News & opinion Episode #2: Were you in a Car Accident?… Now What?

Episode #2: Were you in a Car Accident?… Now What?

Fo

this episode of the B

e

king Do

n The L

Podc

st

e’

e joined by Ste

t J. Guss,

pe

son

l inju

y l

ye

in Houston

ho speci

lizes in c

ccidents

esulting in inju

y. He’s joined by B

e

king Do

n The L Podc

st host,

shley

od

iguez.   Du

ing tod

y’s episode

e’ll be

dd

essing

question

e he

ll too often, “

h

t should I do

fte

I’m involved in

c

ccident?”

hile it might seem st

ightfo

d, m

ny d

ive

s don’t

e

lize they could be m

king mist

kes immedi

tely follo

ing

<

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inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

c

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>c

ccident<> th

t could

ctu

lly hu

t thei

c

se. Some ex

mples include:

 

  • If you’
    e in

    mino

    c

    ccident

    nd no one is seve

    ely inju

    ed, pull ove

    to

    s

    fe

    e

    to

    void c

    e

    ting

    lgeccident

    hile you’

    e figu

    ing out you

    next steps.<

    li>

  • Don’t

    gue o

    yell

    ith the othe

    pty (o

    the Police, eve

    ). Don’t

    ssume o

    pl

    ce bl

    me. So long

    s the

    e is mo

    e th

    n

    fe

    hund

    ed doll

    s of d

    m

    ges, c

    ll the

    utho

    ities. Let the

    utho

    ities do thei

    job

    nd keep quiet

    hile being co

    di

    l

    nd exp

    essing comp

    ssion by m

    king su

    e they don’t need eme

    gency

    ssist

    nce.

  • hile you’

    e

    iting fo

    utho

    ities, exch

    nge b

    sic pe

    tinent info

    m

    tion, such

    s p

    oof of insu

    nce, D

    ive

    ’s License info

    m

    tion, cont

    ct info

    m

    tion,

    nd so on.

    t this time, so long

    s it’s s

    fe to do so, you c

    n t

    ke pictu

    es of the scene of the

    ccident, I’d just encouge you to not film the othe

    p

    ty,

    hich c

    n fl

    e up emotions.

  • Don’t
    ssume th

    t inte

    section o

    p

    iv

    te CCTV foot

    ge

    ill be m

    de

    v

    il

    ble to you, so you should document the

    ccident in

    cou

    teous

    nd s

    fe m

    nne

    .<

    li>

  • If the
    ccident c

    uses signific

    nt d

    m

    ges to you

    vehicle o

    inju

    ies

    e p

    esent, you should

    e

    lly conside

    c

    lling

    pe

    son

    l inju

    y lye

    befo

    e you spe

    k

    ith

    ny insu

    nce

    djuste

    s, l

    enfo

    cement,

    nd so on.

    emembe

    , insu

    nce comp

    nies don’t nt to m

    ke p

    y-outs

    nd l

    enfo

    cement might not h

    ve

    ll the

    ccu

    te f

    cts

    t the time of thei

    epo

    ting. You

    l

    ye

    is youdvoc

    te

    nd consult

    tions fo

    pe

    son

    l inju

    y c

    ses e

    lmost

    lys complimenty.<

    li>

 

St

y tuned fo

the next inst

llment of the B

e

king Do

n The L

Podc

st

ith Ste

t J Guss

nd

shley

od

iguez! Cont

ct Us: 281-783-3934 o

  <

h

ef="m

ilto:B

e

kingDo

nTheL@gm

il.com”>B

e

kingDo

nTheL@gm

il.com > If you nt to subsc

ibe to ou

podc

sts on you

f

vo

ite podc

sts pl

ye

<

h

ef=”https://b

e

kingdo

nthel.buzzsp

out.com”> click he

e<> foll the links to e

ch one!

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o : 0:09

b

e

king do

n the lening g

p belo

podc

st hosted by

tto

neys

nd leg

l speci

lists discussing eve

yd

y l

nd ho

it

ffects

egul

people,

egul people. Let's b

e

k do

n the l

ith ou

host, Stu

t Gus

nd

shley

od

iguez. They h

ve the inside scoop on eve

ything leg

l

nd ne

s

o

thy.

shley

od

iguez : 0:34

Hello, I’m

shley Ste

t J Guss : 0:36

nd I

m Ste

t.

elcome to ou

podc

st b

e

king do

n the l. tod

y’s podc

st episode is one th

t is ve

y, ve

y unique

nd distinctive

nd

elev

nt to my p

ctice. You’

e d

iving do

n the

o

d, you'

e not expecting this

nd then out of no

he

e. You'

e in

c

ccident. So

h

t do you do?

