Texas Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers

Common Drunk Driving Accident Claim Mistakes

Unfortunately, there are many ways you can inadvertently damage your drunk driving accident claim. Review the mistakes described below so that you do not make the same mistakes with your case. Afterwards, get in touch with our office and take us up on a free consultation.

Not Getting Medical Treatment

In the aftermath of an accident, stress hormones can start flowing through your body. These hormones are designed to help you survive such situations; unfortunately, in the context of a drunk driving accident claim, they can prevent you from doing something crucial‑ getting medical attention. These hormones may make you feel ‘fine’ when you are not and prevent you from accurately gauging your pain.

Waiting to get medical attention or avoiding it entirely can compound any medical complications you are experiencing as a result of your accident. What’s more, avoiding medical treatment or putting it off can seriously damage your claim.   

Getting a medical exam as soon as possible after your accident creates an official record and timeline of events. Without this, the insurance company may try to suggest that your injuries did not result from the drunk driving incident caused by the insured party. Don’t let them get away with this tactic. Get medical treatment as soon as possible after your accident. 

Getting examined by a medical professional at 10:00 p.m. the night of your accident will make it difficult for the insurance company to play these games. Waiting even until the next morning can cause problems and give them room to suggest that your injuries are unrelated to the incident.

See a doctor and get medical treatment right away after getting injured in a drunk driving accident.

Not Following Your Doctor’s Plan for Treatment

Not sticking with your doctor’s treatment plan is another way in which you can jeopardize your claim. Even if you get prompt medical treatment, slacking off when it comes to your doctor’s orders can put your health and your claim at risk.

Treatment plans can involve anything from taking a full course of medication to going to a series of PT appointments. Whatever your doctor recommends, it is important that you stick with the plan and participate actively in your recovery.

Not doing so can give the insurance company yet another way to challenge your drunk driving accident claim. If you do not do as well in your recovery as expected, the insurance company will say that it is because of your failure to adhere to your doctor’s orders and not because of your initial injuries.

You are not at fault for your injuries— don’t let the insurance company get away with this. Stick  with your doctor’s treatment plan through to completion.

Giving a Recorded Statement to the Insurance Company

 After your accident, it is very likely that the insurance company will reach out to you and ask for a recorded statement. It is crucial to your claim that you do not give them this statement.

These insurance adjusters are trained well, and they will convince you that they are contacting you for your own good. They will ask you how you are and tell you that recording a statement is essential to processing your claim.

Their goal is not to help you, but to help themselves. By getting a recorded statement, they are hoping to get you to say something that can damage your claim. Damaging your claim means they have to pay less— that is their one and only goal in contacting you.

Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance company when they contact you. You are well within your rights to turn them down. Better yet, hand all responsibility for this communication over to your Texas drunk driving accident lawyers.

Taking Too Long to Find a Lawyer

You may think you have some time to find a lawyer, especially if the statute of limitations for filing a claim seems a long time from now. Waiting too long to contact a lawyer can be seriously detrimental to your claim, however. Evidence may disappear, witnesses’ memories may fade, and before you know it, you won’t have what you need to make your claim succeed.

Security cameras reset. People who might have been important witnesses move. Accident scenes are cleaned up almost immediately. Losing out on any of this valuable evidence can only hurt your claim.

Give our Texas drunk driving accident lawyers the best opportunity to build a strong case by contacting Willumsen Law Firm PC as soon as possible.

Hiring the Wrong Lawyer

Another big mistake people make in their Texas drunk driving claims is hiring the wrong attorney. Not all attorneys are created equal. Lawyers have areas in which they specialize. Just because an attorney handled your best friend’s divorce well doesn’t mean they are going to be a good option for your drunk driving claim.

Look for an attorney who not only has experience with personal injury law and drunk driving claims, but also has experience taking claims all the way to court. 

Don’t assume you can go it alone, either. That’s another mistake that often happens with these claims. If you think you will save money by taking care of your case on your own, chances are you will lose out in the long run. Negotiating a settlement with an insurance company is complex enough; if they decide to take you to court, it will be extremely difficult for you. Going at it alone more often than not results in getting far less than you would with an experienced accident attorney by your side.

Don’t put your claim at risk in this way. Hire an experienced personal injury trial attorney for your drunk driving accident claim. 

Texas Drunk Driving Client Story

The story below is meant to give you more insights into your drunk driving claim. While the names and specifics have been changed in order to protect client privacy, the information is still highly valuable. Once you’ve read through these pages, get in touch with us to schedule your free consultation and discuss the specifics of your claim.

On a bright Sunday morning not too long ago, Sylvie Hunter and her best friend, Brooke, headed off to a charity race for which they’d been training for months.

They had been best friends since grade school, but running together didn’t start happening until high school, when they both discovered a love for long distance thanks to the cross country team.

Both now enrolled in a local university, they continued to put in the miles together each and every week. With this race, they were combining two of their loves— running and doing good. Through their efforts, they had managed to raise a combined $5000 for a downtown charity that offered support to the homeless.

Brooke had always been a little bit better about getting the miles in each and every day. She often teased Sylvie that, without her support, she’d probably be staying in bed until 10 each day. This race had been Sylvie’s idea, however, and they were both proud of what they had achieved.

