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People put off calling a lawyer because they do not know what they are starting. Here is what actually happens.
It is a conversation, not an intake script, and it costs nothing. You describe what happened. We ask questions, some of which will seem oddly specific, 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. This is the most time-critical work in any injury case and it is invisible to the client. Letters go out immediately to whoever holds evidence that is on a deletion schedule: surveillance footage, which is commonly overwritten in seven to thirty days; vehicle electronic data; commercial carrier logs and telematics; keycard and access records; property incident reports. In serious cases we arrange to inspect a vehicle or a scene before anything is repaired or changed.
Notice. Letters of representation go to the insurers involved. From that point the adjusters call us instead of you, which by itself resolves the most common complaint people have in the first month.
Records. Authorizations get signed so medical and billing records can be ordered. Providers are slow. Starting on day three rather than day thirty matters more than it sounds like it should.
Coverage. We start identifying every policy that could apply. Not just the at-fault driver’s, but excess layers, employer coverage, commercial policies, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which frequently exists on policies people forget they have.
Witness statements, while memories are fresh and phone numbers still work.
Scene documentation, including conditions at the same time of day.
Public records: 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 become the defense’s argument two years from now. Go to the appointments. Say all of what hurts, not 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 every case now and it is read uncharitably.
Do not sign anything from an insurer without having it read first, including things labeled as authorizations or as advances.
Do not repair or dispose of a vehicle or damaged equipment until we say the inspection is done.
Most serious cases take a year or more. Some take considerably longer. The main driver is medical: a case generally cannot be valued responsibly until treatment has reached a point where the future is knowable. Pressure to settle early almost always 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 involving intimate images carry a ten-year period under Section 98B.009. Which one applies is specific to the facts.
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 tell you what your case is worth in the first month. Anyone who does is guessing, because the value of an injury case depends on how the injury resolves, and that is not yet known. A firm that gives you a number in week one is selling you something.
Call 713-521-0059.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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 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.
