We Offer YOU What Other Law Firms Won’t
If you read online reviews, you will see the number one complaint of law firms is they never call their clients. That is why we are dedicated to making sure you receive a call at least once a week to update you on your case and to check on you, not only as a client, but as an actual person.We don’t keep you in the dark. It is your file, so why shouldn’t you have access to it? We believe in transparency at a level you won’t find anywhere else.We have an extensive group of medical professionals who are not only the best at what they do, but, we locate providers as conveniently located for you as possible. We know time is money and you cannot be driving all over town for treatment. We make sure to get you treatment that is convenient for you. Additionally, we work with every type of doctor that you could possibly need.
Let Our Clients Tell You How They Got MORE with 
“They made this process way better than I ever thought it could be. They put me first and they made that a priority from day one. They have made the bad days better. They are always excited to see me and I am always excited to see them.”
Ashlynn“They were always on time on answering back… They made me the appointments, the reminders around my working hours and was able to help me out.”
Rosa“I think they’re not like other attorneys you see online. You don’t really feel comfortable with those guys. I’d recommend AK Law Firm to anybody!”
Fidel Cruz“They treated me with kindness and respect.”
Reuben“They have wonderful individuals here that want to work on your case, always contacting you. They really care about you.”
Juan Villareal“They were thoroughly explaining the process and everything was great. I would greatly recommend AK Law Firm”
Astrid“The truth, from one to ten, I would give ten, because every time I have called, they have always answered me. Every time, no matter how many times. And I’m not going to lie. I am very bothersome.”
Anonymous“AK Law Firm stayed up with me on the updates. There was no trouble getting in contact with the staff and they were always answering any questions I had.”
Luis Hernandez“They stuck with me and were there even though I wasn’t answering the phone for a long period of time. They kept reaching out and kept making sure I got compensated for what happened.”
JahlaniWE EXCEED YOUR EXPECTATIONS, ENSURING YOUR
WELL-BEING IN EVERY STEP. WE DONT JUST STOP AT
You Get MORE in Your Pocket Too
Many personal injury lawyers opt for quick, small settlements
instead of fighting for the full payout their clients deserve.
Short answer is, yes, but you probably won’t want to. If the owner of the vehicle that hit you is a different person than the person actually driving the vehicle, you may have a right to sue the owner. This would only be under a theory of “negligent entrustment.” This is a very difficult thing to prove in Texas. You have to more-or-less show that the owner of the vehicle knew the person driving their vehicle was a very bad driver (for example, many other accidents the owner KNEW about and/or something like the owner and the driver were drinking alcohol together and then he gave him the keys) and then gave him the car anyway despite knowing he was a bad driver. If you can show that, then the owner also shares in responsibility.
However, if you just want to get the owner’s car insurance, you don’t need to sue the owner. If you sue the person that was driving the vehicle (if the driver was allowed under the owner’s insurance policy) then the owner’s insurance will still kick in and provide you coverage for your property damages and bodily injury. It depends. The following are just some of the factors that determine the value of your claim:
- Who was responsible for the incident? Is it 100% on the defendant? Is the other insurance company claiming you should share some blame?
- What is the extent of your injuries? The more injuries, the more valuable your bodily injury claim is.
- What are the policy limits of the at-fault driver?
- Do you carry Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist Coverage on your policy? (see other FAQ below related to this type of coverage)
- How soon after the incident did you begin treatment?
- How many previous accidents have you been involved in?
- How many workplace injuries have you had in the past?
- Your age, race and gender – yes, believe it or not, insurance companies factor this into their offers
Every claim has a different value. Even if your mother’s brother’s uncle got $1,000,000.00 in their car accident it doesn’t mean anything about what your claim is worth. Car accident claims are like snowflakes – no two are exactly alike.
But, at the AK Law Firm, we have seen a lot of snowflakes. So, we know what makes your case stronger and potentially adds value to your case. While no lawyer can tell you the value of your case (and anyone who tries is lying – run away!) we can tell you what you need to do in order to maximize your case value and we can also warn you about the negatives in your case that will affect the value. That’s why you hire a lawyer.You have ten (10) days to file a police report after a car accident in Texas. However, you should do it as quickly as possible because facts are forgotten and stories change. Once the defendant goes home and talks to enough family members they may be convinced the crash was not their fault, even if they admitted fault to you at the scene. The best practice is to wait (yes, I know it takes a long time) for the police to arrive at the scene. However, if you cannot, you should make the time and quickly file a police report within a few days after the accident. You have two (2) years from the date of the accident to get a lawsuit on file in Texas. This is called the “statute of limitations.” Once you have a lawsuit on file the statute of limitations is preserved and the case can go on however long afterwards and you will be protected.
