San Antonio Car Accident Lawyer

If you or a loved one have been injured in a motor vehicle collision, it is best to speak with a seasoned personal injury attorney. A San Antonio car accident lawyer can advise you of your legal rights and the legal remedies that may be available to compensate you for your injuries.

A skilled personal injury lawyer can provide support and advise you throughout your case, investigate liability or fault in the collision, and seek full and fair compensation for your damages from the responsible individual, company or entity. En Español.

Types of Car Wreck Cases

Motor vehicle collisions are dangerous. San Antonio car accident attorneys often handle cases involving:

Understanding Local Car Insurance Requirements

Texas requires drivers of vehicles registered in the state to have liability insurance coverage. The mandatory minimum coverage limits are $30,000 bodily injury to one person, $60,000 aggregate bodily injury to more than one person, and $25,000 for property damage.

Personal injury protection (PIP) covers a driver’s bodily injury and other items like lost wages. Having PIP is mandatory, but a driver may decline to purchase it if they sign a written waiver. All insurers who write automotive policies in the state must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, but a consumer has the right to decline it.

What Happens After an Accident?

Texas is an “at-fault” state, which means that the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident pays the damages of anyone who suffered losses in the wreck. If it is clear which driver is at fault, people who were hurt submit their claims to the at-fault driver’s insurer.

If there is a dispute around fault, a claimant might not receive timely payment. If the claimant has PIP, they could claim their medical expenses and lost wages from their insurer, and the insurer might try to recoup its payments from the other driver’s insurer.

A claimant without PIP might have to wait for reimbursement until the insurance companies negotiate an allocation of fault. A claimant’s attorney could participate in these negotiations to ensure the claimant bears no more than their share of the blame.

What If Insurance Does Not Cover All Losses?

The state’s mandatory coverage limits are modest, and a severely injured person might find the at-fault driver’s coverage inadequate to reimburse their expenses. The claimant could seek coverage from their PIP, but that coverage also has limits.

When an injured person’s damages exceed the coverage limits of the available insurance policies, bringing a negligence lawsuit might be the only way of securing an adequate settlement. However, plaintiffs must recognize that the at-fault driver is personally liable for any damages over and above their coverage limits.

In practical terms, if an at-fault driver does not have assets to cover a judgment bringing a lawsuit might not be worthwhile. A savvy accident lawyer could investigate the at-fault driver’s finances to ascertain whether a lawsuit is likely to produce a collectible judgment. They also could attempt to locate other sources of insurance coverage which might help to make the claimant whole.

Liability in San Antonio Car Crash Claims

The most common causes of car crash claims and accident injuries due to negligence are speeding, drunk driving, following too closely, failure to obey a stop sign or traffic light, driving while impaired or influenced by drugs, and texting while driving. These are all common negligent factors in auto collisions. Driver fatigue and poor road conditions can also lead to a serious car accident.

A skilled San Antonio attorney representing someone injured in a car collision must prove that the alleged at-fault individual or party was negligent and establish liability in order to recover for the plaintiff’s injuries. The elements of negligence that must be proven are as follows:

The defendant driver owed a legal duty of care to the plaintiff. All drivers are subject to a legal obligation to exercise reasonable care when behind the wheel to avoid causing injury to others.
The defendant driver failed to live up to their duty of care.
The defendant driver’s violation of their duty of care was the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.
The plaintiff’s injuries caused them to endure damages.

While liability may rest entirely with the defendant, in some cases the court may determine that the plaintiff bears a portion of the legal fault for the wreck. Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 33.001 allows a plaintiff to be partially compensated as long as their percentage of liability or responsibility is not greater than 50 percent. If the injured claimant is found to be 51 percent or more at fault, they are ineligible to recover compensation for damages.

What Are Common Car Wreck Injuries?

The injuries sustained in a car accident can range from mildly to extremely grave and even life-threatening. Car wreck injuries such as spinal, neck and back injuries, lacerations, scarring, bruising, and whiplash, broken bones, and fractured bones are common. Individuals involved in serious wrecks may also endure traumatic brain injuries, amputations, and burns.

When Is The Deadline to Pursue Financial Compensation For a Car Crash?

Unless some unusual exception applies, generally the deadline to pursue financial compensation is two years from the date of the car accident per Tex. Civ. Prac. and Rem. Code § 16.003. This means is that if the injured party fails to commence legal action by filing a lawsuit within two years of the crash, they will be precluded from pursuing any subsequent claim for compensation. It is prudent to talk with a San Antonio car wreck lawyer as soon as possible before the statutory two year deadline to avoid any issues with timely pursuing your claim.

However, there is much less time to act if a unit of government bears some responsibility for the accident. The state or a local government might be liable if:

One of the other drivers involved in the wreck is a public employee and they were on official business when the crash occurred
A unit of government owns one of the other vehicles involved in the crash
Poor road maintenance, a faulty traffic control device, or unclear or misleading signage contributed to the accident

When the state or a local government might be liable in a car accident case, the victim has a very short time to file a notice of claim—six months if the case is against the state, and only 90 days if the City of San Antonio is responsible. Failing to file a notice of claim with the proper government office within the statutory time limits will bar a claimant from pursuing damages from the government defendant.

Talk to a San Antonio Car Accident Attorney

Injuries sustained in a car wreck because of a driver’s negligence can have negative consequences and bring your life to a halt. A San Antonio car accident lawyer is ideally positioned to help you pursue compensation for your crash injuries. You could be entitled to compensation for damages such as medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost income, and emotional anguish.

An experienced personal injury attorney will fight to protect your rights to help you get back on your feet and get your life back on track. Call today to schedule a free consultation.