This morning, they met up bright and early at 6:00 a.m., planning to drive to the starting line together on the other side of town. Sylvie’s trusty Toyota Prius was their chariot, leading them to victory and PRs, they always joked. The truth was they had trained extra hard, and Prius or not, they both were excited to log in some great times later that morning.

As they waited at a red light in downtown, just a few blocks from the starting line, they were excited to see the stream of activity and participants already gathering on the street. It was going to be a great day with a lot of good done.

“You may be lazy,” Brooke teased, as the car idled, “But this was one of your best ideas yet.”

A cautious driver, Sylvie waited a few seconds before pulling through the intersection on her green light. She did take the time, however, to throw Brooke a small smirk.

Neither girl was expecting it when the speeding Trans Am blasted through a red light coming from the west, slamming into the driver’s side as they drove through the intersection.

The next thing Sylvie was aware of was waking up blurry-eyed and confused in a hospital bed, Brooke at her side. Her mom was standing behind Brooke, both of them with tense expressions on their faces. Why was her mom here, Sylvie thought, disoriented. Had she been in the race, too? 

Her mom took her hand as she came to, explaining that Sylvie had taken the full brunt of the impact. The Trans Am driver had been drunk, driving home after a long Saturday night of partying. After hitting them, he had tried to drive away, but ended up slamming into a parked car half a block down. Race participants had quickly rushed to their aid and kept the drunk driver from walking away.

Sylvie had no such luck. The impact had left her with several broken ribs on the left side, a broken wrist, a concussion, and a fractured tibia. She was looking at several more days in the hospital and months of physical therapy.

Running was off the table for a good long time. “Well,” Brooke quipped lightly in the way only she could pull off, “at least you can loaf about as much as you like for a few months!” Sylvie tried to smile through the pain. She wasn’t looking forward to no running and a potentially damaged gait, but she put on a brave face for her friend and mom.

In the days that followed, Sylvie’s mom began to talk to Sylvie about speaking with our attorneys for a free legal consultation. With Sylvie, up and aware, it was time to sit down with us to discuss her claim. They had several questions upfront, including how much it would cost to hire us, how much Sylvie’s claim was worth, and how long it would take.

How much does it cost to hire a personal injury lawyer?

 We arrived at the hospital to find Sylvie bright-eyed and awake, if slightly bemused. She made it clear right away that she was concerned about the cost of hiring us and the burden it might put on her mother.

We told her she could rest easy and that we would work on a contingency model. That meant they wouldn’t need any money upfront.

“We only get paid when we resolve your claim successfully,” our lawyer told Sylvie. She and her mom glanced at one another and shared a sigh of relief.

What is my drunk driving accident claim worth?

“Okay, then,” Sylvie continued. “If we go through with this, how much do you think my claim is worth? The guy was drunk on a Sunday morning, for Pete’s sake!” Her eyes filled with tears of frustration as her mother took her hand.

“I wouldn’t recommend going with any lawyer who gives you a sum upfront. We can’t know how much your claim is worth until we run a thorough accident investigation and assess all of your damages,” Attorney Willumsen responded.

“This will mean gathering all the available evidence, interviewing the people on the scene, and gathering details on your injuries. We will start doing this immediately, but we will need to wait until you have reached maximum medical improvement so that we have a clear picture of your new normal and damages.  “Once we have a clear idea of what your life will be like after recovery, we can assess economic and non-economic damages and tell you what your claim is worth.”

“What can I do? I can blast through my therapy. I’m an athlete, after all—”

Our lawyer gently interrupted. “Sylvie, you need to take your time and follow your doctor’s orders. There is no reason for you to rush through anything. And while being an athlete will certainly serve you well, you need to stay centered and focus on your recovery. We’ll handle everything else.

“We realize you are a ‘get up and go’ kind of person, but we don’t want you doing too much and putting your recovery at risk. Take your time and focus on your well-being.”

Sylvie exhaled and settled back against her pillows, wincing slightly in pain. “I understand. I’ll try not to run a marathon tomorrow!” she quipped, giving the room a small smile.

How long will my claim take?

Sylvie’s mom spoke next. “How long is all of this going to take? I need to have a ‘big picture’ so I can help my girl recover. I understand their will be criminal charges. Will this extend or complicate a personal injury claim?”

“Just as with the value of your claim, we can’t give you a definitive timeline at this point in your case. Rest assured, though, that any criminal charges will be independent of your personal injury claim and won’t affect how long it takes.

“What will affect your claim timeline is how long it takes for Sylvie to reach maximum medical improvement. Once she’s there, we can compile a number for your damages and send a demand letter to the insurance company.

“From that point on, it’s a matter of whether or not the insurance company wants to be reasonable and fair. They may well want to settle when they know we are working your case— they know our reputation for success. If, however, they decide to play hardball, we’ll be ready to face them in court. 

“We have a long history of success in the courtroom, don’t worry. If they decide to dig in their heels, we’ll be more than prepared to take them on.

Sylvie and her mom were happy with the answers we provided in their initial consultation and retained us later that day.  Today, we are glad to say we got Sylvie more than six times what the insurance company initially put on the table.

 Call Our Texas Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers Today

We hope that this story has provided you with some important insights into your drunk driving claim. Since every claim is unique, please reach out to us as soon as possible to schedule your free consultation. Going it alone isn’t worth the cost to your claim. Contact our Texas drunk driving accident lawyers today to start exploring your options and have the successful claim you deserve.