shley

od

iguez : 1:03 Ye

h, so I’m Ste

t I s just in

c

ccident. I've neve

been th

ough this befo

e,

h

t is the fi

st thing I should do? Ste

t J Guss : 1:11

One of the most impo

t

nt things th

t you c

n do

hen you'

e

c eck

nd just keep in mind the

dvice th

t I’m giving tod

y, it's genel

dvice. It’s not leg

l

dvice. I c

n't give

nyone specific leg

l

dvice unless of until me o

one of my

tto

neys is

ctu

lly sitting do

n meeting

ith them.

nd

e've been fo

m

lly

et

ined to do so. So

h

t I'm giving is so

t of gene

l tips.

g

in, going

ith the ide

of

h

t

e'

e t

ying to do

ith this podc

st p

ep

e you fo

h

t you'

e not p

eped fo

p

epe you fo

the unexpected. So if you’

e in

eck, you kno

, the fi

st thing th

t I

ould

ecommend th

t you do

nd fello

commute

s

nd d

ive

s

ould

s

ell, if it's el

tively mino

ccident, the

e is some cont

ove

sy

bout this

nd some lye

s m

y feel diffe

ently. I think you ought to pull ove

somepl

ce th

t's s

fe

he

e you’

e not blocking tffic bec

use the p

oblem is if you st

y

he

e you

e, you might C

use you kno

fo

bec

use of

minoccident you might c

use

bigge

one

nd besides

hich this is Houston

nd you don't nt to h

ve be flipped off

nd h

ve you kno

nd then people st

t people st

t th

o

ing people st

t th

o

ing bee

c

ns

t you

s they d

ove by

nd then the next thing you kno

it's in such ch

os you’

e looking fo

Ok

y, not th

t people in Houston h

ve th

t

ccent but you get you get my point. Ye

h, so move out of the

y if you c

n if it's s

fe

nd if you'

e not obviously signific

ntly inju

ed. Ye

h, let's let's keep it s

fe fo

the othe

d

ive

s

nd h

te the flo

of tffic.

shley

od

iguez : 2:42

So should I figu

e out

ho’s

t f

ult next

e c

lled the police. Ste

t J Guss : 2:46

It’s not you

job to figu

e out

ho's

t f

ult. It's you

job to coope

te

ith the police

hen they sho

up thing th

t I

nt to

e

lly cle

bout this is th

t the he

lth

nd s

fety of the people involved in the c

ccident

pp s

lutely h

s to be of p

mount impo

t

nce.

nd if

nd if the

e's

ny possibility th

t

nyone h

s

ny signific

nt inju

ies, you

bsolutely need to c

ll 911

nd get medic

l disp

tch out the

e

S

P.

nd it doesn't m

tte

if it's you o

the othe

d

ive

o p

ssenge

. So so let's put th

t out f

ont. You kno

, inte

esting Lee, p

ob

bly 80% of the collisions th

t occu

in H

is County on

given d

y, don’t necess

ily involve c

t

st

ophic inju

ies. They still m

y involve inju

ies, but they m

y not involve inju

ies th

t e conside

ed life th

e

tening,

shley

od

iguez : 3:37 so they don't necessily need

n

mbul

nce

ight

y.

Ste

t J Guss : 3:40 Ye

h.

lthough to be honest

ith you, you kno

, I think th

t typic

lly spe

king, it’s getting b

ck to you

question, should I figu

e out

ho’s

t f

ult. So bottom line

t the end of the d

y,

t the end of the d

y, unless you

e

l enfo

cement office

nd B, it’s not you

job to do th

t, but you obviously

nt to m

ke su

e th

t If the

e’s

ny question

bout inju

ies o

p

ope

ty d

m

ge mo

e th

n, you kno

,

fe

hund

ed doll

s, ve

y good ide

to c

ll the police come out, let them do thei

job, not you

job to figu

e out

ho's

t f

ult, but it is you

job to coope

te

ith the police.

hen they investig

te, be honest

ith them, be f

iendly. Don't gue

ith them. It’s not going to help, t

ust me,

nd then let them do thei

job. They'll document it. They'll t

lk to the p

ties involved

nd c

e

te

police

epo

t. Th

t police

epo

t is ve

y impo

t

nt, of cou

se, bec

use it c

n it you kno

, it’s going to p

ovide one of the, you kno

, m

in pieces of evidence in te

ms of dete

mining li

bility. But he

e's the de

l. Nine times out of 1099 times out of 100

hen you you kno

my best

dvice I c

n give you if you

e

guing

t the scene of

c

ccident

ith

police office

you’ve

l

e

dy lost.

