If you were injured as a pedestrian in Texas, you should seek medical help immediately. If you did not receive emergency medical attention at the scene, go to the emergency room or schedule an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible. A complete medical evaluation will help your doctor start treating your injuries.
Once you have received medical attention, you should take the following steps:
- Be alert for symptoms.
- Follow your doctor’s orders.
- Document your pain/symptoms.
- Gather any available evidence.
- Be careful about what you say to the insurance company.
- Discuss your case with a pedestrian accident attorney.
Stay on Alert for Symptoms
In some cases, your doctor will not identify any injuries directly after the accident. However, this does not mean you did not suffer injuries. Sometimes the injuries and their symptoms take time to develop:
- Headaches or dizziness
- Back pain
- Pain in the shoulders or neck
- Tingling or numbness
- Abdominal pain
- Emotional distress
Follow Your Doctor’s Orders
Once you have received medical care, continue to follow your doctor’s orders. A failure to do so could jeopardize both your physical recovery. Staying consistent with the doctor’s treatment plan also affects your claim.
This could allow the insurer to devalue or even deny your claim.
Document Your Pain and Symptoms
In addition to following your doctor’s orders, document your pain and symptoms over the days, weeks, and months following your accident. These notes, also known as a pain journal, can help establish your injuries as well as their effect on your daily life.
It is also a good idea to document the care you have undergone. It helps prove that you are following your doctor’s orders and attempting to recover from your injuries.
Document Your Financial Expenses and Losses
Negotiating an appropriate settlement after your accident will depend on the evidence you collect that proves the costs you incur. The damages you can recover and their supporting documents include:
- Current and future medical bills. We document them with your emergency, follow-up, and ongoing medical records and bills.
- Current and future income loss. We document them with your paycheck stubs, direct deposit receipts, and tax records.
- Physical and emotional pain and suffering. We document these with your statements, medical records, and written prognosis.
- Property damage or total loss. We document these with receipts and authoritative property replacement values.
- Wrongful death damages. We use receipts and paperwork to establish the costs of the funeral and burial arrangements you make for a loved one.
Documenting your accident’s costs can be time-consuming and confusing. As a pedestrian, your body took the brunt of the impact of your accident, which can mean your injuries’ severity could prevent you from participating in your case as fully as you would prefer.
When you hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you, they will handle the overwhelming process of tracking and documenting your expenses for you.
Gather Any Available Evidence
As your lawyer works on your case, there are pieces of evidence you can gather. This may include:
- The police report
- Photos of your injuries
- Photos of the accident
- Your medical records
- Your medical bills
- Documentation of any time you needed to request off work to recover from your injuries
- Any other receipts related to the accident or your injuries
When our law firm represents you, we take the severity of your injuries and the emotional impact of the accident into account. We will not tax you with evidence collection. Instead, our team will compile and organize your evidence for you. We will also present your evidence to the at-fault party and their insurance provider.
Our goal is to steer your case toward a favorable settlement. If one cannot be achieved, though, we will represent you in court and prepare your evidence for the trial process.
Watch What You Say to the Insurance Company
The insurance company is a business and, as such, may do what it can to pay you as little as possible for your injuries and losses. They may try to get you to say something that jeopardizes your claim.
In order to prevent this from happening, we recommend you stay on guard when discussing your accident with the insurer.
If the insurance adjuster asks if you suffered injuries, have them call your attorney. Our attorney will guide you on what to say and not to say. If they request a recorded statement, decline and direct any questions to your attorney.
Watch What You Say on Social Media
Posting everything from meals to vacations on social media channels is the norm these days. Avoid sharing details, photos, and opinions about your accident on social channels. Doing so could invite unwanted scrutiny.
As they would with a recorded statement, the at-fault party’s insurance company could search public posts for information and details that could put your right to recovery at risk. Avoid discussing your accident — online, in person, or via telephone — with anyone other than your lawyer.
Discuss Your Case with a Pedestrian Accident Attorney
You may be entitled to pursue a recovery for any injuries and losses you suffered in your accident. A pedestrian accident attorney from D. Miller & Associates, PLLC®, can determine if you have a case and help you pursue recovery.
A pedestrian accident lawyer can handle the following for you:
- Gathering evidence
- Identifying liable parties
- Proving liability
- Building a robust case
- Estimating a value for your case
- Handling communication with the insurance company(s)
- Negotiating a settlement with the insurance company
- Taking your case to court, if necessary
Act Quickly or Avoid Recovering Nothing
Per Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Title 2 § 16.033, you generally have two years after the date of your accident to take legal action to pursue a recovery. If you fail to file your potential lawsuit on time, you could lose the ability to file it at all.
In addition, the at-fault party’s representative will be aware of the statute of limitations. If you manage to file your lawsuit late, they will request — and are likely to receive — an immediate dismissal of your case. The statute of limitations can change if the injured pedestrian is a minor. It can also change if the at-fault party is a government agency or based on certain actions the at-fault party might take.
Because it can be confusing, the best way to understand your actual filing deadline is to consult a personal injury lawyer in your area. With enough notice from you, a personal injury lawyer in your area will make sure to file your lawsuit on time to prevent putting your right to recovery in jeopardy.
Schedule Your Free Consultation with a Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a Texas pedestrian accident, our team wants to help you. Call D. Miller & Associates, PLLC®, today to learn more during a free consultation.
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