It’s common to see crash and accident used interchangeably when it comes to collisions. But in reality, they’re not exactly the same. That’s because an accident is not considered preventable, while a crash is often able to be prevented.

If you’re still not sure how a crash is different from an accident, here’s a look at some examples of each, as well as the main reason that most people prefer to call a collision an accident rather than a crash.

What’s an Accident?

In an accident, you have no control over what’s happened. It’s something you did not mean to do and could not have reasonably foreseen or prevented. As such, it’s not considered your fault. In fact, no one, in particular, is at fault for an accident. These are some examples of car accidents:

• You got a flat tire or a tire blowout that caused you to lose control of the vehicle
• There were objects or debris on the road that you couldn’t see
• Someone darted out in front of your car
• Your vehicle had a serious defect, such as brake malfunction
• You had a medical emergency while driving
• Another driver crashed into your car
• If any of these issues occurred while you were driving, you should let a car accident lawyer know. You will likely be able to collect compensation from the at-fault party, whether it’s another driver or the manufacturer of your car.

What Is a Crash?

By contrast, a crash is typically preventable. It means something you did caused your car to collide with another car, a pedestrian, or an object. These are some examples of why you might crash:

• Speeding
• Tailgating
• Driving impaired due to drugs or alcohol
• Driving drowsy
• Driving while distracted, such as when texting
• Running a red light
• Running a stop sign
• Driving a car that you know is unsafe or defective

If you suspect the other driver in your collision made any of the above decisions and ended up injuring you in a crash, it’s important to talk to a car accident attorney about your legal options.

How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help You?

You should note that car insurance companies are known for calling preventable car crash accidents, as this removes the suggestion that anyone is at fault. This is one way for them to avoid taking financial responsibility for the collision when a driver they insure clearly caused it.

This is why you should hire a car accident lawyer to represent you when you make a claim against an insurance company. The right lawyer will prove fault and get the compensation you deserve. Contact our law firm today at (855) 545-1777 to learn more.

If your goal is road safety, you might be curious about where most car accidents happen. While it is interesting to learn where accidents are most likely to occur, you should keep in mind that you can get into an accident anywhere you drive. This is why you should always wear a seatbelt, pay attention to the road, and keep a safe distance between your car and other cars. If you get into a car accident despite taking these safety precautions, your next step should be to hire a car accident lawyer as soon as possible.

How Far from Home Do Car Accidents Occur?

Car accident statistics say that you don’t have to travel far from home to get into an accident. That’s because studies from trusted agencies, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, show that more than half of car crashes happen within five miles of your home. Additionally, about three-fourths of accidents take place within 15 miles of home.

This means you’re probably more likely to crash in your neighborhood–or at least your own city—than anywhere else. That’s typically because drivers feel more comfortable on the streets they’re familiar with, so they’re less likely to drive defensively and pay attention than when they’re far from home.

Where Do the Deadliest Crashes Happen?

Deadly crashes can happen anywhere, but they’re more likely to occur on roads where drivers speed, aren’t fully focused on the road, or both. As a result, in many states, the deadliest accidents happen in rural areas. This is likely because the speed limits are often higher, and there are fewer cars, so people might speed. They could also be driving drowsy or distracted on a long road trip through a rural area.

Of course, deadly crashes can happen in urban areas, too. When they do, they’re likely to happen at intersections. This is where drivers might fail to stop at a red light or stop sign, or they rear-end the cars that have stopped. They might also fail to yield to oncoming traffic when making a turn, causing fatal T-bone accidents.

Where Do Minor Car Accidents Happen Most?

Minor car accidents are not as tragic as fatal crashes, but they can still cause severe injuries and property damage. As a result, it’s good to know that most minor, low-speed accidents happen in parking lots. This makes sense because it’s an area where drivers are backing up or trying to rush into the last spot available. All the while, pedestrians are walking around drivers who may be stressed out or not paying attention, which can create a chaotic feel that ends in an accident.

Whether your accident occurred in one of these areas or somewhere else, you’ll need legal advice from an attorney. The right car accident lawyer can help determine liability and get you the compensation you deserve. Contact our law firm at (855) 545-1777 to schedule an initial consultation.

