MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT
Vehicle related accidents can be traumatic, and are often forced
upon innocent individuals by negligent vehicle operators. Victims
may be without transportation. They may not be able to work. They
may not know where to turn for proper medical treatment. Lost wages,
medical bills, car repairs and suffering during the rehabilitation
process following a collision can be physically, financially and
emotionally draining.
Unfortunately, victims of motor vehicle accidents often find themselves
fighting large insurance companies that have only one goal -- to
pay as little as possible. The insurance companies have teams of
attorneys and adjusters, along with years of experience in handling
auto collision claims. Victims who try to handle their cases alone
may face lengthy delays, confusing paperwork and procedures, and
unfulfilled obligations. Kimberly A. Stovall has over 20 years experience
representing victims of vehicle related accidents.
When Kimberly begins representing clients in these type of cases,
she immediately provides a number of services. First, she explains
the entire process and answers any questions you may have. We quickly
determine the appropriate insurance company or companies to contact,
and then handle all communications with them, so that you don’t
have to. Her firm can also:
• Help obtain a rental car
• Help arrange for the repair or replacement of your vehicle
• Arrange for you to be treated by a doctor who specializes
in treating people hurt in accidents and who will wait to get paid
until you recover money on your case.
Kimberly demands strict professional standards and has resolved
countless multi-million dollar personal injury cases. She remains
passionate about her role as an advocate and she and her team will
treat every client with respect and compassion. Hiring Kimberly
to handle your auto collision claim is a smart decision because:
• She knows the law, what victims legally deserve, and what
insurance companies are required to provide.
• She can help victims complete and file all appropriate paperwork,
avoiding costly mistakes and explaining everything in plain English.
• She will work with you throughout a trial, or until a settlement
is received.
Even if a wreck is simply a matter of careless driving, the insurance
company of the driver at fault may be responsible for the victim’s
medical bills, lost wages, car rentals, pain and suffering. Don’t
make the mistake of thinking that the insurance company will treat
you fairly and pay you what you are owed on your claim. Our twenty
years of experience tells us that they won’t! By not getting
Kimberly on board early, you may jeopardize your rights and your
ability to receive a full recovery.
If you have been injured in a vehicle related accident, contact
Stovall & Associates as soon as possible to protect your rights.
We strongly urge you to seek our legal advice immediately –
before you discuss the matter with an insurance adjuster and before
signing any documents.
Click
here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
Way too often, tractor-trailers, “semis” or eighteen
wheelers are involved in serious or fatal accidents. Nearly 5,000
of these accidents involving semi trailer trucks result in death
per year. One out of every eight traffic fatalities is caused by
a collision with a large truck. Often, this is due to pressure to
deliver their loads, drivers often continue driving, taking imprudent
risks including driving while fatigued.
It is unacceptable that one of the reasons why truck accidents
are so common is that drivers adhere to unrealistic tight deadlines.
Truck accidents often cause serious injuries, including back, neck,
spinal cord and brain injuries. Even worse, truck accidents are
responsible for thousands of wrongful deaths every year.
Beyond the tight delivery deadlines that can result in a truck
accident, many truckers carry too large of loads of cargo which
can result in a truck accident. Sometimes this includes dangerous
cargo, which can also result in a truck accident. Truck drivers
also tend to work very long hours, and the stress and fatigue often
leads to a truck accident.
There are many other unacceptable reasons why a truck accident
occurs. Some of the more common reasons include:
• The truck driver is rushing to meet a tight delivery deadline
• The trucker is tired due to driving for long periods of
time
• The eighteen wheeler driver is stressed and tired, not paying
enough attention to other drivers on the road
• It is difficult for truckers to see blind spots and their
trucks do not have the proper mirrors or other equipment in this
regard
• The trucker does not leave enough space for his big rig
between other vehicles
• Mechanical failure and defective components on eighteen
wheelers
• Overloading the truck
• Reckless driving, speeding, and mechanical problems
Click
here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Q: What should I do if I am involved in a traffic accident?
A: The most important and immediate thing to do is seek medical
attention if necessary. Once you and any other people involved in
the accident have been evaluated and stabilized, you need to collect
information from everyone involved in the accident. This information
includes driver’s license numbers, insurance information and
names and addresses of those involved and any witnesses. It’s
also important to record names of emergency personnel who were at
the scene. Pay close attention to details. Does anyone appear intoxicated?
Are victims injured? What level of damage have vehicles sustained?
What is the weather like? The traffic? The road conditions? Write
down your observations as they may help you remember information
that you might otherwise forget and may be valuable in helping your
attorney represent you. Also, take photographs of the property damage
and any injuries you sustain. Bruising, lacerations and other injuries
will eventually heal so document them now for proof later. Make
sure and note the date that each photograph was taken. I recommend
that you always carry a disposable camera in the glove compartment
of your car so that you can take pictures of the accident scene
– before the vehicles are moved and the debris is cleared.
Q: Should I try to work with the insurance company first and see
if they treat me fairly before I hire an attorney?
A: NO! The answer to this question is based on over 20 years of
dealing with insurance companies. Our experience is that not only
will they NOT treat you fairly; they will be busy gathering evidence
to help them pay you as little as possible for your claim. Furthermore,
they will insist that you sign medical authorizations, give statements
and provide documentation that could seriously damage your claim
later when you have no choice but to hire an attorney. The burden
of having to deal with them on your own is just not worth it, regardless
of what they say or the promises they make. I can not count the
number of times that I have told my clients that I could have gotten
them more if I had been involved in their case from day one! All
of that said, if you have tried unsuccessfully to handle the claim
on your own, we will be happy to step in at any stage and try to
resolve the claim for you as long as you understand that what you
have done prior to out representation may ultimately affect the
outcome.