But, in reality, you cannot wait around for two years without doing anything and then hope to file a claim. At that point, your claim won’t be of much value at all. It is important that you act immediately after a crash. Every day that goes by without medical treatment the insurance company drops the value of your case. So, while you have two years to file your lawsuit, you have just a few days to get your case going in order to make sure you maximize your case value.
- Gather Evidence
- Take pictures
- Look for witnesses
- Look for cameras in the area
- Write down anything you can remember – defendant’s license plate or any other facts
- Call the police to the scene
- The police can possibly help try to find the person or at least write a report. Your insurance company will require this report be written to make a claim.
- Contact your insurance company
- Hire an attorney to help you put all the information together and let you know if you have a case
The insurance company is going to value your bodily injury claim directly in relation to:
- When you started your medical treatment
- How long you went to medical treatment
- What types of injuries did you suffer
If the insurance company sees that you didn’t get medical treatment for 30 days after your car accident, then your claim is going to lose significant value. To the insurance company – you must not be that hurt if you didn’t go treat immediately. While your life is undoubtedly busy, you must make time for medical treatment. This is true even if your pain levels are low. Even if you just go to an emergency clinic just to report your pain and then don’t treat for some time that is better than delaying your treatment.
The injuries you suffer in a car accident may seem small, but they are permanent. Many times, clients don’t truly feel the full extent of the pain until days or weeks after the incident. But, by then their case may have already lost a lot of value. That is why it is very important to seek out an attorney and treatment immediately after an accident – even if you don’t really think you need one. Yes, you need a lawyer. Even if the lawyer isn’t our firm, you still need a lawyer. You have the other driver and their insurance company against you. Even if you were found to not be at fault, the other driver’s insurance company is looking for any reason to under pay you. This could be on the value of your car or the value of your life long injuries.
Immediately after an accident your case starts losing money. Every day you don’t treat, the insurance company takes your injuries less and less seriously. The insurance company knows you don’t know what to do after a car accident to make sure you are fully compensated. For this reason, they will call you and play nice and try to act like they are on your side. But, they will actually be trying to delay things. Then, when it is too late to really get a lawyer, they will stop being so nice and leave you out to dry.
Law firms like ours couldn’t exist if our clients did not end up better off by hiring a lawyer – no one would do it. But, the amazing testimonials and Google reviews should show you that hiring a lawyer is not only a good idea – it is truly a must to protect you from the insurance company. Personal injury attorneys work on a “contingency fee basis” – that means the attorney doesn’t charge you anything up front. The attorney evaluates your claim and if they believe it will be successful they take on the challenge of working your case and only getting paid a percentage of what they are able to recover for you. The standard contingency fee is between 33-35% before litigation is filed. Then, once litigation is filed (that is, the case has to be filed in court) the fees can go up to anywhere between 40% and some as high as 55% depending on the complexity of the case.
If you are “shopping around” for personal injury attorneys you might find attorneys that charge different fee percentages. However, beware, that just in life, you get what you pay for. Some attorneys may try to reduce their fee percentage to sign your case, but remember, you and the attorney you choose share in the recovery. So, even if the fee percentage is lower, if your recovery is lower, that hurts your recovery WAY more than the fee percentage amount.
You need to find the attorney who will get you the best result as that is the best way to ensure the most money in your pocket. You should NEVER admit fault in a car accident. Why would you? What exactly do you have to gain by admitting fault? Now, that doesn’t mean you need to lie to anyone and pretend like something isn’t your fault. The facts will speak for themselves. However, you don’t know the law – that’s not your job. You could think something is your fault but the law actually says differently. Just stick to the facts at the scene of an accident and NEVER admit fault as it can and will be held against you later. This is the question we probably get the most at the AK Law Firm. The answer is, there is no way to tell. But, what we can tell you, are the factors that go into determining how long a car accident case might take:
- The extent of your injuries
- Which insurance company the other driver has
- If liability was clear or if it is being contested
- How many accidents you have had in the past that resulted in injuries
Of the above, nothing is within the law firm’s control. But, what we can do, is help you navigate any of the above issues – because we have seen and dealt with them all.
On average a car accident claim can take between 8 months up to 3-4 years. It is a very broad range. Before any claim can be resolved you have to get healthy. That is why your injuries matter. Sometimes it can take years to fully heal from injuries and that can make a case take longer. After that it has to do with how fair insurance companies want to be. If they make low offers on your case due to issues with liability, your past accident history or it is just their company policy to make bad offers then your case may need to be filed in court. This is a lengthy process unfortunately. The insurance companies know that and in an effort to not pay you – will try to drag things out.
