FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

An injured party or relative or close friend of an injured party should contact an attorney as soon as practicable after an accident if another party may be at fault for any type of incident. This is necessary in order to counsel the injured party as to his or her rights and how to acquire adequate compensation for his or her injuries and any other damages, and preserve any evidence, and investigate the case. You should keep in mind that the statute of limitations in Texas varies for certain types of accidents. For instance, in Texas, an auto accident involving a third party is generally governed by the two-year statute of limitations. This means a lawsuit must be filed no later than two years from the date of your accident. There are certain exceptions to this general rule that may shorten or lengthen the period, depending on the facts. If you miss that two-year deadline, your right to compensation may be forever lost.

• The answer is possibly, but why would you want to? In general, the more serious the accident, the more likely it is that you will need an experienced personal injury attorney to assist you. There is a reason why the insurance company does not want you to hire an attorney, and it is not because they’re looking out for your interests. Insurance companies do not want you to retain an attorney, especially in very serious injury cases and cases with substantial liability insurance, because they ultimately rather avoid paying anything.

• This is the first question that many people ask after being injured in an accident. Getting hurt is not enough to have a case.

• The more serious the damages, the more important it is to hire an attorney as early as possible after an accident. An early investigation can be very beneficial to document the facts of the accident. Additionally, retaining an attorney will also keep you from making the mistake of giving a written or recorded statement to an adverse insurance adjuster or making a mistake in how you handle your claim. The insurance adjuster that is contacting you has gone to lengthy training to learn how to handle a claim to pay the least amount possible for his or her employer – the insurance company. Unless you are an attorney or experienced in claims handling processes, you are at a big disadvantage to an insurance adjuster.

• The length of the case is dependent on the length of time it takes to heal. If you are completely healed the case may be able to be resolved in a few weeks. If there are issues about liability, who is at fault, or the extent of the injuries in the past or the future, these issues can take additional time. Assuming that there are no complex issues and/or disputes, then the case can be resolved quickly.

• High winds are a common source of costly damage to homes, businesses, and other properties across the United States. In fact, it’s not unusual for property owners to file a wind insurance claim at some point in their lives, and it’s often important to the policyholder that the claims be paid in full under the policy, so repairs can be completed promptly. But, in these situations, do you really need to get a lawyer involved just to get fair payment for the wind damage to your property?
  The good news is that many wind damage claims can be easy enough to settle fairly and quickly without the help of an attorney. The bad news is that this isn’t always the case, so it makes sense to look for experienced help when you aren’t getting the results you need. The real trick is to know when to look for outside help with your claim.

• Sudden windstorms leave homeowners and business owners in difficult situations, especially if they have to add struggles with the insurance company to their list of problems. So, how can you effectively settle a roof damage insurance claim? The first thing you should know is that it’s best to be prepared. Even when a hurricane or tornado isn’t present, high winds can cause severe structural damage.  No matter how serious it is, from a few missing shingles to a total loss, it’s essential to be ready to work with the insurance company—even if you don’t expect much of a fight to settle your claim. Although you probably expect to review your policy and fill out some paperwork, you might not anticipate the amount of footwork necessary to make sure your roof damage insurance claim is settled efficiently.

• Preparing an inventory list of the personal belongings in your home saves time and money after a major storm. We recommend that everyone should create a descriptive list of items and update it regularly. However, if you’re worried that you don’t have any proof of the personal belongings you lost in a hurricane, don’t panic. When you don’t have an inventory list, you can still receive compensation from your insurance claim simply by using other forms of evidence to prove how your property was before the storm and that you owned certain items.

• Insurance companies will often try to pay out as little as possible to maximize their profits. This often means that commercial insurance policyholders receive less compensation than they are rightfully owed. Some of these dishonest and unfair “bad faith” tactics include:
• significantly underestimating the extent of losses
  misrepresenting the cause of the loss
• delaying or denying legitimate claims, hoping policyholders will eventually give up their fight.
• Insurance policyholders do have legal recourse, however. Commercial property owners can protect their business investments by enlisting the help of a proven commercial property damage lawyer to help them in insurance recovery.

• Whether repair or replacement of the commercial property is appropriate
• The cause of the loss and whether it is covered under the insurance policy
• The cost of commercial property repairs
• The loss of investment value or business income caused by the damage
• The estimated value of the destroyed business equipment or other insured items
• The replacement cost of the commercial property if the building was damaged beyond repair