FAQ

Every provider is different. Some providers, like chiropractors and pain management specialists usually only take a week or so. However, hospital visits create several seperate bills (hospital facility, radiology, emergency physicians, and ambulance bills). These bills can take substantially longer to receive. 

Therefore, if you receive a copy in the mail, send us a copy to help expedite the process.

Any settlement is designed to compensate you for medical expenses and pain and suffering. If you receive medical care without paying up front and those providers are paid out of the settlement, you need to look at your settlement holistically. 

This means that you received medical care that has been paid for AND money in your pocket for pain and suffering. Isolating your settlement to only what you recieve in your pocket is not the whole picture and will usually lead to dissatisfaction.

In the event that your case is presented to a jury, instructions will be provided to the jury to calculate your settlement the same way holistically.

The Attorney General of any state has a superior right to collect against any settlement you receive due to a personal injury. 

Child support is by court order and the Attorney General will require a breakdown of the settlement before approving the disbursal of any funds. Sometimes, the Attorney General will let a client keep a portion of their settlement but it is completely up to their discretion. 

The firm has no say and we must comply with any instructions from the Attorney General.

We want to gather as much information as possible so that we can determine 1) if we can help, and 2) the best way to proceed if we can. We will request a police report if one is available, photographs of the property damage and injuries, witness statements about how the accident happened, etc. 

Anything you can provide to help us in our evaluation is valuable.

If your car is totaled, the insurance company is obligated to pay the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the vehicle at the time of the accident. This amount may be less than you currently owe on the car. This may also be less than you think the car is worth. Property damage can be negotiated but the insurance company is not obligated to pay additional funds to help you get a new car.

If your car is in a storage yard, you are obligated to mitigate your damages as the insurance company does not have to pay storage fees. Also, your vehicle must be moved, usually within 30 days or your car is at risk of being sold at auction. Once the vehicle is sold, there will not be a recovery for the property damage.

In cases with clients under the age of 18, some insurance companies require court approval of a child’s settlement to make sure that it is in the best interest of the child. A guardian ad litem is appointed by the court to review the case and the settlement to make a recommendation for approval to the judge. 

Afterwards, the money is placed in the court registry or in an annuity to gain interest until the minor turns 18. This is also to protect the child from having their settlement money spent by somebody else.

Underinsured Motorists Coverage is optional coverage under your policy designed for situations where at-fault party carries a level of insurance that complies with Texas law, but is still inadequate to fully compensate an injured party for their medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and pain and suffering. 

In this case, we will pursue the policy limit of the at-fault party and then demand additional coverage under your UIM policy and “stack” the coverages together to maximize your settlement potential.

In any case where there is an injury, the objective is always to have enough funds to make sure you get compensated for the medical care you receive and for the pain and suffering you endure. 

Texas law only requires drivers to carry $30,000 in liability coverage to protect them for accidents they cause. If your medical bills exceed that, we will be looking for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM) to “stack” all of the coverages together and maximize your total settlement. 

We will not send demands on these coverages without your consent. However, if you have these coverages available on your policy, you pay premiums to protect you in these cases. Therefore, we recommend you take advantage of the available coverage to maximize your recovery.

No. Companies like Oasis Financial, Buckeye Legal Funding, Rockpoint Legal Funding and several others charge very high interest rates. Sometimes cases can take longer than others and the interest has a tendency to take away from what the client would receive in their pocket at settlement. 

Our position is that it is predatory lending and we do not approve settlement advance loans.

Our firm does not make medical decisions or recommendations on your behalf. You should treat as long as you and your doctor deem it medically necessary to reach your maximum medical improvement (MMI).

There are several doctors and specialists who will see you at no cost to you up front with the understanding that they will be reimbursed a reasonable amount out of any potential settlement. Although, you may seek medical care from any medical provider you choose. 

If you have out of pocket expenses, remember to keep your receipts so that we can include them in your demand package.

If you intend to pursue a personal injury claim against the defendant or the insurance company, you must prove your damages. We understand that having a motor vehicle accident is very inconvenient and getting to treatment isn’t easy but we must prove every part of our case with documentation of injuries and treatment. 

There is no way around it. If you have to take off of work, keep track of your time and pay stubs so that we can present for lost wages. We will do our best to accommodate you the best we can, but you must do your part.

It is important to understand that no payments will be made towards your car for repairs or total loss until a liability decision has been made. Since liability can take time to establish, you may consider using your collision coverage under your policy to help you get back on the road. 

You will be required to pay your deductible but after liability is accepted, your insurance company will pursue reimbursement for the payments they made, and your deductible will be paid back to you.

Once you and your doctor have determined that you have reached your maximum medical improvement (MMI), we will begin to collect all of the bills and records for the treatment you received and assemble a demand package. After the demand is sent, we allow 3-4 weeks for an offer of settlement to be made.

Then, we will begin negotiations to try and get the best settlement possible.

Chapter 55 of the Texas Property Code allows hospitals to file liens for patients who were admitted to the hospital within 72 hours of an accident. They do this to ensure that their bill gets paid. The lien is usually filed in the county in which the client receives the medical services and attached to personal injury settlements when the visit is caused by the negligence of somebody else. 

The logic is that if somebody’s negligence is the reason you went to the hospital, their liability insurance policy (the same one we will file against) should be responsible for the bill. We have extensive experience in negotiating and resolving these liens so that our clients get the best settlement possible. 

However, if there’s a lien filed, the bill MUST be paid out of the settlement, even at a reduced amount.

Collision insurance is a coverage that helps pay to repair or replace your car if it’s damaged in an accident with another vehicle or object, such as a fence or a tree. 

If you’re leasing or financing your car, collision coverage is typically required by the lender.

After the claim is filed, the insurance company is going to want to do an investigation about how the accident happened. Generally, they will try to get a statement from their insured and you. If the defendant doesn’t cooperate, it could take a while for the insurance company to accept liability. Accepting liability is not an admission of fault or guilt but rather a willingness of the insurance company to make an offer of settlement designed to compensate you for damages you sustained in the accident. 

In the event that a lawsuit has to be filed on your case, liability will still have to be proven in a court of law. Also, if a case is settled, you will see that most releases include language that refers to the accident as a “disputed claim.” As previously stated, this is because every element of a case must be proven at trial.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage is optional coverage under your policy that is used when the at-fault party does not carry the minimum amount of insurance required under Texas law. 

Unfortunately, if you are injured by an uninsured driver, filing on your UM policy is likely the best avenue for any recovery in your accident. This is because those drivers rarely have any assets to collect on should a suit be filed against them. 

Such a scenario leads to potentially receiving a judgment in a court of law against the other party but the assets don’t exist for it to ever be paid.