Everything You Need To Know About Hiring A Houston Personal Injury Attorney

After being injured in an accident, victims often find themselves in serious pain, unable to work, and drowning in debt. Fortunately, if you’ve been injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another person or entity, you may be eligible for significant financial compensation. However, if you wish to seek compensation for your injuries, you shouldn’t do so without the assistance of an experienced Houston personal injury lawyer. Our knowledgeable attorneys at Milano Legal Group are here to help you obtain the financial compensation you deserve for your Houston personal injury. When you become our client, regardless of the type of accident that caused your injury, our experienced lawyers will do everything possible to see your case through to a successful conclusion. In addition, if you’ve lost a family member due to an accident involving negligence, we will help you pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the responsible party.  In this Houston personal injury lawyer guide, we discuss personal injury cases in Texas and explain how to find an accident injury attorney that is right for you.

Types of Personal Injury Cases

A Houston personal injury attorney can represent you in a variety of personal injury cases, including:

Bicycle Accidents

Although riding a bicycle is a convenient alternative to driving a motor vehicle, taking public transportation, or walking, it can also be quite dangerous. Unfortunately, cyclists’ relative lack of protection means they tend to sustain serious injuries when involved in accidents with motorists.

Distracted Driving Accidents

Distracted driving is more of a problem today than it has ever been. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 400,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2019 alone.

Drunk Driving Accidents

It is no surprise that driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a bad idea. Drunk driving kills around 10,000 people every year in the United States. Those who survive their accidents are often left with life-changing injuries.

Motorcycle Accidents

Like bicycles, motorcycles are a great alternative to passenger vehicles. However, bikers involved in accidents with motor vehicles tend to suffer serious injuries, especially when traveling at high speeds. In fact, hundreds of bikers are killed each year in Texas.

Pedestrian Accidents

According to data from the Texas Department of Transportation, annual pedestrian deaths in Texas sometimes outnumber motorcycle crash deaths. Many pedestrians who survive their accidents sustain life-altering injuries.

Truck Accidents

Semi-trucks pose serious risks to other vehicles due to their size and power. The results of a commercial truck colliding with a smaller vehicle are nearly always catastrophic.

Wrongful Death

When someone dies as a result of someone else’s negligence, the deceased’s family members may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit. Family members of the deceased can obtain financial compensation for the loss of their loved one by filing a wrongful death claim.

How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You

A Houston personal injury lawyer can help you obtain financial compensation for your injuries, regardless of the type of accident you’ve been involved in or the injury you have suffered. The personal injury process can be broadly separated into the following three stages: (1) investigation and demand, (2) litigation, and (3) financial recovery. When you hire a personal injury lawyer to assist you, they will guide you through each of these stages:

Investigation And Demand

During the initial stage of your case, your lawyer will collect as much information as possible about your accident. Based on this information, they will then make a monetary demand on the defendant or the defendant’s insurer. If this demand results in a fair settlement offer, your accident injury attorney will take the necessary steps to ensure that you receive the agreed-upon amount. However, if the defendant makes you a lowball offer or declines to settle your case, your attorney will proceed to the next step.

Litigation

Next, your attorney will draw on their knowledge, skill, and experience to handle all aspects of the litigation process on your behalf. Common litigation tasks include filing paperwork, conducting discovery, and collecting evidence. If your case fails to settle during the litigation stage, your accident attorney will take your case to trial.

Financial Recovery

Finally, whether you settle your case or win at trial, your accident lawyer will make sure you receive the money you are owed, which may entail filing post-trial motions to collect the court judgment, coordinating payment through the defendant’s insurer, or taking other necessary measures.

