Houston Car Accident Attorney

As anyone who routinely drives in Houston knows, crashes are a daily occurrence on our congested roads and highways. Some wrecks result in little more than minor damage to the vehicles involved. However, too often some accidents result in severe and sometimes fatal injuries.

When you are in an auto accident, you may be forced to deal with unexpected and sometimes life-altering consequences. You may now have a pile of medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and physical and emotional issues that affect your daily life.

After a car accident, all you want to do is to focus on your healing. Instead, you must deal with pushy insurance adjusters who are only looking out for their company’s bottom line. These insurance representatives often contact you shortly after the accident. They will do everything they can to deny, diminish, or delay your rightful injury claim. All the insurance companies want to do is save themselves money.

You deserve to focus on your recovery. You should not have to fight with an insurance company during this already trying time. Now is the time to turn to an experienced car accident lawyer in Houston at The Callahan Law firm. For more than 25 years, our car accident law firm in Houston has provided top-notch legal representation to those hurt by the negligence of others. We stand ready to help you. We will take immediate action, and we will provide personalized, small-firm attention to your case.

We have the legal experience and knowledge to help you get the full and fair compensation you deserve.

• Attorney Michael S. Callahan is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. That is a distinction earned by only about 2% of the attorneys in the state.
• Attorney Casey Brown was an attorney representing insurance companies for many years, and now represents people in claims against those companies. He understands how insurance companies handle these types of claims.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in a car accident in Houston that wasn’t your fault, turn to the Houston car accident lawyers at The Callahan Law Firm. Contact us today for a free case review by calling us or reaching out online.

Do You Need a Lawyer After a Houston Car Accident?

When you have a car accident injury, it can seem difficult to know whether you should speak to a Houston accident attorney. The questions you should ask yourself include:

• Was someone else at fault for your car crash?
• Were you hurt to the point of needing to go to the ER or your doctor?
• Does your doctor say you need additional treatment?
• Are you having trouble going back to work due to your injuries?
• Are you still in pain due to your injuries?
• Are you having trouble participating in activities you enjoyed before your car crash?

If you have been seriously injured following a car crash, having experienced legal representation in your corner can prove to be critical. An experienced car accident lawyer can ensure that you receive fair and full compensation for your injuries.

How Can a Houston Car Accident Lawyer Help You?

When you decide to pursue compensation from those who caused your car accident and injuries, a Houston car accident lawyer from The Callahan Law Firm can help you by:

• Conducting a thorough, independent investigation of your accident to secure evidence we can use in your case.
• Working with accident reconstruction experts in complicated cases to put together the evidence and determine how your accident occurred and who was responsible for causing the crash.
• Filing claims for compensation with the at-fault driver’s insurance company, or for coverage under your own auto insurance policy.
• Aggressively negotiating for a full and fair settlement of your claim.
• When a fair settlement cannot be obtained, prepare your case for trial and fight to get you maximum recovery.

With more than 25 years of experience helping car accident victims, the attorneys at The Callahan Law Firm have fought to protect the rights and interests of our clients and their families. Our goal is to ensure the at-fault parties and insurance companies are held accountable and provide the financial compensation our clients need and deserve.

Our firm focuses exclusively on representing injured accident victims and their families. As a smaller-sized boutique personal injury law firm, we can provide you with the focused attention that you and your case deserve. We strive to make ourselves available to you to talk in person, over the phone, or through video chat, email, or text at any time convenient for you.

Although we may be a smaller law firm compared to the big insurance defense firms, we provide our clients with big-firm experience and legal knowledge. Our founding partner, Michael S. Callahan, is board-certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Our legal team also brings experience in how insurance companies defend against car accident claims. We can achieve success for our clients in even the most difficult cases.

