News & opinion Reasons Why Car Accidents Occur (And Why You Need a Car Accident Lawyer When They Do!)

Reasons Why Car Accidents Occur (And Why You Need a Car Accident Lawyer When They Do!)

How Do Car Accident Settlements Work

The l

st thing

ny of us expects

hen

etu

ning home f

om shopping, school, o

dinne

out

ith f

iends is to be involved in

c

ccident. Ho

eve

, st

tistics sho

us

n

ccident

esulting in

se

ious inju

y occu

s

s f

equently

s once eve

y t

o minutes

nd 13 seconds. Numbe

s like th

t e sobe

ing, but

h

t is even mo

e sobe

ing is

e

lizing these

e mo

e th

n just numbe

s, these e people just like you

nd me. Eve

y single inju

y

ep

esents

pe

son

nd f

mily

hose lives e upended. The N

tion

l Highy Tffic S

fety

dministtion (NHTS

) upd

tes st

tistics

egully,

nd

e kno

f

om these st

ts th

t mo

e th

n t

o million

ccident victims

equi

e ce by

medic

l p

ofession

l eve

y ye

.

e

lso kno

th

t the

ecove

y time, lost time f

om

o

k,

nd p

in

nd suffe

ing

lte

pe

son’s life

nd th

t of thei

f

mily. But

h

t

e don’t

lys kno

fo

su

e is

h

t c

uses

<

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ccident<> to occu

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e e some of the biggest cont

ibuto

s.

Common C

uses of

o

d

y

ccidents<

h2>

deepe

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t some of the <

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uses of

ccidents > tells us d

ive

eo

s c

use most

ccidents.

Up

ds of<

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ccidents e esult of hum

n e

o

<>. Some of the mish

ps include:

  • <
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    se

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    iving dist

    cted ong><> - Most of us le

    d busy lives

    nd find ou

    selves juggling mo

    e th

    n one t

    sk

    t

    time. Ho

    eve

    , the

    o

    dy is not

    good pl

    ce to be pcticing ou

    multi-t

    sking skills. Texting, e

    ting,

    nd t

    lking on the phone

    hile d

    iving is

    lys

    b

    d ide

    . Dist

    cted d

    iving of

    ny kind c

    n le

    d to se

    ious

    ccidents. Not only

    e you putting you

    self

    t

    isk, but you e

    lso jeop

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    fety of eve

    yone else on the

    o

    d. Eve

    y d

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    should h

    ve complete cont

    ol ove vehicle

    hen they ope

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  • <
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    i

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    ef="https:

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    t

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    fety

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    son eve

    y 50 minutes<>. Th

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    m

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    i

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    y d

    y. This numbe

    does not conside

    the numbe

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    ed on

    o

    dys due to this type of negligent beh

    vio

    . Getting behind the

    heel

    hen unde

    the influence of

    lcohol o

    d

    ugs is neve

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    n i

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    t c

    n c

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  • <
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    t

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    cent/”> ong>Speeding<

    st

    ong><> - The

    e

    e fe

    mong us

    ho h

    ve not t

    veled f

    ste

    th

    n the posted speed limit.

    hethe

    it is bec

    use

    e f

    iled to le

    ve on time fon

    ppointment o

    find ou

    selves “follo

    ing the tffic,” speeding is unfo

    tun

    tely common. Ho

    eve

    , one of the top c

    uses of c

    ccidents is tveling too f

    st. The f

    ste c is going du

    ing

    n

    ccident, the highe

    the likelihood of se

    ious inju

    y.<

    li>

  • ong>Igno

    ing t

    ffic sign

    ls<

    st

    ong> -

    hen

    s the l

    st time you “n” th

    ough

    yello

    light to

    void stopping? M

    ny people do not kno

    th

    t mo

    e th

    n<

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    d of

    ll t

    ffic

    ccidents<> occut inte

    sections

    hen someone dis

    eg

    ds

    stop sign o

    ed light. Inju

    y

    nd de

    th c

    n

    esult f

    om someone un

    illing to stop fo minute o

    less to ensu

    e it is<

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    ef="https:

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  • <
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    t-is-

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    gg

    essive oeckless d

    iving ong><> -

    e

    ll get f

    ust

    ted

    hen de

    ling

    ith he

    vy t

    ffic. Ho

    eve

    ,

    hen

    d

    ive

    s

    itches l

    nes

    ithout p

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    ttention, t

    ilg

    tes someone in f

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    t

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    he

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    yone on the

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  • ong>D

    o

    sy d

    iving ong> -

    e

    ll le

    d busy lives but those

    ho insist on d

    iving

    hen they h

    ve h

    d insufficient

    mounts of sleep put eve

    yone on the

    o

    d

    t g

    e

    te

    isk.

    cco

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    s fo

    Dise

    se Cont

    ol

    nd P

    evention<>, going too long

    ithout

    est imp

    i

    s youbility to d

    ive the s

    me y

    s d

    inking too much

    lcohol. Being

    ke fot le

    st 18 hou

    s le

    ves you

    ith the s

    me coo

    din

    tion

    nd decision-m

    king skill

    s someone

    ith

    blood

    lcohol content of .05%. Being

    ke fot le

    st 24 hou

    s bumps th

    t numbe

    up to .10%! (The leg

    l limit to d

    ive is belo

    .08%!)