Q: What determines who is responsible in an automobile accident?
A: Figuring out who is at fault in a traffic accident is a matter
of deciding who was careless, and for vehicle accidents, there is
a set of official written rules telling people how they are supposed
to drive and providing guidelines by which liability may be measured.
These rules of the road are the laws everyone must learn to pass
the driver’s license test. Complete rules are contained in
your state’s Vehicle Code, and they apply not only to automobiles
but also to motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians.
Q: What is the “proper lookout” standard?
A: This is a legal standard courts have developed to more specifically
describe legal negligence. Under Texas law, a motorist’s “proper
lookout” describes the duty of a driver to carefully and intelligently
observe traffic and the general situation in the vicinity, including
speed and proximity of other vehicles, as well as rules of the road
and common experience. The “proper lookout” standard
requires a driver to see what a person exercising ordinary care
and caution would see under similar circumstances, and to take those
steps necessary to guard against an accident. Simply put, this standard
requires a driver to pay attention to both the road and other drivers
in an effort to avoid accidents. Failure to observe the “proper
lookout” standard is legal negligence.
Q: What if I was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision?
Can I still recover damages?
A: In some states, not buckling up can negate or reduce any potential
compensation for damages on the basis that people suffer more severe
and expensive injuries when they’re not wearing seatbelts.
In other states, this is not the rule. In Texas, the use or non-use
of a seat belt IS NOT admissible evidence in injury cases filed
before September 1, 2003 and IS admissible evidence in cases filed
after that date.
Q: Should I release my medical records to the driver’s insurance
adjuster?
A: No! Medical record releases should only be signed under limited
circumstances and after consulting with a qualified personal injury
lawyer. If your medical information gets into the insurance adjuster’s
hands, it could potentially hurt your case. Furthermore, the insurance
company is not entitled to private medical information that is unrelated
to the injuries you sustained in your collision.
Q: Should I give a statement, recorded or otherwise, to the insurance
adjuster when asked to?
A: NO! You should not agree to give a statement to either your
adjuster or the other driver’s adjuster without first consulting
with a qualified personal injury lawyer. Simply state that you do
not wish to give a statement without first consulting your attorney.
Insurance adjuster’s are skilled at “putting words in
your mouth” and phrasing questions in such a way as to provoke
an answer that could hurt your case later. Even the statement that
you give to a “friendly” adjuster, could hurt you later
when it will likely be obtained by the adverse driver’s insurance
company.
Q: What happens if the cause of the automobile accident is not
clear?
A: It is sometimes difficult to say that one particular act caused
an accident. If you can show that the other driver made several
minor driving errors or committed several minor traffic violations,
then you can argue that the combination of those actions caused
the accident. Almost half the states have some form of no-fault
auto insurance, also called personal injury protection. In general,
no fault coverage eliminates injury liability claims and lawsuits
in smaller accidents in exchange for direct payment by the injured
person’s own insurance company of medical bills and lost wages
regardless of who was at fault for the accident. No fault coverage
often does not apply at all to vehicle damage; those claims are
still handled by filing a liability claim against the one who is
responsible for the accident, or by looking to your own collision
coverage.
Q: What is “comparative negligence.
A: Texas is a comparative negligence state. Comparative negligence
is negligence on the part of the Plaintiff which, combining with
the negligence of a Defendant, contributes as a cause in bringing
about the injury. Comparative negligence, if any, on the part of
the Plaintiff does not bar a recovery against the Defendant but
the total amount of damages to which the Plaintiff would otherwise
be entitled shall be reduced in proportion to the amount of negligence
attributable to the Plaintiff. For example, if you establish damages
in the amount of $100,000, but the jury finds that your negligence
constituted 20 % of the reason the accident occurred, then the court
will reduce you damage award by 20 %, to $80,000.
Q: Can I still win my case if my memory of the incident now conflicts
with things said at the time of the accident?
A: Yes. It’s very common for people to say things at the
time of an incident that they later realize were inaccurate. Sometimes,
a witness may misstate what your said about how the incident took
place. You might have a hard time explaining how it is that you
now remember things differently than you did at the time of the
incident, but if you consult with an attorney, he or she will have
experience handling such a situation, and can help find support
for your side of the story.
Q: If I file a personal injury claim, do I have to go to court?
A: If the Defendant’s insurance company agrees to pay what
Kimberly and you believe your case is worth, and you wish to settle
for that amount, then your case will not go to court. This is what
happens in most situations. Some cases do require a formal trial
proceeding, however, in either situation, hiring a law firm with
experience in handling personal injury cases is critical. Ultimately,
the decision to settle or not is yours but Kimberly will, of course,
advise you as to her professional opinion.
Q: How much does it cost for Kimberly to meet with me and evaluate
my case?
A: Kimberly will not charge you anything for an initial consultation
and, if she takes your case, she will take it on a contingency fee
basis. You don’t have to pay anything up front and Stovall
& Associates only gets paid once your case is won or settled.
Click
here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
Martindale-Hubbell, the nation's premier law directory, has given
Kimberly A. Stovall its highest rating: "A.V." - the very best.
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