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The first month is about protecting your case. The evidence is preserved, the insurers involved are put on notice, the search for every applicable policy begins, your records are ordered and your treatment continues. Nothing is valued yet, because the value of an injury case depends on how your injury resolves.
People often put off calling a lawyer because they do not know what they are starting, so here is what happens. What cannot wait is evidence that is on a deletion schedule, such as surveillance footage, which is commonly overwritten in seven to thirty days. Call 713-521-0059.
It is a conversation, not an intake script, and it costs nothing. You describe what happened, and we ask questions, some of which will seem oddly specific. We ask them because the answers determine what has to be preserved this week.
At the end of it we tell you one of three things. This is a case we should take; this is a case but not one for this firm, and here is who to call; or this is not a case, and here is why. We say the third one out loud rather than letting a file sit. Nothing is signed in that conversation unless you want it to be.
Preservation comes first. It is often the most time-critical work in an injury case, and it is invisible to you as the client. Letters go out immediately to whoever holds evidence that is on a deletion schedule. That includes surveillance footage, which is commonly overwritten in seven to thirty days; vehicle electronic data; commercial carrier logs and telematics; keycard and access records; and property incident reports. In serious cases we arrange to inspect a vehicle or a scene before anything is repaired or changed.
Notice comes next. Letters of representation go to the insurers involved, and from that point the adjusters call us instead of you. That change by itself resolves the most common complaint people have in the first month.
Then come records. You sign authorizations so your medical and billing records can be ordered. Providers can take a long time to respond, so starting on day three rather than day thirty matters.
Coverage is the last piece. We start identifying every policy that could apply, not just the at-fault driver’s. That includes excess layers, employer coverage, commercial policies and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which frequently exists on policies people forget they have.
We take witness statements while memories are fresh and phone numbers still work. We document the scene, including conditions at the same time of day. We gather public records, including police reports and, for premises cases, the call history for the address and any prior incident reports.
Your treatment continues, and this is the part that is in your hands. Gaps in treatment and undocumented complaints can become the defense’s argument two years from now. Go to your appointments, and tell your providers all of what hurts, not just the worst of it.
Do not give a recorded statement to the other side’s insurer. Your own policy may require cooperation with your own carrier, which is a different obligation.
Do not post about the incident, your injuries or your activities. Social media is collected in most cases now, and it is read uncharitably.
Do not sign anything from an insurer without having it read first, including papers labeled as authorizations or as advances. Do not repair or dispose of a vehicle or damaged equipment until we tell you the inspection is done.
Most serious cases take a year or more, and some take considerably longer. The main driver is medical, because a case generally cannot be valued responsibly until treatment has reached a point where the future is knowable. Pressure to settle early usually comes from the side that benefits from settling before the injury is understood.
Most Texas injury claims carry a two-year limitations period under Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Claims arising from sexual abuse are governed by Section 16.0045 and can be far longer. Claims under Chapter 98B, which covers intimate images, carry a ten-year period under Section 98B.009, measured from the later of discovery or the depicted person’s 18th birthday. Which one applies to you is specific to the facts, and our page on how long you have to sue covers the sexual abuse periods.
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 will not put a value on your case in the first month, because the value of an injury case depends on how the injury resolves. It also depends on your past and future medical needs, and those are not yet known. Treat any early number with caution.
We start with the evidence that is being deleted right now, because that evidence can be impossible to recover later. Then we put every insurer on notice, order your records and identify every policy that could apply, while you focus on your treatment.
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.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
We listen, we ask what happened, and we tell you whether there is a case. It is free and it commits you to nothing.
Preservation letters go out, the claim is opened, and we start gathering the records that decide the case.
Not early. A case usually cannot be valued until the medical picture is stable enough to project.
Generally two years under Section 16.003, and shorter practical deadlines for evidence that is being deleted right now. Claims arising from sexual abuse are governed by Section 16.0045 and can be far longer.
We will ask you not to give a recorded statement to the other side's insurer. Your own policy may require cooperation with your own carrier, which is a different obligation.
No. Nothing is signed in that conversation unless you want it to be.