Insurance Claims:
You vs. the Insurance Company

In recent years, the rights of personal injury victims have been under assault by the insurance industry. As an insurance claim lawyer and accident insurance attorney in Austin, Texas, I know there is often confusion regarding these types of cases. As insurance companies increase the premiums and deductibles that come out of your pocket, they are also spending millions of dollars to tilt the scales of justice against you, even when you have the help of an insurance claim attorney. Insurance companies are spending a fortune to save an even larger fortune for themselves. They are limiting the ability of personal injury accident victims in Texas to receive fair treatment and to recover just compensation in a court of law. Even with the help of an insurance dispute attorney, these insurance company efforts have "stacked the deck" against personal injury victims in Texas.

A good example of the insurance industry’s influence in Texas is “damage caps". These arbitrary "caps" limit the amount that a Texan may recover after being injured in an automobile wreck or any other type of accident due to someone else's negligence. Despite the fact that a seriously injured person may never be able to work again and may owe millions of dollars in medical bills, insurance and corporate lobbyists have pushed through changes to Texas law so that arbitrary limits will “cap” the amount an injured person can recover.

If you have been injured by someone else's negligence, you might not need an insurance claim lawyer, but you should protect yourself with quality information before you call an attorney or speak to an insurance company.  Learn what steps to take, and what mistakes to avoid, in order to protect your claim. And, if you need an attorney, learn how to select the right one for your case. Order our free special report (free to Texas residents): Texas Personal Injury Guide: What You Should Know Before You Call a Lawyer.

For years the insurance industry has pursued an intense public relations campaign to convince the public (who are also the potential jurors in your case) that most if not all personal injury claims are ‘frivolous lawsuits’. The nationwide success of this campaign is reflected in declining jury awards and an unwillingness by insurance companies to settle claims for a fair amount. If you have been injured in an accident, it is important that you fully understand this new environment before you begin pursuing your claim, and before you call an attorney or speak with an insurance adjuster. Our free special report gives you this important information.

Order our special report.  And, after reviewing our web site, if you feel you have an insurance claim for personal injuries caused by the negligence of someone else, contact our office for a free accident lawyer consultation. We will listen to you and evaluate your claim before giving you an honest assessment of your legal options.

How do injured Texans win the "insurance war"?

You should not be shy about asserting your right to be compensated for your injuries caused by someone else.  After all, just like everyone else who purchases insurance, you paid in advance so you will be able to recover your losses if you get hurt.  So, it may sound strange to you when I tell you that, from the moment you were injured by someone else's carelessness, you entered a war zone.

Why do I refer to this situation as a "war zone"?  This is war because in the last few years insurance companies and many government officials have worked very hard and spent vast sums of money in order to limit the ability of injured Texans to recover fair compensation when they are injured.  This is a war to deprive you of your ability to recover your rightful compensation when you have been injured. 

This campaign has been sold under the name "Tort Reform".  The tort reformers claim that their goal is to lower insurance rates for individuals and decrease the cost of doing business.  In reality, it is a cynical effort to increase the bottom line of the insurance industry and to help businesses avoid liability when they injure their employees or the public.  If you don't believe this, ask yourself: "Have my overall insurance rates decreased since the start of tort reform?"  The answer for most people is a resounding "No!"  Also, talk to any one of the thousands of people who have been mistreated by the insurance industry after an accident and see if they think tort reform has helped their situation. 

You should also know that the tort reform advocates succeeded in imposing "damage caps" that limit damage amounts that may be awarded in certain types of personal injury cases. This means that the decision of how much to compensate you when you have been injured by someone else has been taken away from juries and placed in the hands of your legislature. The Texas legislature has "capped" damages without regard to the individual circumstances of different cases. 

How do the "caps" hurt you. The following example will illustrate the unfair effect of these limits. If you collide with your physician on the freeway, he can sue you and recover millions, depending on his injuries. However, if that same physician maims or kills you through his negligence during surgery, you can only recover $250,000.00 worth of noneconomic damages (pain and suffering) under most circumstances. If you are a child, a nonworking housewife or a retired elderly person, you usually cannot claim any lost income, so this will probably be all the compensation you can ever recover from the doctor or hospital that injured you. Does that seem fair to you? 

Since insurers know that now, thanks to "tort reform", it is now much harder for you to recover compensation through the courts, they have even less incentive to offer you a reasonable settlement. And, because medical malpractice cases are so expensive to prepare and you are severely limited on what amount you can recover, it also means you may not be able to find an attorney willing to take your case. The effects of the insurance public relations campaign against accident victims has also damaged the ability of injured Texans to recover for any type of injury, not just medical malpractice. 

Regardless of how you feel about tort reform, it is important to remember that the vast insurance industry propaganda media campaign regarding tort reform has strongly influenced potential jurors, no matter what type of injury claim you have.  When you walk into a courtroom in Texas, you must understand that many jurors will assume up front that your lawsuit is frivolous (think the "McDonald's coffee case") and that you're trying to "get rich quick". So even if you believe that there are many "frivolous lawsuits" and that yours is one of the rare legitimate cases, you are already at a disadvantage in the mind of your jurors.

Knowing this, insurance companies will usually not offer a fair settlement unless you are ready, willing and able to go to trial. Think about it. The only thing that forces an insurance company to take your claim seriously is the threat that you might file a lawsuit, take them to court and win more money than they offer to settle. 

This also highlights why it is very dangerous to trust your case to an insurance claim attorney that runs a "settlement mill", meaning they take too many cases, hope to settle all of them, and never take anything to trial.  If they are forced to take something to trial, they "farm the case out" to a trial attorney. The insurers know which attorneys take cases to trial. If the insurance company knows that your attorney never takes anything to trial, they will not take your claim seriously and will not offer you anything reasonable in settlement. Also, if your case does need to go to trial, wouldn't you rather start out with an attorney that is ready, willing and able to try your case?

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If you have been injured, protect yourself and your family.
Before you speak to an personal injury attorney or an insurance company -

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"Texas Personal Injury Guide: What You Should Know Before You Call a Lawyer"

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