What to Look for in a Personal Injury Attorney

When you hire the right accident attorney, your chances of a successful outcome in your Houston personal injury case increase dramatically. You should do the following to find an attorney who will provide you with the best chance of success:

• Choose an attorney who focuses primarily on personal injury law: Although this may seem obvious, the accident injury attorney you select should primarily practice personal injury law. Each type of practice area is highly specialized, and attorneys usually only focus their practice in a handful of areas. So, for example, when choosing a Houston personal injury attorney, you shouldn’t hire an attorney whose primary focus is divorce law.
• Choose a Houston personal injury lawyer who has ample experience handling cases like yours: Not only should the attorney you choose practice personal injury law, but they should have tried similar cases to yours. For example, if you were injured in a pedestrian accident, you should hire an attorney who has previously handled pedestrian accident cases.
• Choose an attorney who is willing to take your case to trial: Although most personal injury cases settle before trial, if yours is a rare case that doesn’t, you’ll need an accident lawyer with sufficient trial experience.
• Choose an attorney with a track record of success: No lawyer should ever guarantee a specific outcome to your case. However, attorneys are free to share their previous achievements with you. So, while past success does not guarantee future results, hiring an attorney with a proven track record is rarely the wrong decision.
• Choose a lawyer who will give you past clients’ contact information: Finally, a successful attorney will have a long list of satisfied clients, and they should be happy to put you in touch with some of them.

Questions to Ask a Personal Injury Attorney During Your Initial Consultation

You must ask the right questions during your initial consultation to ensure that you hire an attorney who possesses the above qualities. You should ask your prospective attorney the following questions during your initial consultation:

• How long have you practiced personal injury law?
• What percentage of your practice is devoted to personal injury cases?
• Can you provide me with references?
• Will you personally handle my case, or will you delegate most of the work to legal assistants and paralegals?
• Will I be able to speak with you directly when I call your office to discuss my case?
• Can you give me an overview of how personal injury cases work in Houston?
• Do you handle cases on a contingency basis?
• Will I be charged for litigation-related expenses if litigation is required?
• How much is my case worth?
• What are my case’s strengths and weaknesses?

Contact an Experienced Attorney

If you’ve been injured, Milano Legal Group is here to help. When you hire us to pursue your personal injury claim in Texas, our legal team will determine who caused the accident and aggressively seek financial compensation on your behalf. If you’re concerned about your ability to pay, don’t be—our personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. In other words, if we don’t win your case, you owe us nothing. So, if an accident in Houston has left you or a loved one injured, please contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

When you’re involved in an accident that another driver caused, you’ll typically file a claim against their insurance provider to get your expenses paid. This way, you can get reimbursed for any money you paid for your medical care and car repairs, or any income you missed out on making at work.

But what happens when the other driver does not have car insurance? Can you initiate a lawsuit against them? The basic answer is yes, but there are some details to consider first. Here are the steps to take to make sure you’re not financially worse off after a car accident that you didn’t cause.

Will My Own Insurance Help Me?

After you find out the at-fault driver does not have insurance, you should contact your own insurance provider to report the crash. When you tell them the other driver is not insured, they may offer you some solutions. First, they will let you know if you have uninsured motorist coverage, which is a common add-on that you might have selected as part of your policy.

If you have uninsured motorist coverage, you’ll make a claim against it to get your accident expenses paid. Just note that you usually have to file a claim for this coverage within 30 days of the crash. Plus, your expenses could easily go over the limit for coverage, leaving you with unpaid medical bills.

There’s also a chance you don’t have uninsured motorist coverage. If this is the case, you may be able to get compensation through other types of coverage, such as collision or medical payments coverage. This will get you some funds to pay for car repairs and medical care. Your insurance company representative will let you know what’s available.

Should I Sue?

There’s always the option of bringing a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Just keep in mind that it’s not always worth the effort, since most drivers who don’t have car insurance also don’t have much money to spare. So even if you win the lawsuit, you might not see any compensation.

That being said, some uninsured drivers could have assets that the judge could put a lien on. So, the at-fault driver might not have disposable income right now, but they might own a house. If so, a lien would ensure they have to send you payment when they sell it, giving you a chance to get what you’re owed.

How Can a Lawyer Help Me?

Clearly, you have the option of suing the at-fault driver, which means you’ll need to talk to a personal injury lawyer after the accident. Your lawyer will look at the at-fault driver’s finances to determine if it’s worth it to sue.

If it is, your attorney will begin preparing your case so you can get one step closer to getting the compensation you deserve. If you want to learn more about how a lawyer will help you, contact our law firm at (855) 545-1777.

Whether you were injured in a car accident, slip and fall, or a dog attack, you deserve representation from a personal injury attorney. A lawyer will know exactly how to handle your case to secure you the best possible results. If you are on the fence about hiring an attorney to represent you as a personal injury claimant, schedule a free consultation with a lawyer near you where you can learn how he or she could help your case.

