If you were hurt in the last few days
GET SEEN FIRST: Get seen by a doctor or an emergency room now, even if you think it can wait, and keep every discharge paper and bill. An injury that is documented in the first days is much harder for the other side to try to blame on some other event. If you have no health insurance or do not know where to go, call our firm and we can help you or your family find an emergency provider, or a hospital that performs SANE exams, near you.
PROTECT THE EVIDENCE: Photograph what caused your injury before it is cleaned up, repaired or moved: the vehicles, the floor or stairs, the equipment, the spill, the scene and your injuries as they heal. Photograph the whole area, not just the spot, including any cameras that may have recorded it and anything else you think could matter. Save every receipt, text message, voicemail and document. Keep the clothing or the object involved. Get the names and phone numbers of anyone who saw it. Do not give a recorded statement to anyone's insurance company, and do not sign anything from them, until you have talked to a lawyer.
THEN CALL US: Call 713-521-0059, or send the message below. Tell us it just happened, and we will review everything that is currently available and do what we can to protect your best evidence before it disappears, beginning with written notice to whoever holds the video and records so it is kept. We are a small firm and there is no guaranteed response time, but we typically respond within 12 to 24 hours of a call or message.
IF THIS WAS A SEXUAL ASSAULT: Start with our what to do now page. It walks through the first days in order, including the exam that is available without a police report. If you have no health insurance or do not know where to go, call us and we can help you find a hospital near you that performs the exam.
If this happened in the last few days
Get the exam first. It is free, it does not require a police report, and for an adult it is available within 120 hours. The Houston hospitals that perform it are listed on our Houston SANE exam locations page, and our what to do now page walks through the first days in order.
If you are able to, report to the police now. You are not required to, but the same early evidence that builds a prosecution builds a civil claim.
Then call 713-521-0059, or send the message below, and say it happened this week. We will tell you what your case needs and get it started, beginning with written notice to whoever holds the video and records so it is kept. There is no guaranteed response time, but we typically respond within 12 to 24 hours of a call or message.
Someone from our firm personally takes the initial call. We do not use a call center. If the matter falls outside the areas we handle, we will let you know and, when possible, try to point you in the right direction.
If the matter appears to be something our firm may handle, a member of our team will follow up with you either via phone or text message to obtain your email address. We will then prepare and send you a short intake questionnaire designed to gather the pertinent facts and circumstances. We ask that you complete it as thoroughly as possible and provide any relevant documents you have available.
The questionnaire allows our firm and Mr. Schiffer to develop a much broader understanding of what happened and evaluate the potential legal landscape before you speak. That way, your call can focus more meaningfully on the potential legal issues and your available options, rather than spending most of the conversation gathering basic facts. It also allows Mr. Schiffer to come to the call better prepared to discuss your particular circumstances.
Once we receive and review the completed questionnaire, we will either schedule a call with Mr. Schiffer or let you know if we believe another firm may be better equipped to assist with the matter.