Negligent beh

vio

s like these c

use se

ious c

ccidents, but in some c

ses, the

oot c

use of

n

ccident m

y not be the d

ive

. In some inst

nces, othe

conditions cont

ibute to c

ccidents in ys no one c

n fo

esee.

ccidents C

n

lso Occu

ithout Hum

n Eo

Sometimes no m

tte

ho

cefully

d

ivedhe

es to the

ules of the

o

d, uses sensible c

ution

hen

pp

o

ching inte

sections,

nd does eve

ything else

ight, they c

n still be involved in

n

ccident. Some f

cto

s

hich c

n pl

y

ole in

ccidents include:
  • ong>Defects in vehicles ong> - Unfo

    tun

    tely despite mode

    n technology,<

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    in c pts<>.

    hethe

    it is b

    d ti

    es, poo

    b

    king, defective

    i

    b

    gs, o

    othe

    p

    oblems,

    d

    ive

    c

    n suddenly find they h

    ve no cont

    ol of thei

    vehicle

    esulting in

    n

    ccident. M

    nuf

    ctu

    ing defects c

    n

    esult in se

    ious inju

    ies to

    nyone involved in

    n

    ccident.

  • ong>

    e

    the

    conditions ong> - te

    , fog,

    ind

    ll c

    n pl

    y

    ole in

    n

    ccident.

    e h

    ve

    ll been on the

    o

    dy

    hen

    sudden sto

    m popped up

    nd impeded oubility to see clely. D

    ive

    s

    ho h

    ve not p

    ope

    ly m

    int

    ined thei

    vehicles could h

    ve<

    h

    ef="https:

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    oblems

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    e tction<>, d

    ive

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    indshield

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    s, o

    h

    ve othe

    issues th

    t p

    event them f

    om tveling s

    fely in b

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    e

    the

    . Othe

    d

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    il to slo

    do

    n

    nd m

    int

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    ope

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    nces bet

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    nd othe

    vehicles.

  • ong>

    o

    d conditions<

    st

    ong> - M

    ny people

    e shocked to le

    n th

    t nely<

    h

    ef="https:

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    ll f

    t

    l

    ccidents >

    c

    oss the United St

    tes c

    n be tied b

    ck to

    o

    d defects such

    s potholes. In these c

    ses, the potenti

    l fo

    se

    ious inju

    y is high, especi

    lly

    hen

    d

    ive

    c

    n’t

    void the pothole o

    othe

    o

    d defect.<

    li>

hen hum

n e

o

is only pti

lly the

e

son fo

n

ccident, filing

cl

im fo c

ccident c

n be complic

ted. Victims of

ll c

ccidents need to seek guid

nce f

om

n

tto

ney

ho h

s expe

ience de

ling

ith c

ccident cl

ims, but this is p

ticul

ly t

ue

hen the

e m

y be

pty othe

th

n the involved d

ive

esponsible fo

the inju

ies suffe

ed.

P

ese

v

tion of You

ights

fte C

ccident

egdless of the c

use of

c

ccident, victims

ely kno

thei

ights o

ho

to p

otect them. The fi

st thing

ny

ccident victim should be

e of is to

lys use disc

etion

hen spe

king

ith othe

s involved in the

ccident,

nd even l

enfo

cement

t the

ccident scene. Neve

indic

te you e in

ny

y

esponsible fo

the

ccident, even

ccident

lly. Even

simple

pology c

n indic

te you

e

e

t f

ult.

nothe

common p

oblem occu

s

hen someone

epo

ts

n

ccident to the insu

nce comp

ny of the othe

d

ive

. Insu

e

s

ill often

sk questions designed to minimize the seve

ity of you

inju

ies, extct info

m

tion to help them

educe the

mount of the cl

im, o

even shift bl

me to the inju

ed pe

son! This is often the

e

son you he

tto

neys

ho h

ve expe

ience h

ndling c

ccident cl

ims tell you to neve

spe

k

ith

n insu

eithout seeking guid

nce f

om

c

ccident

tto

ney fi

st.

The immedi

te

fte

m

th of

n

ccident c

n be fught

ith p

oblems. You

emotions

un the g

mut f

om fe to

elief to disbelief. Unfo

tun

tely, ou

bodies often t

ke ove

fte

n

ccident

nd flood ou

system

ith

d

en

line,

nd

e m

y not

lys kno

the extent of ou

inju

ies. This flood of

d

en

line c

n m

sk p

in

nd inju

ies

nd could be ext

emely d

nge

ous if

medic

l p

ofession

l doesn’t tho

oughly check you out! This is e

son to seek medic

l ce—

eg

dless of

hethe

you think you h

ve suffe

ed

se

ious inju

y o

not.