Answers to Your Legal Questions

The civil justice system can be complicated and difficult to understand for the average victim. You have probably never had to go up against a negligent party in pursuit of financial compensation before. Hiring a lawyer can give you answers you can trust to all of your legal questions. Your lawyer can explain your rights and help you understand what to expect from the process moving forward. Your lawyer can give you peace of mind about legal matters so you can focus more on healing.

Support for Your Legal and Personal Needs

Yes, a lawyer serves as a legal professional, but he or she will also provide support for your personal needs during what could be the most difficult time of your life. For example, your lawyer can connect you to the best doctors for your injury or condition in Texas. Your attorney and the entire legal team will be there for you when you need it the most. From answering questions about your case 24/7 to looking out for your best interests in and out of the courtroom, your lawyer can help you through a hard time.

Important Legal Resources

Your personal injury case could benefit from the resources the average law firm has to offer. A law firm will have connections to investigators and accident reconstructionists, for example, who can reconstruct how your accident happened and who is to blame for causing your losses. The law firm may also have special technology to demonstrate your losses to an insurance company or jury, such as visual diagrams explaining your injuries. Finally, a lawyer will know subject-matter experts in your region who can testify on your behalf. Hiring a lawyer could give you access to many resources that could improve your claim.

An Advocate Against the Insurance Company

One of the most critical reasons to hire a personal injury lawyer is for protection from insurance company bad-faith tactics. Insurance companies will stop at nothing to protect their own interests and make a profit. They will even resort to bad-faith maneuvers to save money on your claim, such as offering less than they know your case is worth or unfairly delaying your payout. Hiring a lawyer will give you a trained professional who can negotiate with an insurance company on your behalf. Your lawyer will not allow an insurance provider to take advantage of you during a personal injury claim.

The Ability to Go to Trial

Most injury cases in Texas settle. However, some require trials for fair outcomes. If your lawyer believes you could receive more money for your injuries and damages than an insurance company is offering, your lawyer can represent you at trial in Texas instead. A personal injury attorney can make a trial much less daunting. Your lawyer can take care of difficult legal processes in the pursuit of full compensation while you recuperate.

Better Results for Your Personal Injury Case

Overall, hiring a personal injury attorney can help you achieve better case results. When your future rests on the outcome of your personal injury claim, invest in an attorney. An attorney can accurately estimate the value of your claim. Then, your attorney can go up against the defendant and his or her insurance company to demand the maximum amount of compensation possible for your past and future losses. Having a lawyer handle your case could lead to a higher settlement than you could obtain alone.

Whiplash is among the most common car accident injuries. It usually occurs when someone hits your car from the back or the side, causing your neck to suddenly whip back and forth. This can result in extreme neck pain and stiffness, as well as vertigo and vision problems.

Because whiplash is such a common car accident injury, it’s often included in car accident settlements. The average payout can vary depending on several factors, such as the cost of your medical bills and how it affects your life. In general, the average payout for whiplash ranges between $10,000 and $20,000, though some accident victims can get up to $5 million if it’s a life-changing injury.

What Kind of Medical Costs Does Whiplash Result In?

The main reason you can pursue damages for whiplash is the cost of medical treatment for this injury. Though whiplash doesn’t usually require an ambulance ride to a hospital for immediate care like some wounds do, it is important for you to get a doctor’s appointment to get your neck examined as soon as possible.

This means you can expect to pay for a doctor’s appointment and any diagnostic tests that are ordered. Your treatment will depend on the severity of your whiplash. It can range from warm compresses and pain relievers to prescription medications and injections of medicine. You might also need surgery and physical therapy to fix the injured vertebrae in your neck. These medical expenses add up, so you should get compensated for them.

Are There Other Expenses to Expect When You Get Whiplash?

Your medical expenses are not the only losses you might have to deal with after a car accident. You will likely take days or even months away from work as you try to heal your neck. After all, some jobs are not easy to do when you can’t move your neck without pain, stiffness, or vertigo. This is why your settlement should include money to make up for lost wages.

