What Is The Correct Way To Report A Car Accident In Texas?

Nobody wants to be involved in a car accident. Unfortunately, car accidents in Texas are not uncommon. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, there were more than 249,000 traffic crash injuries and 3,639 traffic crash fatalities that occurred during the latest reporting year across the state. Anybody involved in a car accident must understand the correct way to report the incident in the state.

Am I required to report the incident to the police?

It is highly recommended that you report every accident that occurs to the police, regardless of its severity. Under Texas law, drivers are required to report a car accident to the police if:

• The incident resulted in property damage exceeding $1,000

• Anyone has been injured in the incident

• Anyone was killed in the incident

A failure to report a car accident that involves any of the above thresholds can result in a fine of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment. If you have any doubt about whether or not a car accident you have been in is reportable under the law, call the police so there will be an official record of the incident. The easiest way to do this is to dial 911 and inform the dispatcher of the accident's location and whether anyone is injured.

How will reporting the incident help you?

It is not uncommon for anybody involved in an accident to be in shock initially after the incident happens. Drivers and passengers may not be thinking clearly. It may be the case that the at-fault driver offers to pay out-of-pocket for any damages they caused to get you to not report the accident to the police or the insurance company. It may be tempting to accept this offer, especially if there is minimal damage and no visible injuries. However, accepting an offer like this and not making a report could result in significant consequences for you. It is essential to understand that many car wreck injuries are masked by the rush of adrenaline a person experiences in the immediate aftermath of the crash. The signs and symptoms of some injuries do not occur for hours or even days after the accident. If you have left the scene without making a report, only to realize later you are injured, complications can arise. Filing a car accident report several days later, after injuries appear, will raise questions about why you did not make a report when the accident happened. This will make it more difficult to prove that the accident was the cause of your injuries. Another reason to report an even seemingly minor accident is that property damage to a vehicle can be deceiving. What may look like a small dent in a bumper may actually be several thousand dollars’ worth of damage, particularly if the body of the car, the chassis, or other internal parts have been damaged. Having a police report will be invaluable when it comes to securing a settlement for injury or property damage expenses. The police officer will decide as to which party was at fault, and this information can be used by your insurance carrier or in a personal injury lawsuit. Be sure to ask the police officer at the scene how to obtain an official police report. Typically, these reports will be available a few weeks after the accident occurs.

Injured in an Accident With a Hit-and-Run Driver?

Any car accident can be a terrifying and confusing experience, and this is most certainly the case when a hit-and-run accident occurs. Unfortunately, hit-and-run accidents are relatively common in the United States and across Texas. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, there were more than 737,000 hit-and-run collisions in the United States during the latest reporting year. Fleeing the scene of a car accident in Texas is illegal. If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident with a hit-and-run driver, there are several steps you can take to ensure your own well-being and help secure the compensation you deserve.

Steps to take after a hit-and-run accident

Take these steps if someone hits your vehicle and flees the scene:

1. Get to safety and call the police. It can be tempting to want to chase after a person who flees the scene of an accident. Do not do this. Pull your car to a safe location if you can, and call the police. Give the dispatcher any details about the vehicle and driver that fled, such as the car make and model, license plate number (even if you only remember part of it), what the driver looked like, the direction they drove, etc.

2. Determine whether there are any witnesses. If anyone is standing around or if any other vehicles are stopped, ask if anyone witnessed the crash. Get the name and contact information of any eyewitnesses.

3. Take photographs of the scene. If you have a camera (most smartphones do) and it is safe to do so, take pictures of the accident scene. This includes any vehicles involved, damages, any injuries, traffic conditions, weather conditions, and any debris scattered around the accident scene.

4. Call an experienced attorney. Most reputable car accident attorneys offer free initial consultations for your case. It does not hurt to speak with an attorney to determine whether or not they will be able to help you secure maximum compensation.

5. Report the incident to your insurance carrier. Insurance carriers require that you report any accident fairly soon after it occurs. When you make your initial report, all you have to do is let the insurance carrier know that an accident occurred and give them the information of the other driver’s insurance carrier. Avoid taking any fault for the incident and do not go into detail about your injuries during this initial report.

