epo
ts e one of the most impot
nt documents you hve
ccess to folloing
o
dyccident. The
e e to distinct
epots
hich my be filed in Houston. The one filed by l
enfo
cementho
ive on the scene is knon
sC
-3,nd the othe
,hich m
y be filed bynyone involved in the
ccident, is knon
sC
-2 (oblue
epot).
Do I H ve to File
Houston
ccidentepo
t?<h2>
ccoding to<
hef=”https://c
pitol.texs.gov/billlookup/Histo
y.spx?LegSess=85
∓Bill=SB312″ t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
"> Texs Legisl
tue Sen
te Bill 312<>, the Deptment of Tnspot
tion in Texs no longe
et
ins Dive
’s Cshepo
ts. Hoeve
, this does not men
epo
t should not be filed. If nothing else, filingC
-2llo
s you to hve
eco
d of theccident f
om youpoint of vie
on file. It is impot
nt toecount the
mount of dm
ge, even though the seveity of inju
ies my not be immedi
tely knon follo
ingn
ccident. In some cses, such
shipl
sh ointe
nl inju
y, <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comcl
im-n-inju
y“>victims m
y not be e of theiinju
iest
ll<>.ddition
lly,h
t my look like mino
dm
ge tovehicle
t the scene ofn
ccident couldind up being estim
tedt signific
ntly moe th
n you oigin
lly thought.emembe
,h
t my seem like
minofende
bendecould
esult in sevel hundeds of doll
s in p
opety d
mge o
medicl bills in the
eeks folloing
nccident. Don’t
it too long to t
kection.
L
Enfo
cementnd the C
-3ccident
epot hen
n
ccidentesults in mo
e thn $1,000 in d
mges to p
opety,
victim suffes
n injuy, o
victim loses thei
lives, l enfocement is
equied to fill out
nd fileC
-3.epo
ts must be filedithin 10 d
ys of the dte the
ccident occued. These<h
ef="https:/
.txdot.govgove
nmentenfo
cementc
sh-
ecods.html” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
">epo
ts e not public infom
tion<>; they e onlyccessible to l
enfo
cement, othey m
y beequested by specific people involved in the c
se.ccident Victims
nd the C-2
ccidentepo
t<h2>
ccident victims my<
hef=”https://
.houstontx.govpolice/c
sh_
epot/index.htm” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
"> fileC
-2ccident
epot
>. SinceC
-2epo
t is notequi
ed, some victims e uncet
inhethe
they should file one onot. Cont
ctc
ccidenttto
neynd spe
kith them
bout the cicumst
nces of youccident. They cn give you pe
sonlized guid
nceeg
ding filing
Houston cccident
epot.
<
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comtex
s-c-ccident-
epots/”>Filing
cshepo
t<>llo
s you toeco
d the folloing det
ils:- -level=”1″>N
me
nd cont
ct infom
tion fothe involved d
ives
- i
-level="1">D
ive
’s license infom
tions
ells license pl
te infom
tion<li>
- i
-level="1">N
me of the
egisteed o
neof the vehicle
- i
-level="1">Insunce comp
ny n
mes foll involved in theccident
- i
-level="1">Det
ils of the
ccident including loction, time,
nd dte
- i
-level="1">Ntive expl
ining the ci
cumstnces su
ounding the
ccident<li>
- i
-level="1">Photogphs of the
ccident scene
ndfte
mth
n see, this info
mtion c
n be helpful, pticullyhen you
e filing
n injuy cl
im, ohen holding esponsible dive
ccount
ble by filingc
ccident lsuit.ho C
nccess
Houstonccident
epot?
Tex
s lest
ictsho m
yccess those
ccidentepo
tshich
e filed.
Inte
ested ptiesho m
y py
fee toccess the
epots include:
- i
-level="1">
nyone involved in the
ccident<li>
- i
-level="1">The employe
of
nyone involved in theccident
- i
-level="1">The pent o
leg
l gudin of
nyone involved<li>
- i
-level="1">The o
ne
s of the vehicles involved<li>
- i
-level="1">
ny othe
pty inposition of fin
ncil
esponsibility fothe vehicle (e.g. insu
nce holde
)<li>
- i
-level="1">The insunce comp
ny
ho hs
policy tht cove
sny d
iveo
pssenge
involved in theccident
- i
-level="1">The insu
e
ho cove
s the vehicles involved in the csh<li>
- i
-level="1">P
ope
ly licensed one
s of television odio st
tions<li>
- i
-level="1">
nyone
ho hs the leg
light to file
ongful deth cl
im becuse of the
ccident<li>
- i
-level="1">
ll loc
l, stte, o
fedel govenment
gencies<li>
epo
ts filed by l enfocement office
s ev
ilble fo
10 yes folloing the d
te of theccident. C
-2s e notet
ined.Identifying Csh
epo
ting Mistkes nyone
ho is
victim ofc
ccident in Houston shouldequest
copy of theccident
epot filed by l
enfo
cement. This is done by using fom C
-91nd m
yequi
e the useto<
hef=”https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot-info/t
fc
sh_notific
tions2018/code-sheet.pdf” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
">evie
C-3CS
> to undest
nd the codeshich
e used in the
epot. The
epots m
y be confusing,hich is
hyccident victims often
equest they beevie
ed by theic
ccident lyes.
