Mike Love provides High School Scholarships

Mike Love & Associates, LLC, encourages East Texas high school students to continue their education. In 2016, Mike Love established a scholarship for students in Angelina County.  Students apply along with a personal essay, and then five students are chosen to receive a $1,000 scholarship. The money is intended to help with the initial expenses of the students as they start college. Congratulations to this year’s recipients: Jasmine Ayala, Madison Saenz, Michelle Castillo, and Macy Downing. Good luck with all your future endeavours. We are proud of you! We look forward to awarding another round of scholarships next year.

Macy Downing receives her scholarship.

Student receives her scholarship.

Michelle Castillo receives her scholarship.

Madison Saenz receives her scholarship.

Jasmine Ayala receives her scholarship.

Mike Love & Associates Sponsors Central Lady Bulldogs

The 2020 Central High School Lady Dog Softball team sponsored by Mike Love & Associates, LLC

The Central High School Lady Dog Softball team boasts a long tradition of excellence, having won numerous district, regional, and state titles. Currently, in 2020, the Lady Dogs are the top-ranked team in the region and are ranked in the top 5 in Texas Class 3A softball. Mike Love & Associates LLC is proud to be the first Grand Slam sponsor of the 2020 season. We expect great work from this exceptional group of young women. Watch for them on the field and off as they continue their educations at Central High School! We are proud of you and proud to be a part of your team.

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.