At the AK Law Firm it is our job to put you in the best position to avoid this long process. We know how to navigate the issues that could prolong your case and will do our best to make sure your case is resolved as quickly as possible. Medical bills and attorney fees are paid at the same time – after the settlement is finalized. As part of finalizing your settlement your attorney should present you with a breakdown of the total amount of the settlement and indicate where the money is being paid. This will include both the attorney’s fees and the medical bills being paid.
In most cases the attorney’s fees will be taken out of the settlement first, followed by the medical bills and case expenses and the remainder of the funds will then go to the client. This is called a “gross fee contract” and is the most common in the personal injury field.
Make sure you review your settlement breakdown from your attorney before closing out your case and raise any questions you have. Your attorney, or their staff, should be able to explain all charges to you so that you fully understand and feel comfortable with themVery rarely is the short answer. In Texas, the only way to ever get a settlement above the at-fault driver’s policy limits is through something known as the Stowers doctrine. The Stowers doctrine, simply put, says we have to make a demand to the insurance company that shows your case is worth more than their policy limits. Then, the insurance company has to refuse to offer their full policy limits. Then, we have to go to trial and make a recovery greater than the defendant’s policy limits and try to enforce that judgment against the insurance company.
As you can tell – it’s not easy. Sometimes we get lucky and the insurance company sees their mistake before trial and will settle for above policy limits. However, that is VERY RARE. In general, the policy limits are the most you will be able to recover.Yes, you can be personally sued for a car accident in Texas. If you are involved in an accident you can be sued. Even if you are not at fault, you can still be sued. It doesn’t mean the person suing you will win, but you can be sued.
If you are sued after being involved in a car accident and you have car insurance then you need to notify your car insurance company and they will appoint you a defense lawyer to defend you in the lawsuit.In general, you should not have to pay taxes on settlements from car accidents in Texas. However, there are exceptions to this general rule. Technically, as long as the settlement is payment for your bodily injury then taxes are not owed. But, if the settlement is payment for lost wages then taxes would apply. For this reason, it is important what exactly the documentation says your settlement is for and what claims you made.
This is another reason it is important to have a lawyer. If you settle directly with the insurance company the documents they have you sign may indicate that your settlement covers claims for lost wages and then technically you could owe taxes on the settlement. In any case, you will want to consult with a tax specialist in order to ensure your specific set of facts require tax repayments or not.You cannot directly sue the car insurance company in most situations. If the person who caused the car accident has car insurance, you have to sue the person that hit you directly and then their car insurance will appoint a lawyer to represent the person who hit you. That is how you get to the insurance money – not by suing the car insurance company directly.
The only time you can sue a car insurance company directly is if you have a claim with your own car insurance company and they fail to pay your claim properly. This is usually seen when you have to make a claim with your car insurance company through the Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage on your policy (see FAQ related to Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage). If your insurance company fails to make an appropriate offer when you make a claim then the next step is to file a lawsuit directly against your car insurance company.You should always call the police after a car accident in Texas. Even if the other party agrees that the incident was their fault, it is always best to call the police. Many times the stories change after people leave the scene of an accident without calling the police. The person that hit you has time to go home and talk to their family and their insurance company. There is a chance that those people influence the story to change into one where they try to blame you for the accident.
Also, if you don’t call the police to the scene of an accident then YOU are responsible for filing your own police report within 10 days of the accident. If you do not then sometimes your insurance company can refuse to pay for your claim.
Overall, it may be frustrating to have to wait for the police to arrive, but, if you don’t wait at the scene it can cause you a lot of problems in the future that will be much more frustrating than just waiting for the police.Under Texas Transportation Code Section 550.201 if you leave the scene of an accident where there may be injuries you can be sentenced to time in jail of up to five (5) years and up to a $5,000.00 fine. Now, if the accident resulted in the death or very serious injury of anyone at the scene then leaving the scene is actually a felony of either the second or third degree and can result in serious jail time.
This is just the criminal ramifications from leaving the scene of an accident. On top these potential issues, leaving the scene can also severely damage your civil claims as well. Not only does leaving the scene make you look like the guilty party (especially compared to anyone who stays and wait for the police) but you also don’t get to tell your side of the story once the police arrive. This means that the only story the police will hear may be one that is not favorable to you. This can lead to you being found responsible for the accident when you may have done nothing wrong.
Moral of the story – stay at the scene. A few hours on the front end can save you a lot of time and problems down the road.You can sue an uninsured driver in Texas but it probably won’t be worth your effort. Many times we get calls from people looking to sue uninsured drivers in Texas. Our response to all of them is that while you can sue an uninsured driver, it won’t be worth your effort. Unless the person who hit you is independently wealthy, even if you get a judgment against them, you may never collect.