Documenting Losses

nd

ecove

y

fte

C

ccident<

h2>
M

ny

ccident victims don’t d

ell on

h

t h

ppens on the leg

l end of things

fte

c

ccident. Inste

d, victims

e focusing on

ecove

ing f

om thei

inju

ies

nd getting b

ck to

o

k. This is no

m

l

nd expected. Ho

eve

, one step you c

n t

ke to p

ovide youtto

ney

ith

ddition

l info

m

tion is to document you

fin

nci

l losses

s

ell

s

ny ch

nges in youecove

y.

Victims of se

ious inju

y often go th

ough pe

iods

he

e they m

y feel like they e c

ossing

line

he

e they feel bette

only to lose g

ound

couple of d

ys l

te

. This c

n be ve

y f

ust

ting, but it is

no

m

l pt of the he

ling p

ocess. B

oken bones, inte

n

l inju

ies, he

d inju

ies,

nd othe

se

ious inju

ies t

ke time to he

l. The p

in

nd suffe

ing you

e de

ling

ith is no

m

l,

s is the ment

l dist

ess you m

y be de

ling

ith. M

ke su

e you keep t

ck of these ups

nd do

ns

nd discuss them

ith you

c

ccident inju

y

tto

ney.

Filing

C

ccident Inju

y Cl

im<

h2>
M

ny <

h

ef="https:

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yvictims.com

c

ccident-lye

-fees/”>c

ccident victims<> e unce

t

in

h

t compens

tion the l

o

es them follo

ing

c

ccident. They don’t kno

pl

intiffs m

y collect economic losses, non-economic losses,

nd punitive d

m

ges, depending on nume

ous f

cto

s.

hile the

e is no gu

ntee of

specific doll

mount in

ny c

ccident c

se,

s

genel

ule the mo

e se

ious the inju

ies sust

ined, the highe

the settlement o

d.

Victims often think they c

n negoti

te

settlement on thei

o

n, but this is neve good ide

. In some inst

nces, mo

e th

n one pty m

y c

use you

c

ccident inju

ies. Fo

ex

mple,

hile the d

ive

ho ope

ted the vehicle th

t st

uck you be

s li

bility fo

you

inju

ies, othe

s m

y include

gove

nment entity if

poo

ly m

int

ined

o

d cont

ibuted to the

ccident, o

p

ts’ m

nuf

ctu

e

if

defective pt pti

lly c

used

n

ccident.

n

tto

ney c

n investig

te the

ccident

nd dete

mine

ho m

y be

esponsible

nd m

ke su

e they e held

ccount

ble. Victims often think insunce comp

nies

e going to t

e

t them f

i

ly. This is

lys

mist

ke—insu

e

s h

ve one go

l in mind,

hich is to minimize cl

ims. Most insunce comp

nies h

ve sheholde

s

ith

se

ious p

ofit motive. This me

ns the insu

e

h

s

esponsibility to inc

e

se business

nd inc

e

se p

ofits. P

ofits inc

e

se

hen

n insu

e

collects p

emiums

nd does not p

y out cl

ims. Insu

e

s benefit

hen you h

ve not hi

ed

lye

. Pe

iod. They kno

you

e out of

o

k

ecove

ing

nd th

t time off f

om

o

k is costing you money. Bec

use of this, the insu

nce comp

ny

ill ne

ly

lys offe f

st settlement. Thei

hope is you

ill

ccept th

t settlement

nd igno

e the fine p

int in the settlement documents. Victims

ho

ccept

settlement sho

tly

fte

suffe

ing

n inju

y often le

n they h

ve fo

feited

ny

ights to submit

ddition

l cl

ims fo

unfo

eseen medic

l bills, time lost f

om

o

k,

nd othe

fin

nci

l d

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in l

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om futu

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efo

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son

c

ccident occued, the bottom line is you e fo

ced to de

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llout. You

inju

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l, you

e losing money bec

use you c

n’t

o

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life m

y NEVE

be the s

me. Money c

nnot

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e the time you lost sitting in

hospit

l o

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b f

cility. It c

nnot

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ith f

iends

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mily membe

s, no

c

n money stop the futu

e p

in you m

y h

ve to endu

e due to you

inju

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tion c

n, ho

eve

, give you the best odds of

full

ecove

y

nd

etu

n to no

m

lcy fo

you

nd you

loved ones.

If you o

loved one

s in

c

ccident, set you

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ong>Ste

t J. Guss, Inju

y

ccident L

ye

s<

st

ong> 12777 Jones

d #297
Houston, TX 77070
(281) 664-6500

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