Episode #2: Were you in a Car Accident?... Now What? - Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

this episode of the B

king Do

n The L

Podc

e’

e joined by Ste

t J. Guss,

son

l inju

y l

in Houston

ho speci

lizes in c

ccidents

esulting in inju

y. He’s joined by B

king Do

n The L Podc

st host,

shley

iguez. Du

ing tod

y’s episode

e’ll be

essing

question

e he

ll too often, “

t should I do

fte

I’m involved in

ccident?”

hile it might seem st

ightfo

d, m

ny d

ive

s don’t

lize they could be m

king mist

kes immedi

tely follo

ing

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–

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ccident<> th

t could

ctu

lly hu

t thei

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>

y tuned fo

the next inst

llment of the B

king Do

n The L

Podc

ith Ste

t J Guss

shley

iguez! Cont

ct Us: 281-783-3934 o

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em> ong> Int
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

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

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