You might even find that you cannot return to your job at all. In this case, you can request damages for lost earning capacity. Since it can be emotionally difficult, inconvenient, and time-consuming to quit your job due to an injury you didn’t cause, your personal injury lawyer can also request money to make up for your pain and suffering.

How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help You?

The only way to find out how much money you can collect for whiplash is to talk to an experienced Tucson personal injury attorney. When you come in for a free consultation, you can tell the lawyer about your expenses due to whiplash, as well as the impact on your life.

Your lawyer will come up with a proposed amount that is fair to you and will then approach the insurance company to get the settlement you need. If you’re ready to get started on your claim, contact us at (855) 545-1777.

Car accident claims are already complex, but when a self-driving or autonomous vehicle is involved, the level of complication rises significantly. Who is responsible for damages after a crash with a driverless car is an ongoing legal debate and the subject of many lawsuits.

What is Considered a Self-Driving Car?

A vehicle that is equipped with advanced technology and software systems so that it requires little to no effort by a human driver to operate. These vehicles have various levels of automation, from level one that requires driver assistance to level five, which is full automation.

Potentially Liable Parties

Concrete liability laws do not exist yet, but various factors unique to each collision will determine who is liable for a self-driving car accident. However, self-driving technology has not been perfected to where the car does not require some human assistance. In March 2018, a self-driving Uber car struck and killed an Arizona pedestrian, making it evident that autonomous vehicles could not sense, react to, and avoid unexpected danger. What this means is the human in a self-driving car involved in an accident, whether they are driving or remotely operating the vehicle, can be held liable if they cause an accident. If the driver or remote operator is an employee and working at the time of the accident, their employer could be vicariously liable for damages.

Driver Liability

Self-driving vehicle manufacturers are likely to blame a human driver in the event of an accident. On many autonomous vehicles, the software alerts the driver when they must take over the wheel. If the driver failed to take over when warned to do so, they can be held responsible.

Manufacturer Liability

There can be instances of a technological failure or the software failing to alert the driver quickly enough to avoid danger, making the manufacturer liable.

In some cases, multiple parties will be liable, but it will depend on which parties were considered negligent and caused the accident.

Texas’ Negligence Law

Texas operates under the rule of modified comparative negligence. This law applies to self-driving accident cases and allows multiple parties to be responsible for damages resulting from a collision. However, each party’s percentage of fault will directly impact their recovery, and they must be 50% or less at fault to receive compensation. This is known as the 51% bar rule, which bars a claimant from recovering compensation if they are 51% or more to blame for an accident.

Example: If you are awarded $100,000 and found 25% responsible because you were not wearing your seatbelt, you will receive 75% of your award or $75,000. On the other hand, if the jury determines you are 51% percent responsible, you will not receive compensation.

Contact Milano Legal Group

The manufacturers of self-driving vehicles or employers of those operating them will have teams of attorneys to help them devalue or invalidate your claim. When your health and financial future are on the line, you need an experienced Houston Car Accident Lawyer to help you hold the liable parties accountable. Contact us online or call (713) 489-4270 today for your free consultation.

When another driver is clearly at fault for your car accident, that doesn’t mean their insurance company will accept liability. There is evidence that is vital to supporting your accident claim, and here are some examples of what you need to obtain the compensation you are entitled to.

Evidence from the Accident Scene

The evidence you can gather from the crash scene includes photographs and videos, any available video surveillance, measurements of skid marks, the contact and insurance information for the people involved, and any witnesses. The positions of the vehicles after impact should also be noted, as well as the weather conditions and any surrounding factors that could have contributed to the collision.

Police Report

The police should always be called after a car accident so an official report can be made. The report will contain contact and insurance information for the parties involved if you were unable to obtain it. It will also include the position of the vehicles, how the officer believes the accident happened, who they believe caused it, and if any drivers were cited for a traffic offense that will also be noted. Although police reports are generally inadmissible in court, they will typically hold considerable weight with an insurance adjuster when determining who is liable.

Eyewitness Statements

Eyewitness statements or their evidence recordings can be an invaluable resource because they do not have their own interests in mind or care about the case’s outcome. However, it can be challenging to obtain a record of eyewitness testimony, so you likely need an experienced car accident attorney from Houston to help.