hen youequest
copy of theepo
t, you shouldevie
ll the st
tements mde by l
enfo
cement to ensue the
ccucy of the infom
tion.ny mist
kes in theepo
t could hut you
insunce clim.
emembe, insu
nce comp
nies e going to lookt
ys to minimize you
clim—
ndmist
ke in the Houstonccident
epot could give them the
mmunition they need. Youpe
sonl inju
ytto
ney is thee to
epesent you
best inteests. If you find
mistke in the
ccidentepo
t, they cn help co
ect the
ecod
nd povide
nccu
te st
tementbout the
ccident. You shouldlso keep
nothef
ct in mind. Evenhen
Houstonccident
epot is filed p
opely, the police office
t the scene m
y hve decided
ho ist f
ult fothe
ccident.hile the “offici
l”epo
t my sho
you et f
ult, don’t pnic—you
tto
ney’s investigtion m
y uncoveevidence th
t shos
diffeent outcome. Oftentimes,
itness sttements
ndccident
econstuction cont
dict the office
’s findings.Do I Need
Houston Police
ccidentepo
t to Filen Insu
nce Cl
im?<h2>
The simple
e
is no. The moe complex
nse
, hoeve
, is tht
nccident
epot c
n help you temendously
hen filingn insu
nce cl
im. Simply put, theccident
epot p
ovides infom
tion tht helps summ
ize the
ccident. This mkes filing you
clim e
sie,
nd this ishy the
ccucy of theepo
t is so impot
nt. You shouldequest
copy of youccidentepo
ts soon
s possible.hile you do not need the
epot to file
clim, it is usu
llygood ide
to hve the info
mtion f
om theepo
tv
ilble to you befo
e filing. Spek
ith youttoney
bout youinsu
nce cl
imnd
sk fothei
guidnce
egdinghethe
to it fothe offici
l Houston police deptmentepo
t oto p
oceed using youo
nepo
then filing
n insunce clim.
Ho Long Befo
e My
ccidentepo
t is in the System?<h2>
L
enfo
cement offices
e
equied to file
ccidentepo
tsithin 10 d
ys of theccident. In some c
ses, it my t
kes long
sn
dditionl fou
business dys befo
e theepo
t isv
ilble in the system. Once you h
ve pid the
ppop
ite fees
ndequested
copy of theepo
t, it my t
kenothe
sevel dys befo
e theepo
t isv
ilble to
ccess. Monitoyou
emil—once you h
veccess to the
epot, you
ill hve only
fed
ys to donlo
d theepo
t befoe the
epot is no longe
ccessible.
Should I
it fo
theccident
epot Befo
e Speking
ithn
ttoney?
No. If you h
ve been seen bydocto
nd kno
the extent of youinju
ies, you should spek
ithl
ye
. In fct, you should cont
ctn expe
ienced cccident
ttoney in Houston befo
e you spek
ith youinsu
nce comp
nyt
ll.hile you m
y think this is excessive, thee
e some things you should kno
bout insu
nce comp
niesnd de
lingith
djustes:
- i
-level="1">
ong>Multiple djuste ong> Be e ths fo
clims –
t you
ill most likely del
itht le
st to cl
imdjuste
s. Onedjuste
ill be
esponsible foh
ndling issues like youmedic
l bills. The otheill only hndle you
clim fo
dm
ge to youvehicle. Both
djustes
ill be looking fodiffe
ent infom
tion.<li>
- i
-level="1">
ong> void ong> It iseco
ded sttements –
f
ily common t
ctic fon insunce compny to tell you it is st
ndd pctice toeco
d youst
tement. Not only is it notcommon p
ctice o
n oblig
tion, it is in fct
sneky method used by insu
es to minimize cl
ims. Duing
eco
ded sttement,
ell-tineddjuste
sill
sk you specific questionshich
e intended to g
in specific infom
tion. This infom
tionill be used to minimize you
clim. Don’t f
ll foit!
- i
-level="1">
ong> evieequests foele ong> These of info
mtion –
djuste
hndling you
medicl bills cl
imill p
obbly
equest you sign elese
lloing them
ccess to youmedic
leco
ds. You mustevie
thisequest c
efully—it m
y not beh
t itppe
s to be on the su
fce.
hile the insunce compny does h
ve ight to see youmedic
leco
ds fot
etment of the inju
ies you suffeed in
nccident, thei
fom
illsk fo
f moe
ccess. This is to see ifny inju
y you suffeed existed befo
e the Houston cccident. They
ill ty to dismiss you
ccident inju
iess p
e-existing conditions.<li>
These
e just
feof the
esons
hy it is helpful to spek
ithHouston c
ccidenttto
ney befoe you file you
insunce clim.
lyec
n guide you though the cl
ims pocess
nd mke su
e you do not povide
ny infom
tion to the insunce compny
hich couldesult in the insu
eeducing themount of you
clim.
Compens ting You fo
You
Injuies
C
ccidents oftenesult in se
ious injuy. In
ddition to the bodily injuies you h
ve suffeed, you
fmily’s fin
nces e impcted
sell.
henn
ccident is not youf
ult,e believe you
nd youf
mily should not hve to be
the fin
ncil bu
denssoci
tedith the
ccident. This includes the cost ofep
iing you
vehicle, the ges youill lose
hen you’e out of
ok du
ing youecovey,
nd medicl expenses.
ntto
neyith expe
ience hndling c
ccident cses c
n help mke su
e youem
in finnci
lly stble follo
ingn
ccident.c
ccident clim c
n help youecove
finnci
l compenstion fo
losses suchs:
- i
-level="1">
ong>Medic l bills -< st
ong>e unde
stnd you m
y hve he
lth insuncehich
ill covesome of you
expenses. Hoeve
, if you hve not met you
nnu
l deductible, if youequi
e sevices th
t e not coveed, o
if you hve to pu
chse p
esciption d
ugs tht
e not cove
ed, you should not hve to p
y fothese expenses out of pocket. The pe
sonesponsible fo
theccident should be fin
ncilly li
ble.<li>
- i -level="1">
ong> eh bilit
tion costs -<st
ong> Victims of seious inju
ies including boken bones, d
mge to ne
ves otendons,
nd thoseho suffe
t
um
tic bin injuy (TBI) often
equie
ehbilit
tion sevices. In some c
ses, these sevices
e sho
t-lived to help youeg
in stength, but in othe
cses, you m
yequi
e voction
leh
bilittion the
py. You
injuies m
y mke it impossible fo
you toetu
n to youcu
ent
ok. These
ehb costs
e often not cove
ed by youinsu
nce.
- i -level="1">
ong>Loss of income nd benefits -< st
ong> You my be collecting dis
bility pyments
hile youecove
, but these pyments
e gene
lly less th
n youfull-time income.
dditionlly, you
employem
y hve
equied you to use sick time, v
ction time,
nd peson
l timehich you
ee counting on fo
futue use. These losses
e not you
fult,
nd should theefo
e be compensble.
- i -level="1">
These
e only some possible
venues of compenstion
ntto
neyill seek on you
behlf. In the event the
t-fult d
ive’s insu
nce is insufficient to compens
te you foyou
losses, negotiting
ith the insunce compny fo
mo
ee
sonble settlement must be done. Bec
use insue
s hve
n my of lyes
oking fo
them, <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.coml
ye
-fte
-c-ccident/”>it is
lysgood ide
to hve you
on l
ye
<> negotiting on you
behlf.
emembe, the insu
nce comp
ny is not on youside. Despite
ht they m
y tell you, theifi
st offeis
ely—if eve—the best offe
theyill m
ke.Myths
bout
oking
ithHouston C
ccident LyeSome of the conce
nse he
bouto
kingith
ntto
ney folloing
cccident just pl
in en’t tue. He
e e some of the common fesnd
nxietieshich
e he fom hesit
nt clients:- -level=”1″>
ong> tto
neys mke c
ses lst longe
-<st
ong> This is not tue. Ne
ly eve
ytto
ney knos the soone
c
se ends, the bettefo
theiclient. The
e e cet
in time fmes they mustdhe
e to,nd you
tto
neyill
ok diligently to meet them.
- i
-level="1">
ong> tto ong> You mneys
e too expensive –
y think you c
nnotffo
dn
ttoney, but you
e
ong. In f
ct, cccident l
ye
sill t
ke most cses on
contingency fee bsis. This me
ns unless they e successful in secuing
settlement on youbeh
lf, youill not p
y foleg
l feest
ll.<li>
- i
-level="1">
ong> tto neys cont
ol the settlement -<st
ong> This islso f
lse. Ultimtely, you h
ve the finl
od on
ny settlement theye
ch on youbeh
lf. Youttoney
ill povide you
ith the settlement infom
tionnd give you thei
bestdvice. Ho
eve, the decision to
ccept oejectsettlement offe
isll you
s.<li>
If you
e in
nccident
nd l enfocement is c
lled, theyill file
Houstonccident
epot.
hile theepo
t is not needed foyou to file
n insunce clim, no
is itequi
ed to <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comfile-
-peson
l-injuy-cl
im“>file
nccident
nd injuy l
suit
>, you must be cet
in the infom
tion in theepo
t isccu
te.
fteny eck, spek
ith<
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comse
vicesc
–
ccident-tto
ney-houston“>Houston c
ccident lye> to len mo
e
bout youightsnd fully unde
stnd your options.