Demanding Fair Compensation for Your Damages

If you have been involved in a Houston car accident that was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and damages. Compensation can include:

• Past and future medical expenses, for medical necessities such as ER and hospital visits, doctor’s appointments, surgeries or other medical procedures, physical and occupational therapy, pain medication, and mobility or other medical equipment.
• Costs of long-term personal care, if your injuries leave you with disabilities that make it difficult to care for yourself. Those costs may include home health aides, housekeeping services, or alterations to your home to accommodate disabilities.
• Lost wages and income for the time you miss from work while recovering from your injuries.
• Lost earning capacity, if your injuries disable you from returning to your old job or to any form of gainful employment.
• Pain and suffering, or the physical anguish and emotional distress brought about by your injuries.
• Physical impairment, if your injuries result in you being unable to do or cause you to have difficulty doing the physical activities you could before you were injured
• Lost quality of life, such as from disabilities that prevent you from participating in activities you once enjoyed, or from physical disfigurements that may cause you embarrassment or humiliation.
• Property damage, such as repair costs for your vehicle or the cash value of your vehicle if it is totaled in the crash.

In rare cases, you might be entitled to receive an award of punitive damages from the at-fault party or parties. Punitive damages are not intended to compensate you for a loss. Instead, punitive damages are intended to punish the at-fault party for his or her conduct and to serve as a deterrent to others from engaging in similar conduct in the future.

Let our experienced Houston personal injury lawyers review your case. We can help you understand more about the kinds of compensation you may deserve.

Statute of Limitations on Car Accident Lawsuits in Houston

Under Texas’s statute of limitations law, you generally have two years from the date of your crash that happened in the state of Texas in which to file a lawsuit because of your injuries and damages. In some cases involving injured minors, this two-year period does not begin to run until the injured minor turns 18 years old. If you fail to file your lawsuit before the limitations period expires, the court can permanently dismiss your case.

If you are involved in a car wreck with a state or municipal vehicle or a state or municipal employee driving on business, you must also comply with the notice of claim requirements under the Texas Tort Claims Act. That law requires you to provide the relevant state or municipal government unit with notice of your claim within an even shorter timeframe, sometimes even as short as 90 days after the date of your accident.

What to Do If You’ve Been Hurt in a Car Accident in Houston

After a serious car crash, make sure you protect your legal rights so that you can pursue compensation for your injuries and damages. Remember to take these steps:

1. Call 911. When you’ve been seriously hurt, you or someone else should call 911 to summon paramedics and police to the scene. The police officers who respond to the scene will prepare a police accident report. Either you or your attorney must obtain a copy of this report from the police department after your accident. Get checked out by the responding paramedics. If they recommend you go to the ER, either have the paramedics transport you or arrange your own transportation to get medical attention as soon as possible.
2. Get the other driver’s contact information and insurance information. You may also wish to take down the make, model, license plate number, VIN, and registration number of the other vehicle. That way, you will know who to contact if you later need to file a claim for compensation.
3. Get contact information from any eyewitnesses, in case you later need to contact them for a statement. Remember that the longer you wait to get a statement from eyewitnesses, the more likely it is that their memory of the accident will fade.
4. Take photos or videos of the accident. If possible and safe to do so, you or someone you know should photograph or video the accident scene. Include details such as the resting positions of the vehicles after the crash, the damage to the vehicles, any skid marks on the road surface, the road lines and traffic control, and the weather, lighting, road, and traffic conditions at the time of the accident. Also, photograph any visible injuries you have suffered.
5. Schedule a physical examination with a doctor if you weren’t taken to the hospital. Even if you do not feel as though you were seriously hurt, get checked out by a physician as soon as possible following your crash. The shock of an accident can lead to an adrenaline rush that masks the pain of injury for hours or even days after an accident. Promptly diagnosing your injuries not only allows you to get treatment more quickly but also strengthens your argument that your injuries were caused by the accident.
6. Talk to a Houston car accident attorney from The Callahan Law Firm. Our attorneys can review the facts and circumstances of your case and help you to understand your legal rights and options. We can also guide you through the process of securing financial recovery.

Common Types of Car Accident Injuries

The force of impact from a violent car crash can leave a car accident victim with catastrophic, life-altering injuries.

Common injuries suffered in car accidents include: