Been Hurt in a Crash?
Our Car Accident Lawyers Get Results.
An injury car accident can happen at any time. One moment you’re running errands and the next you’ve been crashed into by a careless driver. If you’ve been hurt in a car accident that was caused by another driver’s negligence, we’ll work hard to protect your interests. Our knowledgeable Abilene car accident lawyers at the Hanna Law Firm understand the financial, physical and emotional devastation that follows a serious injury accident. We’ll employ our experience in car accident cases and in-depth understanding of Texas law to fight for the money you need to pay your medical bills and rebuild your life. While you focus on recovery, we’ll focus on getting results.
Our Hardworking Abilene Car Accident Lawyer Advocates for Injured People
Turn to Us for Help Protecting Your Financial Future
Injury car accidents are expensive. Doctor and hospital costs add up very quickly. Even if you have good medical insurance, with co-pays and deductibles you could still end up paying a substantial amount of money. And if you have to miss work while recuperating, your financial well-being will be further affected. Sometimes people are so disabled from accidents that they can’t work at all anymore.
There are so many monetary and other harder-to-measure costs of a serious car accident. Besides the severe physical pain, you may also experience emotional effects from the frightening crash. You could get damages for pain and suffering as well as payment for your medical bills and other economic losses through a legal claim against the at-fault driver or other party.
Don’t let someone else’s negligence harm your financial future, as it has your physical health. Learn your options for getting compensation for your injury car accident by speaking with an experienced car accident lawyer. For the convenience of our West Texas clients, we have offices in Abilene, Midland, Odessa and Sweetwater.
Call us today at (432) 606-2378 to speak with our Abilene car accident lawyer.
Our Car Accident Attorney Seeks Compensation for Crash Victims
Texas Roadways Can Be Dangerous
If you are like a lot of Texans, you rely on your car every single day to transport you and your family members to work, school, shopping, and various activities around town. And while we tend to take them for granted, our streets and highways can be treacherous places. The statistics highlight the dangers. Crash data for one recent year from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDot) shows that:
- There was one reportable motor vehicle crash every 56 seconds.
- More than 256,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes in the state.
- Of those injured, nearly 16,000 people sustained incapacitating injuries.
- Over 3,600 people were killed.
Even if you are a cautious and attentive driver, you can’t control the actions of the drivers around you. Sadly, too many people make poor decisions while behind the wheel. They drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, at unsafe speeds, or while texting or otherwise using their phones.
You shouldn’t have to pay the financial price along with the physical and emotional ones for the negligence of distracted and dangerous drivers. Our car accident attorneys in Abilene will work toward ensuring you don’t.
A car wreck is a terrifying experience, but an experienced car accident attorney can ensure the aftermath goes as smoothly as possible. An attorney can negotiate insurance claims, go to court if necessary, and recoup the money you need to move on with your life.
Reach Out to Our Experienced Car Accident Attorney
Call an experienced car accident lawyer at the Hanna Law Firm when you’ve been in a crash. We take pride in the quality of our work in representing clients and making sure their interests are served. Get in touch with us online or call us at (432) 606-2378.
Our Car Accident Lawyers in Abilene Answer Common FAQs
Drivers have a duty to drive safely and keep others on the roadway safe. When they breach that duty through their careless or dangerous actions, they may be guilty of negligence if they cause an accident and someone is injured. Drivers who speed, text on their cell phones, are drunk or are otherwise careless on the road may be sued for negligence if they cause injury accidents.
A car accident attorney will pursue compensation for your injuries when you’ve been in a wreck caused by another party’s negligence. If the wreck was relatively minor, you may think hiring a car accident attorney is an unnecessary expense. But it’s a big mistake to think you can negotiate with the insurance company yourself and get the same results.
At the Hanna Law Firm, we have years of experience advocating for victims of reckless drivers. Our car accident lawyers serving West Texas are meticulous, hard-working, and committed to representing our clients’ needs.
- Once we’ve met with you and determined you have a claim, we will conduct a thorough investigation of the accident and its consequences. This may include going through police reports, looking at photographic evidence, collecting any medical bills you’ve accrued, and looking at repair or replacement costs for your car and any other personal property.
- We’ll negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf. It’s important that you not speak with the other driver’s insurance company. They will almost certainly offer you a lowball sum that’s designed to save them money and not fully compensate you. As experienced car accident lawyers, we understand the negotiating process. We’ll work to make sure all expenses related to the accident — including future expenses and pain and suffering — are covered in any offer.
- If the insurer is unwilling to give you the amount you need to fairly cover your damages, we’ll guide you in initiating a lawsuit and fight for you in the courtroom. In a courtroom trial, a jury or judge decides the outcome of the case and how much compensation may be awarded.
Call an Abilene car accident lawyer at the Hanna Law Firm for a free consultation. Dial (432) 606-2378 or request an appointment through our online form.
When you hire a car accident attorney from Hanna Law, you pay us only if we get you compensation through an insurance settlement or jury award. Once we get you a settlement or award, you pay us a previously agreed-upon percentage of the money you receive. If for some unusual reason, we aren’t able to get you compensation, you don’t owe us anything. We also provide free, no-obligation consultations to clients to learn about their cases. When you meet with us in your free initial consultation, we’ll review all the evidence of your car accident and advise you whether we think you have a strong case. Then we’ll explain your claim options and how we would handle your case going forward. So as you can see, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by meeting with one of our experienced car accident lawyers.
It’s a good idea to hire a lawyer right away after you’ve been injured in an accident, especially if your injuries are serious. Your attorney can quickly identify and collect evidence that can be beneficial to your case, including looking at damage to vehicles, visiting the accident site and taking other necessary actions in a timely way. They’ll communicate with insurers and handle confusing paperwork in order to get your claim processed faster and more smoothly. Your Abilene car accident lawyer will be your advocate in resolving problems you may have with insurance companies in filing claims. Your lawyer will also handle stressful negotiations with insurance adjusters and insurance company lawyers. From the beginning of the process until you have a check in your hand, our experienced car accident lawyer will be with you all the way.
Generally, there is a two-year statute of limitations in Texas for filing car accident lawsuits. The clock typically begins ticking on the day of your injury accident or as soon as your injuries show up. However, there are exceptions to this deadline. If you are getting close to the deadline, don’t be discouraged and think you can’t file.
Speak directly to an Abilene car accident attorney who will advise you about deadlines that apply in your unique case.
To determine whether you have a legal claim, we’ll examine all the evidence to discover who was at fault. There are certain cases that are more clear-cut than others. For example, in a rear-end collision, the driver of the car in the back is almost always at fault. Likewise, the driver of a car turning left that hits a car coming straight on is usually at fault. If an accident is caused not by driver error, but by a defect in a part of the vehicle itself, the manufacturer may be found to be responsible. When it’s determined that another driver or other party is liable, we’ll stand up for your right to compensation.
Texas: A Comparative Negligence State
It is important to note that Texas is a comparative negligence state. What this means is that if one party is determined to be 100% at fault for the accident, then their insurance company will be responsible for reimbursing you for all of your losses. But if you are found to share any blame for the crash, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault.
For example: as discussed above, the driver of a car that turns left into oncoming traffic and hits another car is generally at fault. But what if the car it hits is speeding? In that case, the driver of the oncoming car may be found to be partly responsible for the collision, and their compensation will be reduced by the percentage they are at fault. To get any compensation at all, you must be less than 50% responsible for an accident.
Our car accident lawyers are highly skilled at identifying evidence necessary to prove liability. You can rely on us to strategically investigate all the facts of your case in working to prove fault.
How much you could get depends on the severity of your injuries and the degree of negligence involved. To determine the value of your claim, your car accident attorney from the Hanna Law Firm will collect all bills and other documentation related to your crash to best determine how much in damages (or compensation) you should receive.
In car accidents and other personal injury cases, there are two main categories of damages: economic (or special) and non-economic (or general).
Calculating Economic Damages in a Car Accident
Economic damages are the most straightforward and easy to calculate, because these are the tangible expenses that have a real dollar amount attached to them. Examples of economic damages related to a car accident include:
- Medical expenses, including doctor bills and copays, medication, therapy and rehab costs, mobility aids and medical devices like wheelchairs
- Projected future medical expenses
- Lost earnings due to inability to work
- Lost earning capacity, if the injuries suffered will prevent the victim from earning at previous levels for the long term or permanently
- Reimbursement for repairing or replacing damaged property, like your car or personal items that were inside the car and damaged in the wreck
- Household services, such as cleaning help or extra childcare needed during your recovery.
Calculating Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are the tougher of the two to calculate, because there are no bills, paystubs, or price tags to guide us in determining the value of a loss. Non-economic damages are designed to cover these examples of losses:
- Physical, mental, and emotional pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of quality of life or enjoyment of life.
There are generally accepted methods of evaluating non-economic damages. Even though many times, pain, worry, and inconvenience are the worst part of an injury, Big Insurance doesn’t value it all. This is where our years of experience and trial ability can make all the difference between a full recovery and an inadequate one. At the Hanna Law Firm, we will look at the facts of your case and work hard toward getting you the full amount of damages you need to rebuild your life.
And if a car accident resulted in the loss of a beloved family member, we will counsel you about the damages you may be able to receive in a wrongful death claim. Damages in wrongful death claims may include medical expenses, funeral and burial cost, lost wages, lost inheritance, loss of love and support and other losses.
How long a case may take depends upon all the intricacies involved. Some may take only a few weeks or a couple of months, while others can take a year or more. The worse the injuries, the more parties involved in the crash, and a variety of other factors can determine how long a case takes. In most instances, car accident claims with clear evidence of liability take a shorter time to resolve. When liability is disputed it can take much longer. Claims that are settled with insurers through negotiations typically take a much shorter time to conclude. Cases that end up going to trial generally take the most time.
Types of Serious Injuries in Car Crashes
The high impact force of a crash can lead to severe injuries requiring extensive medical care. Neck and back injuries are not unusual when the body is thrown violently back and forth. Even at low speeds, car accidents can cause serious injury. Some common injuries from accidents include:
- Whiplash
- Concussions
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal damage
- Bruising and contusions
- Fractured bones
- Organ damage
- Internal bleeding.
Injuries such as traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord damage can require rehabilitation and long-term medical care. If you’ve sustained a serious injury, a car accident attorney from Hanna Law may be able to help you get compensation to pay for your medical bills and other damages. We fight for clients who have experienced life-changing and long-term injuries in negligent car accidents. Call our firm at (432) 606-2378 for help.
Common Causes of Negligence in Car Accidents
Our Car Accident Attorneys in Abilene Handle a Full Range of Crash Cases
The most common causes of car accidents include:
- Distracted driving – Distracted driving includes texting, talking on cell phones, eating behind the wheel or anything that takes attention from the roadway. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in a single year, distracted driving accounted for over 3,100 deaths nationwide. TxDot figures show that in Texas, more than 370 were killed in distracted driving-related accidents.
- Aggressive driving – Aggressive driving includes speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating and other dangerous behaviors. The NHTSA says that for two decades speeding has been involved in about a third of all motor vehicle deaths.
- Driving under the influence – In Texas, one quarter of all fatalities in accidents involve drunk driving. Driving while using drugs also takes a toll in injuries and deaths.
- Drowsy driving – Drowsy driving accounts for nearly 700 fatalities annually throughout the country. The majority of these accidents happen during late night and early morning hours.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Car Accidents?
While drivers who are careless or dangerous behind the wheel cause most accidents, injury crashes can also be due to defective car parts, unsafe road conditions and other factors. Other parties that could potentially be liable in negligent accidents include:
- Product manufacturers. If a car’s brakes, steering, tires, airbags, accelerator controls or other systems are defective and an accident happens, the car company or manufacturer of the specific equipment that failed may be held liable.
- Government agencies. When roads are not properly maintained and crashes occur, the county, state or other agency tasked with maintaining streets and highways and other infrastructure could be at fault.
- Private property owners. When private property owners who invite the public onto their land, such as stores and other businesses, allow hazardous conditions to exist, they could be named in injury accident claims.
Sometimes more than one party may be at fault in a crash. Our car accident attorney will examine all the circumstances in your accident to discover all the parties who may be held liable. No matter how your injury accident happened, our car accident attorneys in Abilene will work to discover the cause and who is liable. Call us at (432) 606-2378 to arrange a free consultation about your injury case. We handle all motor vehicle-related crash cases, including those involving motorcycles.
What If My Car Is Hit by a Truck?
We Hold All Responsible Parties Accountable in Commercial Truck Crashes.
If you spend any amount of time on the road, it’s impossible to miss the legions of commercial trucks rumbling across the state. Considering that an 18-wheeler can weigh up to 80,000 pounds and most cars weigh in at about 4,000 pounds, it’s not surprising that when a car is hit by a truck, the car’s occupants are at the greatest risk of injury and death.