Will insurance cover the expenses for a hit-and-run accident?

One of the main concerns of those involved in a hit-and-run accident is securing compensation for their medical bills and property damage. This can be complicated, especially if the police fail to catch the hit-and-run driver or if they are uninsured. You should check your policy to ensure that you have uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage and uninsured motorist property damage coverage. However, neither type of uninsured motorist coverage is required for drivers in Texas. If you do have uninsured motorist coverage, your medical bills and property damage will be covered up to your policy limits. You must speak to a qualified East Texas car accident attorney who can help you sort through all the routes available for you to pursue compensation.

Who is at Fault in a Changing Lanes Car Accident?

Car accidents occur frequently in and around our area. Regardless of how safely you operate your vehicle, you cannot control the actions of other drivers around you. Lane change accidents are relatively common. Often, these incidents result from a brief distraction by one or more drivers. Regardless of how a lane change accident occurs, the immediate issue is ensuring that everybody is safe. However, in the aftermath of a crash, it will need to be determined who was at fault. As with most car accident cases, the fault in a lane change crash depends on various factors.

How is fault determined in these incidents?

As with almost every other car accident, police will investigate a lane change accident and often cite one or both drivers for the crash. Depending on how the fault is assigned, insurance claims can become very confusing. When a driver needs to make a lane change, they must activate their turn signals in the direction they intend to go. If a driver does not have turn signals, they will need to give the appropriate hand signals to signal that they want to change lanes. These turn signals or hand signs let drivers around them know what their intentions are. However, that does not give a driver the right to change lanes when they feel like it. A driver who wishes to change lanes must check their mirrors and blind spots to ensure that it is safe for them to make a shift. Drivers should never change lanes until it is safe for them to do so. A lane-changing driver could be at fault in the following circumstances:

• They failed to activate their turn signals before changing lanes and collided with a vehicle in another lane.

• They did not check their blind spot or mirrors before they changed lanes and collided with a vehicle beside them.

• The driver crosses multiple lanes of traffic at once without stopping in each lane to signal their intention to change lanes.

• A driver is recklessly operating and weaving in and out of traffic.

You will find that, in most cases, a driver is at fault for an incident in a car or tructruck accidentt results from their entering another lane. However, the following scenarios could result in both drivers being cited for a lane-changing accident:

• Two vehicles attempt to change lanes simultaneously, resulting in a sideswipe or side-impact collision.

• A driver shows reckless behavior or road rage and refuses to allow another driver to change lanes.

• A vehicle in the lane in which the other driver wants to change to has brake lights or headlights that are not working properly at the time of the incident.

• A driver rear-ends someone who has recently changed lanes, possibly indicating that they were operating too fast for conditions.

Merging into traffic

There are other times when a driver needs to merge from one lane to another, such as from a city street onto a highway or vice versa. Drivers need to realize that vehicles already on the roadway that they wish to get to have the right-of-way. Drivers wanting to merge into traffic need to activate their turn signals and wait until there is an opening in the traffic before they begin to merge. This may require the driver who wants to merge to stop and wait until they can get into traffic. Drivers who are already in the other lane of moving traffic are not required to slow down or move over to allow drivers to merge.

What Is the Average Settlement For a Texas Car Accident?

Nobody wants to be involved in a car accident. However, vehicle accidents are common in and around our area. The Texas Department of Transportation reports that approximately 250,000 total injuries were reported during the latest available year. Many of these injuries were minor, but several thousand serious car accident injuries are reported each year. In the aftermath of a car accident, many victims wonder how much compensation they can expect from an insurance settlement. While the average insurance settlement in Texas, as reported by the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA), was $15,440, this number can be misleading. It is essential to understand that the circumstances of each crash can cause settlement amounts to vary widely.

What is essential to focus on in these cases?

Rather than analyzing what an average settlement might be, it is more helpful to examine the various types of compensation available to victims in the aftermath of a car accident in Texas. This can include coverage for:

• Medical bills. Medical bills are often the most significant expense that a person incurs in the aftermath of a car accident. A settlement should cover emergency medical care, hospitalization, follow-up doctor's visits, physical therapy, and other related expenses. Other medical expenses can include the cost of prescription medications, as well as devices needed to aid recovery (such as walkers, hospital beds, and wheelchairs).

