San Antonio Car Accident Lawyers

If you’ve been involved in a car accident in San Antonio, you likely have mounting financial obligations. Car repairs and medical bills can quickly add up, and if you’re out of work, your problems are likely compounding.

Receiving compensation for a car accident can be an uphill battle, though. First, you need to go through the insurance company, and they do not make things easy for you. That’s where the experienced car accident lawyers at Nix Patterson come in. We go to bat for our clients, providing aggressive and commonsense legal representation.

Common Car Accident Injuries

A significant proportion of car accidents can cause injury to the driver or passengers. Common car accident injuries include:

• Fractures and broken bones
• Cuts and lacerations
• Contusions
• Internal injuries
• Soft tissue injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Head and neck injuries

Regardless of the type of injury you sustain, you’re going to need medical attention immediately after your accident, and you might require ongoing care. Your injuries might disrupt your day-to-day life, your earning potential could suffer, and your relationships with friends and family members could be altered. If your accident was caused by someone else, this situation can be exceedingly frustrating.

Why You Need a Car Accident Lawyer

You may have been told that you can get a settlement check when you have been injured in a car accident. While this is sometimes the case, it is far from a given. There are many things that need to happen over a prolonged period of time before a check can be deposited into your account. Even then, it is not a victory if you are paid a fraction of what you deserve for your car accident injuries.

There is one thing that you can do to put yourself in the best position to get every dollar that you deserve. You can hire a car accident lawyer who has the experience and knowledge to take on the insurance company. Your attorney will do the heavy lifting to ensure that your legal rights are protected under all circumstances.

Your car accident lawyer would wear many hats when they are handling your case. The first thing that they are here to do is answer all the questions you have about your case and explain your legal options and pathways to financial compensation..

When you hire a car accident lawyer for your case, they can do the following:

• Investigate the cause of your accident and gather evidence that can be used in the claim that you submit or the lawsuit that you file
• Help you learn the value of your case to prepare for filing your claim
• Deal with the insurance company on your behalf, filing the claim
• Taking your case to court if necessary, if you cannot reach a settlement
• Negotiating the highest possible amount of compensation in a settlement agreement

All of these functions are things that you would not be able to do effectively on your own, especially if you’ve been injured. In the aftermath of a car accident, you don’t want to be worried about fighting with insurance companies and filing paperwork. Let the San Antonio car accident attorneys at Nix Patterson handle the legal aspects of your case while you focus on your recovery. 

Common Causes of Car Accidents

In 2022, there were nearly 40,000 car accidents in San Antonio. Nearly 30% of these accidents resulted in an injury to one or both drivers. In particular, the number of speeding-related deaths and injuries has spiked in the city, as drivers show less respect for traffic laws.

Drivers pay less regard to your safety, either because they simply do not care or they are not thinking about it at all. They may be entirely unfocused on the road or simply focused on doing what they want behind the wheel.

As a result, drivers may cause accidents by doing the following:

Speeding

Excessive speed is a factor in roughly 30% of car accident fatalities. Speeding reduces the driver’s reflexes and their ability to respond to challenges on the roadway.

Distracted Driving

Motorists often take their focus off the road to do things like texting or eating. Distracted driving accounts for nearly 25% of motor vehicle fatalities, and roughly 10% of accidents result from motorist inattention.

Illegal Lane Changes

Drivers may not properly check their blindspots when they make a lane change, whether it is due to inattention or carelessness.

Illegal Left-Hand Turns

Drivers making left-hand turns may not see oncoming traffic, or they may misjudge the amount of time that they have to make the turn.

Running Stop Signs or Red Lights

The failure to yield the right-of-way when required by law can lead to a t-bone car crash, which is one of the most dangerous types of accidents.

Reckless Driving

Drivers care less about traffic laws and often consciously disregard them. Distracted driving spiked during the pandemic, and the surge has not abated.

Drunk Driving

Alcohol loosens a driver’s inhibitions and takes away their ability to skillfully control their car. They may take senseless risks, like driving recklessly or speeding.

Inexperience

Younger drivers, or those with less experience, are more likely to cause accidents. While younger drivers account for only 5% of total motorists, they are involved in more than 8% of total accidents.

Your car accident lawyer would perform a full investigation of the accident to determine its cause.

How Does a Lawyer Help Prove Your Car Accident Case?

When you are seeking payment for your car accident injuries, you are the one who has the burden of proof. If you do not come forward with the necessary evidence, you do not qualify for a check. You have to show what the other driver did to prove that they were negligent. Only then can you begin to discuss car accident compensation.