Truck drivers and carriers are bound by strict rules regulating driver qualifications, how long the driver may be on the road, maintenance schedules, and load weights and how they are secured. But pressure to deliver cargo on time and minimize costs may tempt trucking companies and drivers to skirt these rules, putting the public in danger.
At the Hanna Law Firm, we understand how a commercial truck accident differs from other car wrecks. We know the state and federal laws that commercial trucks, like 18-wheelers, have to comply with. We will find all the responsible parties and hold them accountable. Sometimes trucking companies who push their drivers too hard can be liable in these cases.
And if you are a commercial truck driver who has been injured in a crash while working, you could get medical and wage replacement benefits through workers’ compensation if your employer carries it. You may also be able to bring a motor vehicle accident claim, depending on the circumstances of your crash.
Steps to Take After a Car a Car Accident in Abilene
Learn What to Do to Protect Your Rights
There are certain things you should do immediately after a car accident for your own well-being, and also to safeguard your rights in a legal claim. Following an injury accident, be sure to:
- Call 911 if there are injuries. If you were not taken to the emergency room, be sure to see a doctor as soon as possible. Serious injuries can be delayed and show up later.
- Exchange insurance and driver’s license information with other parties. Keep conversation with the other driver involved to a minimum. Don’t admit any fault even if you believe you may have been partly at fault. Let the investigators determine fault.
- Call the police to have a report taken. Ask the police officer for their contact information to get a copy of the report.
- Get witness statements. If it isn’t practical to get statements at the scene ask for contact information so you or your attorney can follow up later.
- Take photographs and/or video of the accident scene and damage to vehicles. It can also be helpful to write down everything you remember about how the accident happened.
- In the coming days after the accident, consider keeping a diary or record of your injuries and how the pain involved impacts your daily life.
- Maintain an evidence file with your medical reports, all the bills from your doctor and other medical treatments, as well as records of time that you’ve missed at work.
Finally, hire an Abilene car accident lawyer to help you with the claims process. Our attorneys in Abilene have extensive experience successfully handling car accident claims. We will protect your legal rights as we work to get you fair compensation for all you have suffered from the crash. And we provide free consultations and work on a contingency basis. We only get paid if we win your case.
Call Our Car Accident Attorneys in Abilene at Hanna Law Firm
We Help People Get the Money They Need to Move on with Their Lives
A vehicle wreck is a traumatizing experience under the best of circumstances. And it can be financially devastating if you don’t have a good lawyer representing your interests early on. Many people worry, though, that if they hire a lawyer, they will be caught up in a stressful court case, including having to testify in court.
Having a car accident attorney on your side does not mean that you will have to go through a lengthy court case. In fact, the vast majority of claims are settled outside of the courtroom. We know the expense and uncertainty of a trial isn’t always in the best interest of you or the insurance company. However, our attorneys always thoroughly prepare cases as if we are going to trial as we can never entirely predict what the outcome will be. In many cases, when insurers know car accident attorneys are prepared to go to trial, they are much more willing to negotiate fair settlement offers to avoid an expensive and lengthy court battle.
Experienced. Knowledgeable. Understanding. Hanna Law Firm’s Team.
When you’ve been in an injury crash, it’s to your advantage to get the help of an experienced car accident attorney. The claims process is complex and can be confusing. It can be difficult to successfully take on a big insurance company by yourself, especially when serious injuries are involved. Insurance companies have adjusters and lawyers working for them who are skilled at negotiating car accident claims, with the goal of saving insurers money. You stand a much better chance of getting fair compensation that will cover your damages when you have a lawyer on your side who knows how insurance companies operate. You can trust our car accident attorneys in Abilene to stand by your side and fight to get you the full compensation you need to pay for your losses due to the accident.
At the Hanna Law Firm, our entire team is knowledgeable and passionate about serving our clients. We understand the difficulties you are facing in the aftermath of your wreck and are always happy to take the time to answer your questions and concerns.
We will strive to win you the full amount of compensation you deserve through negotiation with the insurance company. And, if necessary, we will take it to the next level and fight for you in court.
Fill out our online form or call (432) 606-2378 to schedule a free initial consultation with our car accident lawyer. We have offices in Abilene, Midland, Sweetwater and Odessa.