• Lost income. If a car accident victim is unable to work while they recover from their injuries, they will need compensation for any income and benefits they lose. This could include any loss of future earnings if their injuries prevent them from performing the same job they were able to before the accident.

• Property damage. Car accident victims will need compensation to repair or replace a damaged vehicle. A vehicle represents a person's ability to make a living and to live their daily lives.

• Pain and suffering. In many cases, car accident victims suffer from physical, emotional, and psychological pain and suffering due to their injuries. These damages are harder to calculate than other accident-related expenses, but they can be worth more than a person’s medical costs.

The amount of compensation a person receives in the aftermath of a car or motorcycle accident depends on various factors, including the severity of the injuries, the extent of property damage, and the level of pain and suffering experienced by the victim.

What are the Texas car insurance requirements?

Drivers must maintain the following minimum insurance coverage requirements to remain legal on the roadway in Texas:

• Bodily Injury Liability: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident

• Property Damage Liability: $25,000

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage are not mandatory in the state of Texas. However, they must be rejected by the policyholder at the time of signing up for coverage with an insurer. Examining these minimums, you can see how quickly insurance coverage can be exhausted. Many severe injuries will have medical costs that rise well above the $30,000 bodily injury liability limit. Car accident victims need to understand that insurance carriers will do everything possible to limit the amount of money they pay in a settlement. A skilled Texas car accident attorney will assist an injured car accident victim throughout the entirety of their case to obtain maximum compensation.

Does Medicare Cover Car Accident Injuries?

Car accidents often leave passengers and drivers with injuries that require medical care. It is not uncommon to encounter car accidents in and around our area. During the latest reporting period in Texas, there were approximately 250,000 people injured and 3,639 fatalities caused by car accidents, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. One of the most common questions asked following these incidents is whether Medicare or Medicaid can be used to cover medical bills.

How does this coverage work?

In most cases, car accident settlements are handled through the auto insurance carriers of the parties involved in the accident. However, auto insurance carriers can be notoriously difficult to deal with, even if you were not at fault for the car accident. It may take some time for the insurance carrier to make a settlement offer on an insurance claim, and the initial settlement may be entirely too low to accept. Unfortunately, a delay in a car accident insurance settlement is not going to stop medical bills from coming in. Victims who have been harmed in a car accident need a way to pay for their medical treatment in the interim before a final settlement. A Medicare recipient should speak to a lawyer to handle all interactions with a Medicare Coordination of Benefits (BOC) contractor. These interactions typically include written correspondence regarding the accident, as well as all the medical care you have received related to the accident injuries. An attorney will ensure that all of this correspondence and communication is conducted appropriately to ensure you receive the compensation you are entitled to.

Paying back Medicare

After you report your accident to Medicare, they will continue to monitor your case. That is because you will still be likely to receive an insurance settlement for your claim. If you have to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party in the accident, you may receive an out-of-court settlement or a jury verdict for your injuries and other damages. Medicare will expect reimbursement for what they have already paid you for your accident injuries once you receive a settlement or jury verdict. The COB working with your case will regularly contact you or your attorney for information about the progress of your claim. When your case is settled, your lawyer will need to notify the COB contractor to let them know about the settlement and begin the process of reimbursing Medicare. Again, you should have a Texas car accident attorney assisting you with this, as dealing with the COB contractor can be challenging. The COB contractor will usually send a statement detailing all of the medical bills that Medicare has paid when they learn you have received a settlement for your case. Your personal injury lawyer will want to ensure that this information is correct, and they will negotiate with Medicare to ensure that you are not going to be reimbursed more money than you should. Medicare will place a lien on your settlement, which means that they have the right to recover the portion of the money that they spent on your medical expenses. If there is a dispute between the amount Medicare claims to have paid and what your records indicate or what you actually spent on medical costs, the settlement money could be held until the issue is resolved.