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713-521-0059
In most cases, three things. Who was responsible and by what percentage, what insurance coverage exists, including your own, and what your medical care was actually paid or incurred at. Proof of all three goes stale quickly, and much of it is controlled by the defendant.
What cannot wait is the evidence on a deletion schedule. Surveillance footage, vehicle electronic data and carrier logs are routinely overwritten within days or weeks, and a witness’s telephone number stops working. Your own policy may also contain notice conditions you have not discovered yet. Call 713-521-0059.
A person at the firm answers, not a call center. You describe what happened, where you were treated and which insurance companies have contacted you. We ask a few specific questions because the answers determine what has to be preserved this week. Nothing is signed during that conversation, and it costs you nothing.
Before any call with Mr. Schiffer, we send you a short questionnaire by text or email. It asks for things such as the date and location, the vehicles or property involved, your treatment so far and every policy you know of. Answering it in writing means your conversation with him begins on the facts, not on collecting them.
You speak with Mr. Schiffer directly. He tells you one of three things at the end of it. This is a case we should accept, this is a case better handled by another firm, or this is not a case, and why. You finish that conversation knowing where you stand rather than waiting to hear.
If we take your case, preservation letters go out first. They identify the surveillance video, the vehicle’s electronic data, the carrier’s logs and telematics, the incident report and the access records, so nothing can be treated as an oversight. In serious cases we arrange to inspect a vehicle or a location before anything is repaired or altered. This is the work you never see, and it is usually the most time sensitive.
We identify every policy that could apply, not only the responsible driver’s. That includes employer and commercial policies, excess layers, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which people frequently forget they carry. Our page on uninsured and underinsured motorist claims explains why your own insurer can be the most important one.
Get the medical care you need and attend your appointments. We do not tell clients where to treat, and we do not direct your care. What we do is request your records and billing early, because providers can take a long time to respond. How your bills are paid changes what can be recovered, and our page on who pays your medical bills while the case is pending explains why.
When your treatment has reached a point where the future is knowable, we prepare a demand supported by the records, the billing and the liability evidence. Many cases resolve at that stage, and some do not. If the insurance company will not pay what the evidence supports, we file suit, and the case is prepared for trial from the day it is filed.
We keep few clients on purpose. Every case has a plan from the first week, covering what has to be preserved, which policies to pursue and what the medical picture still has to establish. You receive the candid assessment first, including the weak points, because you cannot decide anything without them. If the facts damage your case, you hear it from us before you hear it from the defense.
Jacob Schiffer was one of three lawyers on the trial team that obtained a $1.2 billion verdict in a Harris County image-based sexual abuse case tried in 2023. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other case.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people and survivors across Texas.
In most cases, a Texas personal injury claim must be filed within two years after the day the claim accrues under Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. That is usually the date of the injury. Some claims run on a different schedule. A claim against a governmental unit, such as a city, a school district or a transit agency, usually requires written notice within months, as our page on bus and METRO accident claims explains. Missing the notice period can eliminate the claim before it begins, so your dates are the first thing we examine.
Texas compares fault under Chapter 33, the proportionate responsibility statute. If you are found more than 50 percent responsible, you usually recover nothing. If you are 50 percent or less, your recovery is reduced by your percentage. The insurance company’s first objective is often to increase your share, which is why the evidence of the defendant’s conduct has to be preserved early.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
We begin with the evidence and the coverage, because both go stale. Preservation letters go out first, then we identify every policy that could apply, including your own. Your records and billing are requested early.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people and survivors across Texas.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Call 713-521-0059.
The footage that shows what happened is usually on a schedule to be overwritten, and the other side’s insurance company is already evaluating your claim. You do not have to decide anything on the first call. You describe what happened, we tell you what has to be preserved this week, and after the questionnaire and your call with Mr. Schiffer you know whether this is a case we should accept. There is no charge to talk. Call 713-521-0059.
In most cases two years after the day the claim accrues, usually the date of injury, under Section 16.003. Some claims run shorter, and a claim against a governmental unit can require written notice within months. Our page on bus and METRO accident claims explains the notice rule. Your dates depend on your facts, so ask early.
You can usually still recover if your share of responsibility is 50 percent or less, reduced by your percentage, and more than 50 percent usually bars the claim. The insurance company often tries to increase your share, so the evidence of the defendant's conduct matters.
Nothing to talk, and no attorney's fee unless there is a recovery. Case expenses are handled as our page on how contingency fees work explains.
Usually not, and we advise against it before you have consulted a lawyer. Your own policy may require you to cooperate with your own carrier, a separate obligation our page on when the insurer denies or delays explains.
Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may pay, and other policies, such as an employer's or a vehicle owner's, can apply. Our page on uninsured and underinsured motorist claims explains how that claim works against your own insurer.
It depends on your treatment, the coverage involved and whether suit is necessary. A case usually cannot be evaluated responsibly until your medical picture is stable, and pressure to settle before then generally comes from the side that benefits.