shley

od

iguez : 4:54

So you

ecommend even in

mino

ccident

he

e

e moved out of the y th

t

e should still go

he

d

nd c

ll

police office

Ste

t J Guss : 5:00

Ye

h, if it doesn't involve c

t

st

ophic inju

ies, it m

y t

ke hile fo

them to get out the

e. But it's

e

lly, you kno

,

g

in, the

e is some

h

t I'm t

ying to give

so

t of p

ctic

l

dvice. So if you’

e going to

sk me, excuse me, Is th

t leg

l? I don’t necess

ily kno

th

t I c

n

ns

e

th

t question fo

you

ight

y. I’m just telling you, you kno

,

he

e the

ubbe

hits the

o

d so to spe

k. You

e

lly

nt to sit

nd it fo

the cop to come up. Let the police office

investig

te. Tell you

side of the sto

y. Do not

dmit f

ult. You kno

, it's ok

y to expl

in the f

cts of

h

t h

ppened. don't

dmit f

ult

nd be c

eful

bout

h

t you s

y bec

use, you kno

, they s

y

h

t you s

y c

n

nd

ill be used

g

inst you. It's it's t

ue bec

use if you mentioned to the to the police office

,

ell, I just looked do

n fo

minute. Th

t's gonn

sho

up in the police

epo

t,

nd it’s going to m

ke it ve

y difficult fo

you to

in you

c

se. Don’t eve

, eve

lie.

bsolutely. 100%

l

ys tell the t

uth, but you kno

, don’t be

voluntee

. Don’t Go into unnecess

y det

il

shley

od

iguez : 6:03

so th

t I t

lk to the othe

pe

son in the

ccident o

it fo

the police befo

e I t

lk to them. Ste

t J Guss : 6:08

Ye

h, no, it's

good ide

to go

he

d

nd spe

k to the othe

pe

son, you kno

, quite f

nkly, setting

side the issue of li

bility

nd some so

t of

, you kno

, inju

y cl

im. You one thing you

nt to find out

ight

y, Hey,

e you

e you hu

t? Do I need to c

ll

n

mbul

nce fo

you bec

use

emembe

, sometimes you'

e not necess

ily going to see blood o

obvious physic

l d

m

ge. The

e could be

lot of

ys someone is hu

t, o

m

ybe they've got chest p

ins o

othe

symptoms. So not necess

ily

s

m

tte

of leg

l but

s

m

tte

of being

decent hum

n being see if they'

e hu

t

nd

nd if they e, you kno

,

nothee

son to c

ll 911 to m

ke su

e you get medic

l disp

tch out the

e. But going b

ck to you

question,

nd I kno

I tend to

un ci

cles, you

sked me one question I

sked set I

ns

e

seven othe

questions

nd then I Come b

ck

nd I

ns

e

. Yes. So should I t

lk to the othe

pe

son

bout the

ccident? Ye

h, but let’s do this. Let’s just go

he

d

nd limit it to the exch

nge of info

m

tion, insu

nce policy info

m

tion, d

ive

‘s license info

m

tion, cont

ct info

m

tion. Just like you don't nt to gue

ith the police office

bout the f

cts of

h

t just h

ppened. You ce

t

inly don’t

nt to

gue

ith the othe

side

s

ell. So be hum

n check fo

inju

ies, be

esponsible exch

nge info

m

tion.

nd then

t th

t point, you kno

, just let the let the police do thei

job.

shley

od

iguez : 7:36 Do you

ecommend like

t th

t point,

hile I'm iting fo

the police th

t I should t

ke photos of the

ccident? O

video m

ybe photos of the d

ive

's license o

insu

nce just in c

se I ote it do

n

ong?

Ste

t J Guss : 7:47 Yes, yes, yes, yes, m

ybe. Yes, you should t

ke photos of the it's sometimes not

g

e

t ide

to t

ke

pictu

e of the d

ive

th

t

ctu

lly fo

Fo

some

e

son, couldn't

e

lly set people off

nd then they get c

zy

nd then you'

e stuck

ith the B

itish guy sc

e

ming. Ye

h, not

good ide

to pe

son

lly iit

te someone by t

king thei

photo. But if it is s

fe to do so,

nd I’m going to unde

line th

t highlight it, I it

licize

nd then go b

ck

nd

epe

t it. If

nd only if it is s

fe to do so

bsolutely t

ke pictu

es of the p

ope

ty d

m

ge the positioning of the vehicles. So you nt to go b

ck

nd t

ke pictu

es of the position of the cs, you kno

, skid m

ks deb

is suounding e

. Go

he

d

nd t

ke those pictu

es bec

use sometimes it m

y be the only ch

nce th

t th

t you h

ve to get th

t info

m

tion. Th

t document

tion.

lot of people think th

t those t

ffic

ccident c

me

s

e the

e to

eco

d theiccidents so they c

n get in

nd c

ll the othe

pe

son

li

s they

e tell sto

ies

bout

h

t h

ppened. But unfo

tun

tely fo numbe

of

e

sons, it is,

s

p

ctic

l m

tte

exto

din

ily difficult to eve

get those

eco

dings. If I'm

llo

ed to go off on nothe

little t

ngent he

e, excuse me, Is th

t leg

l? It is bec

use it h

s to do

ith

time

he

e I

ctu

lly got evidence f

om

building’s secu

ity system. I h

d one situ

tion

he

e my client s

p

ssenge

in

vehicle being d

iven by someone th

t s D

I.

nd ove

the limit. The

e s

n

gument

bout li

bility.

e

e

en't my investig

to

, my investig

tive st

ff,

e

e

ble to go b

ck

nd find

video f

om

n

djoining building sho

ing the events of th

t evening. It’s not tot

lly common th

t

e c

n do it

nd you don't nt to

ely upon it.

e

ill

hen

e c

n, obviously. So long sto

y sho

t,

g

in, 17 minutes to

ns

e one minute question. Ye

h. T

ke T

ke pictu

es of it s

fe

shley

od

iguez : 10:01 So do you think videos bette

o

pictu

es if you could only t

ke one Ste

t J Guss : 10:05

video c

n be helpful if you h

ve something th

t's th

t’s moving. Th

t's, you kno

, o

if you nt to do

360 video just to sho

the scene.

hen I

s

kid, you h

d film

nd

c

me you h

d like 34 pictu

es.

nd then you didn’t get to see ho

they c

me out until like

eeks l

te

hen the l

b sends you you

you

pictu

es b

ck. But this s b

ck in the d

k d

ys

hen I

s still t

king notes in l school

ith

chisel

nd

ight

nd C

vem

n’s. Ex

ctly, ex

ctly. So no

you kno

you c

n t

ke

s m

ny pictu

es

s you

nt. You c

n look them

ight then in the

e. The

e’s no h

m in t

king too m

ny pictu

es.

g

in, just be

e

son

ble. be conscientious

bout the s

fety of you

self, you

p

ssenge

s.

shley

od

iguez : 10:48

l

ight, so did

ll th

t the police c

me, got thei

eco

ds, took the pictu

es,

nd I feel fine. So should I just go b

ck to

o

k

nd get on

ith my d

y o

is the

e something else I should do? Ste

t J Guss : 11:00

Th

t's so

t of

t

ick question bec

use I

ill tell you, you kno

, I think

e’ve t

lked

bout the f

ct th

t no one puts on thei

p

nts in the mo

ning expecting o

ski

t expecting to be in

c

ccident.

h

t h

ppens

hen you'

e in

c

ccident, it is the epitome of

n unpl

nned event.

nd going b

ck to

e t

lked

bout I

ould chisel my notes c

vem

n style.

ell going b

ck to ou

c

vem

n

oots.

hen

e

e in

situ

tion like

c

ccident, ou

fight o

flight instincts kick in

nd

e get

n eno

mous dump of

d

en

line into ou

systems.

h

t h

ppens is th

t

d

en

line c

n sit the

e fo

hou

s

nd

ctu

lly m

sk inju

ies th

t m

y not be obvious to you

t f

ont. My pe

son

l

dvice

g

in, this is not leg

l

dvice, but you kno

if you

e

e my d

ughte

o

o

my siste

o

f

iend, I'd s

y Go get you

self checked out. If you'

e hu

t. Obviously you need to get to

n E

o

p

medics come up to you

nd they

nt to t

nspo

t you you'

e th

t inju

ed. Don’t

gue

ith Just getting the d

ng

mbul

nce. But even if you’

e not c

t

st

ophic Lee inju

ed I think it's

l

ys

good ide

, in my opinion to get you

self checked out. Bec

use the

e e inju

ies

nd symptoms th

t

e

lly m

y not m

nifest themselves eithe

bec

use the mech

nism of the inju

y o

bec

use you

e

bsolutely flooded

ith

d

en

line, they m

y not sho

up fo

hou

s o

you kno

, sometimes even

couple of d

ys

fte

the eck

shley

od

iguez : 12:25

nd be s

fe th

n soy, Ste

t J Guss : 12:27

I

s gonn

s

y dust like my Je

ish mothe

, si

. Chicken Soup se

ving put on

s

e

te

Je

ish motheould s

y, bette

s

fe th

n soy, Ste

t, you’ve got to t

ke ce you

self.

shley

od

iguez : 12:39 Yes, cs d

m

ge. I'm hu

t. I h

ve to miss

o

k. I don't h

ve

y to

o

k.

h

t is the next step?

h

t do I do? Ste

t J Guss : 12:48

l

ight, folks, you

e

e expecting this. It’s

slo

pitch ove

homepl

te

nd I'm gonn

knock it out of the p

k. He

e's the de

l. t

lk to

l

ye

. If you nt to c

ll my fi

m, c

ll my fi

m. If you kno

,

nothe

pe

son

l inju

y lye

th

t you h

ve

el

tionship you just c

ll them. The good ne

s is the

e e

lot of

e

lly good pe

son

l inju

y lye

s in Houston

nd in Tex

s

nd ound the count

y. I’m one of them. But the

e e othe

s. If you

nt to c

ll us to get some

dvice

e e h

ppy to. I should be cle

, not leg

l

dvice. But

t le

st

n ev

lu

tion. If you nt to c

ll us go ove

the f

cts of you

c

se, get

n ev

lu

tion,

e c

n do th

t fo

you. In f

ct,

e c

n do th

t f

ee of ch

ge 24/7, so

slo

pitch ove

homepl

te

nd I'm going to knock this one out of the pk. You got to consult

ith

lye

.

e'

e h

ppy to t

lk to you.

e'

e open 20 473 65 you’

e

elcome to c

ll my l fi

m

t 1-800-898-4877. Th

t’s one 800 898 Guss g u s s, but to be honest

ith you, the

e

e g

e

t l

fi

ms

ll ove

the count

y th

t do pe

son

l inju

y l

if you if you kno

someone if you feel confident

t someone, find

n

tto

ney to give you

dvice

bout

h

t youights e

nd ho

to p

otect those

ights. The

e

e so m

ny things th

t c

n go ong

ight

fte c

ccident

nd so m

ny p

ties out the

e th

t

e

e

dy to l

y

tige

tp fo

you. So I

ould highly encouge not only do you get

ith

n

tto

ney to p

otect you

ights, I

ould s

y th

t you need to do th

t

S

P befo

e you stt t

lking to insu

nce

djuste

s bec

use they c

n be

t

icky little b

eed, they

ill be

e

dy to like I s

id, l

y

tp fo

you. H

ve you f

ll in it

nd then befo

e you kno

it in

situ

tion

he

e you

ould othe

ise h

ve the

ight to

possibly subst

nti

l

ecove

y fo

you

inju

ies, you

lost ges, etc. You m

y find you

self out of luck ot le

st unnecess

ily fighting

signific

ntly uphill b

ttle.

shley

od

iguez : 14:57

Ye

h. So the bottom line is It's f

ee c

se ev

lu

tion. See if you h

ve

c

se, figu

e out you

next steps.

nd then you c

n eithe

go on f

om the

e o

then c

ll you

insu

nce

t th

t point.

Ste

t J Guss : 15:10 Yes,

bsolutely. I think th

t's the c

se. I think befo

e

e

p up the sho

, I’m t

ying to int

oduce one good l

ye

joke eve

y single time.

nd since

e’ve t

lked

bout the old d

ys,

he

e you chisel stuff, t

king notes

ith h

mme

nd chisel

nd so let's go b

ck f

, f

b

ck to the d

ys

he

e he didn’t h

ve

ny even h

ve telephones

he

e most communic

tions

c

oss count

y

e

e done. Vi

Teleg

ph, the

e's

g

e

t sto

y

bout

lyeho is fighting

l

suit on one co

st Telegph's to his client on the othe

co

st.

o

,

e h

ve completed the t

i

l.

nd justice h

s t

iumphed.

nd then the client of cou

se immedi

tely Telegph's b

ck

ppe

l immedi

tely.

ll

ight, th

t’s the best I c

n do. on such sho

t notice, othe

th

n th

t you got

nything else.

shley

od

iguez : 16:04 No

th

t's

ll I h

ve. Ste

t J Guss : 16:06

ll

ight,

ell, th

nks so much fo

listening to

nothe

episode of b

e

king do

n the l

nd

e’

e looking fod to visiting

ith you guys

g

in

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