Medical Records

Medical records are vital to a car accident claim. They link your injuries directly to the accident and also testify to the severity of your harm and required future care. Information on your injuries can also possibly confirm the speed and position of the vehicles at the time of the crash.

Documentation of Other Losses

You will need to provide records and receipts to obtain compensation for any other financial losses related to the accident. For example, repair or replacement invoices for the damage to your vehicle and other property, a receipt for a car rental, etc. To show evidence of lost income, you can provide pay stubs and W-2s, and any records of missing work.

Expert Testimony

Depending on the circumstances of your car accident, your case may require expert testimony. For instance, your attorney may hire a medical expert to testify to the extent of your injuries and how they will impact you in the future, a forensic accountant to calculate future losses, or an accident reconstructionist to gather additional evidence on how the accident occurred and who caused it.

How Negligence is Proven in a Car Accident Case

With the evidence you have gathered, you must be able to establish the following four elements to successfully hold another party liable for your car accident in court:

• Duty. The driver owed you a duty of care. (e.g., drivers have a legal obligation to follow traffic laws and exercise reasonable caution)
• Breach of Duty. The driver breached their duty by failing to use reasonable care. (e.g., texting and driving, running a stop sign, speeding, etc.)
• Causation. The driver’s negligence directly caused your injury. (e.g., medical records of treatment right after the crash)
• Damages. The last element you must prove is damages or financial losses. (e.g., medical bills, lost income, etc.)

Proving negligence can be complex, and your actions immediately following a car accident are critical.

Milano Legal Group Can Help You

Our highly experienced Houston Car Accident Lawyer can help you preserve the critical evidence you need to prove fault and obtain the compensation you deserve. Message us online or call (713) 489-4270 today for your free consultation.

Is it too late for you to claim an injury for your car or truck accident case? The general rule is: the longer you wait to seek medical treatment after a car accident, the more difficult it will be to prove your injuries.  The rationale for this view is twofold: (1) if you’re really hurt, why didn’t you see a doctor immediately; and (2) how do we know that your injury was caused by the accident since so much time has passed.

There are four main reasons why you want to seek medical treatment as soon as possible following a car accident:

• Document your injury: When presenting to a healthcare provider soon after an accident, they will document your injury with what you tell them; they will perform diagnostic testing such as x-rays, MRI’s, CT scans, or labs; and all this information will be put into your medical records. This will act as objective proof that an injury exists and the likely cause of that injury.
• Causation: As mentioned above, seeking medical treatment temporally as close to the accident as possible will help to overcome questions of causation in your case. In car accident injury cases, you must prove “negligence.”  To prove “negligence,” you must show: (1) “the existence of a legal duty, (2) a breach of that duty, (3) and damages, (4) proximately caused by the breach.” Rodriguez–Escobar v. Goss, 392 S.W.3d 109, 113 (Tex. 2013).  This basically means you need to prove that the responsible driver’s carelessness caused your injuries.  When you don’t quickly seek medical treatment, insurance adjusters and juries begin to doubt the source of the injury was related to the accident.
• Mitigate your damages: the law bestows a duty on all aggrieved parties—the duty to mitigate your damages—to avoid making your injuries worse by neglecting your injuries. The responsible party will not be liable for any harm that you caused yourself by avoiding seeking medical attention.
• Validity: Seeking medical care immediately after an accident bolsters your injury claim and substantiates its validity. In other words, it makes it seem less likely that you may be “faking” it.

Of course, there are several reasons people don’t see a doctor immediately following a car accident, all of which are reasonable.  You may not immediately feel that you are injured or injured enough to go to the emergency room.  You may not have health insurance or any money to pay for healthcare.  Indeed, these are all valid reasons.  However, it’s best to get advice from Houston car accident lawyer prior to communicating with the insurance company, especially if you’ve failed to get little or any medical treatment since the accident.

We’ve had clients not seek treatment for months after a car accident and still received compensation.  But, it will definitely present significant challenges in your case and your compensation will likely be greatly reduced.  You can typically justify days or even weeks why you never sought medical treatment after your accident, but months become increasingly more difficult to explain away.  Do yourself a favor—if you think you may be injured, seek medical treatment immediately and avoid any problems with your health and your case!