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Texas is known for being one of the geographically biggest states in America. As such, people rely on extensive networks of roads and highways to get around. Unfortunately, accidents on the road are a daily occurrence.
After an accident, you should call for emergency medical help and the police. While waiting for an ambulance, you can speak to the police about the accident. We might need the subsequent police report later. It would be best if you spoke to a lawyer as soon as possible after the crash. After you leave the hospital, you should call an attorney and discuss your potential case and claims for damages. Your lawyer can help you obtain evidence to support these claims. As mentioned, the police report might come in handy here. We can also find witnesses and use photos taken from the accident scene as evidence. Determining who is at fault for a crash is often challenging. The defendant might try to slip the script and argue you contributed to the crash. You and your lawyer should be prepared to refute such claims.
Contact The Queenan Law Firm, P.C. by calling (817) 476-1797 and ask our Dallas car accident lawyers for a free claims review to begin your case.
Contacting the Police After a Car Crash in Mesquite, TX
After a car accident, your first move should be to call for help, including the police. For many, this is an obvious choice to make. For others, getting the police involved can feel intimidating. Some drivers think it is better to work things out privately with the other person than get the authorities involved. Do not do this. Call the police.
You might be legally required to report the accident to the police. Failing to do so might result in even more trouble. Reporting requirements for car accidents can be found under Tex. Trans. Code § 55.026(a). According to the law, you must report car accidents to the police if they result in bodily injuries, death, or damage to the vehicle that prevents you from safely driving it away from the scene. In short, minor fender benders might not need to be reported, but more serious accidents definitely should be reported.
The police may investigate the accident and file a formal report about the crash. If the accident is minor or the cause of the accident is very clear, the report might be somewhat short. A more lengthy investigation, such as one involving the death of a driver or passenger, will result in longer and more detailed reports. These reports might contain very useful details, information, and evidence we can use to build your case against the other driver.
Usually, police reports are not admissible in court, at least not in their entirety, because they violate the rule against hearsay evidence. However, there are numerous exceptions to the hearsay rule, and we might be able to get portions of the report into evidence. Even if we cannot, we can still use the report to guide our car accident lawyers to admissible evidence uncovered by the police.
How Soon You Need to File a Car Accident Case in Mesquite, TX
You have a very limited time to file a civil claim for damages after an auto accident. In fact, the clock starts ticking almost immediately after the crash. The statute of limitations for personal injury cases, including claims for car collisions, is found under Tex. Civ. Prac. and Rem. Code § 16.003 and imposes a rigid deadline of only 2 years.
If you are worried about how much time you have left to file your case, talk to your attorney about having the statute of limitations tolled. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. and Rem. Code § 16.001, having the statute of limitations tolled might buy you some extra time, but it can only be done under very specific circumstances.
You can normally have the statute tolled if you were a minor or under some legal disability when the car accident occurred. These types of plaintiffs often cannot take legal action on their own until their conditions subside. For minors, the deadline runs from the day they turn 18, not the day of the crash. For people with disabilities, the statute is tolled until the disability ceases.
Remember, you cannot have the deadline tolled because you did not know about the statute of limitations. This is why having an experienced attorney who knows about the deadline is important to your case.
How to Use Evidence to Build the Strongest Car Accident Claim Possible in Mesquite, TX
To build your case and convince a jury of your claims, we need as much evidence as we can find. This is sometimes no problem. Other times, it is the hardest part of preparing a lawsuit.
As mentioned before, police reports are extremely useful in finding evidence. While the report itself is often inadmissible as a violation of the hearsay rule, it may be used as a guide to find other evidence. For example, if a witness told the police they saw the defendant cause the crash, we probably cannot use the statement in the report. However, we can use the report to find the witness and get them to testify in court.
Witness testimony is one of the most important parts of a lawsuit. The more people who can back you up in court, the better. We should also have you testify to inform the jury of your side of the story. There might be certain things only you can talk about, such as the emotional toll of the accident or the degree of physical pain you endured.
Many drivers take photos and record videos of the crash while they wait for help to arrive. This is often done to provide insurance companies with evidence of the crash. These photos are also useful in a courtroom, especially since accidents are cleared away quickly, and evidence is often lost.
If available, we should obtain copies of security camera and dashcam footage of the crash. If your collision occurred near a home or business, there might be a security camera that recorded everything. On top of that, drivers sometimes have dashcams in their cars. If you, the other driver, or a driver around you had a dashcam, we should work on getting the video footage.
Contact Our Mesquite, TX Car Accident Attorneys for Assistance
Contact The Queenan Law Firm, P.C. by calling (817) 476-1797 and ask our car accident lawyers for a free claims review to begin your case.