Many victims of car wrecks wonder when to get a lawyer for a car accident, or if they even need one at all. Understanding when it might be too late to hire a car accident lawyer is critical to protect your rights and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
Angel Reyes & Associates is a Texas 5-star personal injury law firm experienced in representing car accident cases. We provide a wide range of legal services to assist clients during these challenging times and help them determine if legal action is the right course of action.
In this blog post, we answer the question of “When is it too late to sue for a car accident?” and explain how a car accident lawyer can help you through this complicated legal process.
Why Timing Matters After a Car Accident
Car accidents are very traumatic events and afterward, you will have to make medical and legal decisions. In addition to having painful injuries that have changed your life, you may feel completely overwhelmed.
This is all understandable but the person who can understand most of all is a car accident attorney. It is important that you seek legal advice as soon as possible after a car crash; however, there may be certain instances that delay you from doing so immediately.
Severe Injuries
Some car accidents cause such extensive injuries that the victims are immediately transported to the hospital. You may have been rendered unconscious and woken up in a hospital bed with little recollection of what occurred.
Delayed Injuries
Many victims make the mistake of thinking they are fine only to experience symptoms days or weeks later. You may have assumed you weren’t hurt if you had no visible injuries and could move around freely.
Representing Oneself
You might think you can handle dealing with the insurance company on your own. However, many car accident claims become far more complicated than most victims imagine.
Fast Settlement
When the insurance company offers you a quick settlement check, you may be fooled into thinking there’s no need for a car accident attorney. Unfortunately, that’s what they’re hoping for so that you’ll sign the release for a check that doesn’t cover the full extent of your damages.
The best way to put the whole incident behind you and move forward is by contacting a car accident lawyer as soon as possible after your crash. They can provide you with legal options and help you get your life back on track.
Understanding the Statute of Limitations for Texas Car Accidents
When you’re in a car accident, you only have a limited amount of time to take legal action. Every state has a statute of limitations, or time limit, for filing a lawsuit. While these limits vary between states, Texas allows up to two years from the date of the crash.
If you haven’t contacted an attorney after your accident, you need to know that every moment you spend trying to get the compensation you deserve is time ticking away. If the insurance company tries to put some of the blame on you for the accident, offers too low a settlement, or denies your claim because they do not believe your injuries were caused during the accident, you are wasting precious time if you don’t have an attorney.
Due to the statute of limitations, car accident lawyer representation is strongly encouraged to avoid issues arising that could prevent you from collecting the compensation you deserve. Additionally, only a personal injury attorney will know if any of the few exceptions to this time limit may apply to your case. Exceptions that extend the time limit are made for claims involving minors and disabled people, in certain instances involving wrongful death, or when the defendant leaves the state. You should discuss your circumstances with a car accident lawyer to determine if any of these exceptions would apply in your case.
Signs It’s Too Late to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer
Ultimately, it is rarely too late to hire a car accident lawyer. The only times you may find it’s too late are when you accept a settlement and sign the release or you’ve missed the legal deadline to file an injury claim.
As mentioned, the insurance company may offer you a settlement check. This is one big mistake injury victims make as they are often relieved to get compensated and put their traumatic occurrence behind them. This check is likely too low to cover all the expenses you’ve incurred as a result of the other driver’s negligent behavior.
You probably haven’t tallied up the full costs of your medical expenses or considered the medical care you’ll need in the future for your injuries. You may not have thought about how your lost income from being unable to work is putting you further into a financial hole. There are many other damages you have likely incurred from the car accident and you can be sure they will not be factored into the amount on the check.
Insurance companies use tactics to pressure you into signing for the money. Once you do, you will not be allowed to pursue additional compensation. If you have been offered a settlement check from the insurer, do not sign it without consulting a car accident lawyer to fully review it to ensure it is fair.
Missing the statute of limitations is also when it may be too late to take legal action. Two years sounds like a long time but once you have gone back and forth with the insurance company without resolution, much of that time will have elapsed.
Consequences of Delays
The biggest consequence of waiting too long to get an attorney is that you may miss the chance to file your lawsuit. When that happens, you’ll be stuck paying for your medical bills, losing income, and paying for all of your other out-of-pocket expenses.
If you’re wondering when to get a lawyer for a car accident, the best time to contact one is as soon as possible. Most car accident attorneys provide a free initial consultation to review your case and your legal options. This valuable advice can help you determine the next steps to take and help you recover the compensation you deserve from the at-fault driver.
What to Do Next
If your accident happened recently, you still have time to take action before it is too late. You may have started the process with the insurance company and even been offered a quick settlement.
At this point, you should arrange a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer to discuss the settlement amount. A car accident attorney can review the expenses you’ve incurred and your other economic damages. They can also account for your non-economic damages, such as your pain and suffering and how the injuries have affected your life, and arrive at a fair amount.
When you hire a car accident lawyer, they can take over negotiations and help you put this situation behind you. If negotiations do not produce the desired results, your attorney will file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations runs out.
How Angel Reyes & Associates Can Help
Timely legal intervention is essential after a car accident. If you have experienced significant injuries, you should never attempt to wade through the legal process on your own. When you contact Angel Reyes & Associates, you will have a car accident attorney who will begin with a thorough investigation into your case.
Your accident may have caused such serious injuries that you were unable to take photos or videos or gather any other evidence at the scene. Our attorneys will look for traffic cameras and surveillance footage to determine the cause of the crash. We will also contact witnesses listed in the police report and take their statements. With our resources, we are able to hire expert witnesses such as accident reconstructionists and medical experts who can lend their expertise.
Armed with this information, we can negotiate with the insurance company to get you the full and fair compensation you deserve from the policyholder who caused the wreck. We will negotiate aggressively but we will be prepared to take them to court from the start.
When is it too late to sue for a car accident? It’s only too late if you’ve signed a release from the insurance company or the statute of limitations has expired and you do not qualify for extensions based on the exceptions to the rules.
Since time is likely ticking away right now, the time to get a lawyer for a car accident is immediately. At the very least, you’ll learn whether or not you have legal grounds for a car accident lawsuit and discover how much your compensation award could be worth. If you need help recovering your damages following a car accident that you didn’t cause, contact Angel Reyes & Associates today to schedule your free consultation.