How Can You Determine Fault in a Multi-Vehicle Car Accident?

How Does Texas Law Deal With Multi-Vehicle Traffic Accidents?

Traffic crashes happen every day in the Houston area, but when three or more vehicles are involved, questions about liability and damages quickly get complicated. If you’re injured in a multi-vehicle crash, promptly contact a Brazoria County personal injury lawyer.

Multi-vehicle collisions are usually calamitous for all who are involved. These accidents often cause catastrophic injuries and/or permanent disabilities and lead to complex injury claims, costly property damages, and in the worst cases, wrongful deaths and wrongful death lawsuits.

How does Texas law deal with multi-vehicle traffic accidents? Will the injured victims qualify to recover compensation? If you’re one of those victims, how will a Brazoria County car accident attorney handle your personal injury claim after a multi-vehicle accident?

What Constitutes a Multi-Vehicle Accident?

Multi-vehicle accidents are traffic accidents that involve at least three vehicles, at least three drivers, and usually three or more automobile insurance companies. If passengers were in the vehicles, or if a commercial vehicle was involved, there will be additional legal complications.

Often, these accidents are chain-reaction collisions – a series of rear-end crashes in poor weather conditions. Of course, each multi-vehicle accident is unique, so the details of each accident must be thoroughly investigated to determine what happened and which party or parties have liability.

How is Liability Determined for a Multi-Vehicle Accident?

An accident reconstruction expert may use math, physics, and computers to reconstruct a moment-by-moment description of what happened in the seconds before a multiple-vehicle accident – a description that, in most cases, indicates which driver should be assigned liability.

After a multiple-vehicle collision, the following questions are a few that should be explored:

1. Were any of the motorists unlicensed or driving while intoxicated?
2. Did bad weather or poor road conditions have any role in causing the collision?
3. Was the cause of the collision a defective vehicle or defective vehicle part?

What Should You Do After a Multi-Vehicle Accident?

If you’re injured as the result of a multi-vehicle accident in Texas, there will not be a Brazoria County car accident attorney on the scene to advise you, but taking the following steps will put you in the best position to succeed with a personal injury claim:

1. Call for medical assistance immediately if anyone has been injured.
2. Call the local police so that the accident will be properly investigated.
3. When the police arrive, ask the officers how to obtain a copy of their accident report.
4. Swap auto insurance and personal contact details with the other drivers.
5. Take plenty of photos, and ask for the names and contact details of any eyewitnesses.
6. Undergo a medical exam – even if you feel fine – as quickly as possible.

A Brazoria County personal injury lawyer can offer you legal advice – later – but in the first moments after a multi-vehicle collision, you must concentrate on gathering the evidence you’ll need if you subsequently bring a personal injury claim.

How Are Multi-Vehicle Accident Injury Claims Resolved?

Texas is an “at fault” state for car insurance. The driver who is responsible for a crash is liable for the damages. If you’re injured in a multi-vehicle accident, your attorney will negotiate with the liable driver’s insurance company for the settlement that you’re entitled to by law.

Personal injury claims arising from car accidents in Texas are typically resolved when the attorneys for the defendant and the plaintiff negotiate a settlement outside of the courtroom, but multi-vehicle accident cases may take more time and effort to resolve.

For instance, more compensation may be available if a large commercial truck was involved, and a trucking, leasing, or freight company may be assigned liability. If liability is disputed, or if you’re not offered a reasonable settlement amount, your lawyer will take your case to court.

When Should You Seek to Retain an Attorney?

If you are injured in a multi-vehicle crash in or near Houston, you must be advised and represented by a Houston-area auto accident attorney who represents clients in the most complicated personal injury cases.

As soon as you’ve been examined and treated by a medical provider, schedule a consultation to speak with an accident attorney. That attorney will discuss your rights and options and suggest the best way to move forward, which may include pursuing a personal injury claim.

Your first consultation with a Texas injury lawyer is offered without obligation or cost. If you proceed with legal action, you will pay no lawyer’s fee until and unless your lawyer recovers the compensation you need with a trial verdict or an out-of-court settlement.

Is There a Statute of Limitations for Filing Injury Claims?

The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim in Texas is two years. While there are several narrow exceptions to the deadline, if you do not take legal action within two years of the date of a multi-vehicle accident, your claim probably will not be heard by a Texas court.

But don’t wait two years to contact an attorney. In fact, don’t even wait two weeks. Evidence disappears or deteriorates over time. Witnesses forget details. Your attorney needs to meet with the witnesses before their memories fade and examine the evidence while it’s still fresh.

When a negligent driver injures you in Texas, you are entitled to compensation for your lost wages and your projected future lost wages, your current and projected future medical bills, your personal suffering and pain, and your related damages and losses.

Let the Kahn Law Firm Fight on Your Behalf

The Kahn Law Firm routinely fights on behalf of traffic crash victims who’ve been injured by negligent motorists in the greater Houston area. We are a husband and wife law team with twenty years of legal experience.

If you’ve been injured in a multi-vehicle traffic accident because another motorist was negligent, call us to arrange a free consultation. If the Kahn Law Firm represents you, you’ll owe no lawyer’s fee in advance and no lawyer’s fee unless and until we obtain your compensation.

We will handle your case with urgency and care, we will return your phone calls promptly, and we will work tirelessly and effectively to bring your case to its best possible conclusion. To learn more or to begin the legal process now, contact the Kahn Law Firm by calling 713-999-6549
.