Fort Worth rear end collision lawyer.

What We Do First

1. 1 Step one

   Obtain the crash report

   Crash reports are now obtained through the Texas Department of Transportation’s CRIS portal.Read moreRead less

   A report may take up to 14 days to appear in CRIS. We request it as soon as it becomes available and begin the evidence gathering process.

2. 2 Step two

   Preserve evidence before it disappears

   Evidence can disappear quickly after a rear end crash. Especially vehicle damages and any potential footage that recorded the accident.Read moreRead less

   We work to preserve: vehicle damage evidence; witness names and contact information; nearby surveillance or traffic camera footage; 911 recordings and dispatch records; medical documentation; statements made by the other driver; and bar, restaurant, or receipt records when alcohol may be involved. If you were part of a conversation, Texas law may allow you to record it. Statements made by the other driver at the scene may also be important evidence in a personal injury claim.

3. 3 Step three

   Investigate possible drunk driving evidence

   A driver’s alcohol consumption can affect both liability and damages.Read moreRead less

   Evidence may include: police observations; field sobriety testing; breath or blood test results; arrest records; and receipts or surveillance from a bar, restaurant, or other alcohol provider. In severe cases, intoxication may support a claim for exemplary damages. Texas law generally requires clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence for exemplary damages.

4. 4 Step four

   Evaluate whether a bar may be responsible

   In some cases, the drunk driver is not the only potential defendant.Read moreRead less

   Under the Texas Dram Shop Act, a bar, restaurant, or other alcohol provider may be liable if it served alcohol to a person who was obviously intoxicated to the extent that they presented to be a clear danger to themselves and others. One crash can potentially involve two claims: a claim against the intoxicated driver, and a claim against the bar or business that overserved the driver.

1. 1 The hold

   Why you should wait before speaking to insurance adjusters

   The damaged vehicle is physical evidence that an insurance adjuster cannot recreate from a photograph.Read moreRead less

   Texas law requires a party to preserve evidence if they know, or should reasonably know, that a claim will be filed and the evidence is important to that claim. A preservation letter does not create this duty; it confirms a duty that already exists under the law. If a party intentionally conceals evidence, a judge may issue a spoliation instruction, which tells the jury to assume the evidence would have been unfavorable to that party. This remedy requires a finding of specific intent to hide information. Losing or repairing an item only triggers this penalty if the loss prevents the other side from defending the case. Repairing your car does not result in an automatic penalty. We make that decision together.

2. 2 The rental

   You lose the use of your vehicle while it sits in a repair shop or an impound lot.

   You can demand compensation for the cost of a rental vehicle or other transportation while your car is unavailable.Read moreRead less

   You do not have to rent a car or spend money on transportation to recover loss of use. Texas law measures these damages by the reasonable rental value of the vehicle you cannot use. You can prove this value through lost profits or the cost of a substitute. Until 2016, Texas courts applied different rules for repairable cars versus total losses, but the Supreme Court removed that distinction. Now, the ability to fix the car does not change your right to these damages. Because these are consequential damages, you must prove they were foreseeable and not speculative. One limit exists: the Court has not ruled on cases where a person leaves a repairable car unrepaired to preserve its value, so lawyers must argue those specific facts in court.

3. 3 Your policy

   Your own insurance policy may pay for these costs before the other driver’s insurance company does.

   You can choose to wait for the other driver’s insurance carrier, or you can seek coverage through your own policy.Read moreRead less

   The Department of Insurance states that if you have collision coverage, you can file a claim with your own insurer while the other carrier disputes fault or delays payment. Your insurer then pursues reimbursement for what it paid. You pay a deductible on your own claim, but you do not pay a deductible on a payment made directly by the at-fault driver’s insurer. Your insurer only returns the deductible if they recover the funds. A Texas auto policy also includes personal injury protection (PIP) unless a named insured rejected it in writing. This coverage pays $2,500 regardless of who caused the crash. Your PIP carrier generally cannot seek reimbursement from the at-fault driver unless that driver was uninsured on the day of the accident.

4. 4 The title

   What the title packet is

   The insurance company decides if your car is a total loss. No Texas state agency or specific percentage determines this.Read moreRead less

   The Department of Insurance confirms the total loss call belongs to the insurer, made by comparing repair cost against current value. The statutory line for a salvage title is narrower and separate: a major component part damaged or missing, and repair cost, excluding repainting and sales tax, above the car’s actual cash value just before the damage. If you keep the car after they pay for it, Texas bars you from selling or transferring it until a salvage or nonrepairable title issues in your name. Read what is in the packet before the keys go back.

5. 5 The value

   A repair does not restore your financial position to what it was before the accident.

   Texas law allows you to recover vehicle damages in two ways, and the method used can change the amount you receive.Read moreRead less

   The default is the difference in market value immediately before and immediately after, and this method changes to repair costs whenever repair is economical and reasonable. The Fort Worth court defines a total loss as a vehicle where repair is not economically feasible, even if a mechanic can physically fix it. Two things get overstated elsewhere and are worth knowing straight. The Supreme Court of Texas has not yet decided whether an owner may pick whichever measure pays more, so nobody should promise you both. And against your own carrier under ordinary collision coverage, the standard Texas policy does not owe lost value once the car has been completely and adequately repaired.

The car and the injury are separate claims. How slowly the car moves says nothing about what the injury claim is worth.

Reviews are from public Google reviews across the firm. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.