staff, or even healthcare providers like nurses.

Know that you have the right to refuse to talk to these people, and if possible, you should report them to the local authorities.

Learn more about barratry.