car accident attorney

A car accident is a very frightening experience, from a small fender bender, to an extreme crash, totaling one, or both, vehicles involved in the crash. After almost 20 years of handling car accident cases, I have learned that the common theme is failure to follow the rules of the road. The rules of the road are the safety rules, put in place, to protect us, drivers on the road. When drivers do not follow the rules of the road, they are negligent (unsafe driver). This negligence often leads to car accidents, that result in damages.

Some common causes of car accidents are listed below (ordered from most common to least common):

Failure to control speed 

Driver inattention

Failure to drive in a single lane

Failure to yield, while turning left

Unsafe lane change

Following too closely

Improper evasive action

Failure to yield at a stop sign

Speeding, under limit

Disregard stop sign or light

Failure to yield in private drive

Driving under the influence of alcohol.

Driver inattention

Distracted driving (also called driver inattention) has become a VERY dangerous issue on our roads. With the advancement of modern technology, drivers have access to almost everything, at their fingertips. Driving while texting is a VERY real danger. The driver should have 100% focus on the road, but if they are driving while texting, they actually are dealing with three types of distractions at once, visual, manual, and mental.  While the driver should have their eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and mind on the drive, if texting while driving, they are doing none of those required, safe driver activities. It is estimated that reading the average text could take up to 5 seconds. If driving 55 miles per hour (20 miles below most Texas highway speed limits), while reading a text, the driver's eyes are off the road for a full 5 seconds and they have traveled close to 100 yards, the distance of an entire football field.

Driving under the influence of alcohol

Driving under the influence of alcohol (driving while intoxicated) is a serious offense. Juries do not like drunk drivers and for this reason, adjusters typically give drunk driver accident claims special attention. When officers investigate drunk driver accidents, they do a more detailed investigation and gather more evidence, than at a typical car accident scene, where alcohol is not involved. These special investigations produce special evidence; this evidence is VERY useful when negotiating a drunk driver car accident claim.

A typical flow of treatment, following a car accident, depending on the severity of injuries, is as follows: ambulance, emergency room, primary care physician, and physical therapist or chiropractor. If the car accident causes significant injuries, like a traumatic brain injury, requiring cognitive retraining, or a broken bone, requiring surgery, as examples, the car accident victim would also most likely treat and follow up with surgeons, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, therapists, plastic surgeons, and potentially, a long list of other providers, fighting alongside the car accident victim, to help with recovery from the injuries caused by the negligent driver.

Below is a list of injuries that might be caused in a car accident:

Traumatic brain injury

A traumatic brain injury occurs when, upon impact in the car accident, your brain slams into your skull. There are varying degrees of traumatic brain injuries, from   a concussion (which is a bruise on your brain) all the way to total brain death. 

Broken bones

When you have a broken bone, caused by a car accident, you can have a closed 

fracture or an open fracture. A closed fracture means that your bone broke, but  skin was not pierced, by the broken bone.  An open fracture means that the bone   broke and pierced the skin, causing a laceration.

Disc herniation

A herniated disc, sometimes called a slipped disc or ruptured disc, has suffered  damage, causing a tear and allowing some of the fluid inside, to leak out. The   impact from a car accident can cause a disc herniation.

Pinched nerves

Sometimes, herniated discs can extend out far enough to touch the nerves around  them, causing pain, numbness, or weakness in your arms or legs.

Lacerations

If the impact from the car accident is significant enough, windows and  windshields can be shattered, throwing glass into the skin of the car accident   victims. These pieces of glass pierce the skin and leave lacerations. Lacerations  can also lead to scarring.

Contusions

Contusions, also known as bruises or hematomas, are exploded blood vessels,  under the skin. These occur in car accidents when the victims are thrown around   inside the vehicle and their body parts slam against parts of the vehicle or the  seatbelt or when the airbags explode into their chest or face.

Neck strain

A neck strain occurs when one or more fibers in a neck muscle or tendon stretches  too far and tears. This is common in car accidents where the victim is hit from   behind and their head is thrown forward, then backward, then forward, causing  these torn fibers.

Neck sprain

A neck sprain is a stretched ligament or muscle, in your neck. Neck sprains are  more common in side impact car accidents, where the negligent driver slammed   into the side of the victim's car, throwing their head from side to side, stretching  ligaments or muscles in the neck.

Back strain

A back strain occurs when muscles in the back are torn. The impact from a car  accident throws the victim around in the car and tears the muscles in their back. It   is very painful.

Back sprain

A back sprain occurs when ligaments in the back are torn. Back sprain is very  painful and can take time to heal, since the back is part of the core of the body and  it bears the body's weights and holds it stable.

Below is a list of the damages that flow from a car accident:

Past and future medical bills (this also includes prescriptions)

Past and future pain and suffering

Past and future mental anguish

Lost wages (documentation of time missed by employer and off work order from doctor)

Loss of earnings in the future

Physical impairment (videos of how you "did life", before and after the car accident, are  great evidence of physical impairment)

Scarring and disfigurement (photographs of these damages are a necessity).