Unfortunately, your word does not count for much in a car accident case. You may have your own side of the story, but the other driver is also telling theirs. You need physical evidence or testimony that can break the deadlock. Your lawyer would need to conduct a full investigation to come up with the evidence for your case.

Your lawyer may use the following to prove your case:

• Testimony from objective third parties who saw the accident, which is more effective than your word or that of a family member or friend who was in your car at the time of the accident
• Pictures of the scene of the accident, if you or someone else was able to take them before the scene was cleared
• Dashcam footage from your car or another vehicle that was near the scene
• Testimony from an accident reconstruction expert who will use principles of math and physics to recreate the crash and give their opinion about the cause

When it comes to the police report of the accident, this document is helpful but not entirely conclusive. The insurance companies may give it some credence, but the officer who showed up at the scene after the crash is not always right, and they may not give a conclusive opinion about what caused the accident. Further, this report is considered hearsay, and it is not admissible in court because the officer did not see the actual accident.

What To Do After a Car Accident

There is quite a bit that you need to do after a car accident. Some accident victims may be able to start gathering evidence at the scene of the accident. However, many are dealing with physical injuries at the scene, and there is little that they can do on their own.

The first crucial thing is to report the accident to the authorities. Texas law requires that nearly all car accidents are reported to law enforcement. The benefit is that you will receive a police report that could include information about the accident and the officer’s impressions about what they saw. However, the police report is not admissible in court, and the officer’s word is not final.

Then, you would also need to focus on your medical situation. Chances are that if you are considering filing a car accident claim, you have suffered some type of physical injury. It is vital that you tend to these injuries and get the medical attention that you need to both diagnose and treat the injuries. If not, you can place both your health and your legal situation in jeopardy.

You may be wondering how you have both the time to deal with the legal process and the wherewithal to handle the insurance company. The answer is that you do not. Not only are you preoccupied with your medical appointments, but you are also not prepared for the tactics that the insurance company may use.

Thankfully, there is help available to you that can not only improve your chances of success in the claims process but can also take much of the burden off your plate. You can hire an experienced car accident lawyer to represent you. You should do this as immediately as possible after the car accident because time is crucial. If you wait to hire a lawyer, you may begin to lose the evidence that you need to prove your case.

In addition, the legal process takes time. It could take many months, or even years, to finally secure the compensation that you deserve. The sooner that you begin the legal process, the quicker you can get the ball rolling. You need the money that you would get in a settlement check, and you could face financial distress if your compensation takes too long.

How Much Is My Car Accident Case Worth?

It is extremely difficult for you to know how much your case is worth at the outset. The insurance company is working at an advantage over the average accident victim. They have extensive data on how much cases are worth because they see scores of them each year. The insurance company has sophisticated technology that gives them up-to-the-minute information based on each geographical area. They even have things distilled down to the city since they see claims throughout San Antonio.

It is up to you to know how much your case is worth before you file a claim or lawsuit. The insurance company is not going to share their information with you because it takes away their advantage. Your attorney’s presence and knowledge will level the playing field.

Your car accident damages are something that is unique to you. It is entirely possible that two car accident victims can suffer the same exact injury but be entitled to two completely different amounts of money. Everything depends on what you have experienced and endured.

You would be doing yourself a disservice if you asked a lawyer about the average settlement for a certain type of car accident injury. You may end up costing yourself money because you could be happy getting what someone else got when you deserved more.

Instead, you should focus on your own situation. You are entitled to receive the following in car accident compensation:

• Medical bills
• Property damage
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Emotional distress

If your loved one died in a car accident, the focus would be on what your family has lost and the void left by the loss of your family member.

In the end, a settlement check is often a product of an arms-length negotiation between you and the insurance company. Nobody has the right or authority to impose anything on you in the claims process. If the insurance company doesn’t offer you adequate compensation, you do not have to accept it. You can always say no to a subpar settlement offer and continue to fight for what you deserve.

Contact the San Antonio Car Accident Lawyers at Nix Patterson

If you have been injured in a crash, the San Antonio car accident lawyers at Nix Patterson can handle your case with the vigor and personalized attention it deserves. We take the time to answer your questions while fighting hard on your behalf.

And remember, we work on a contingency basis, which means you never have to pay for case expenses out of your own pocket. To schedule a free initial consultation with one of our attorneys, you can contact us online or call us today at 512-328-5333.