Insurance Companies Don’t Pay for Stories

Most car accident cases don’t fall apart because of what happened on the road.  They fall apart because nobody can prove what actually happened.  When it comes down to it, you have to be able to show that you’re the victim of this wreck, and someone’s negligence caused your injuries.  Without that, you have a story that could be entirely made up.  Today, the Car Crash Captain looks into what we need to know about documentation for your wreck, and how Herbert Law Group, based in Richardson, Texas, can lead the way so you receive the compensation you deserve.

Your Compensation isn’t About Fairness; It’s About Evidence

If it was as easy as just blaming the other party and maximizing compensation, our society would be in chaos.  Your version of the events isn’t enough, as the insurance adjusters have been trained to question, minimize, and deny.

When you don’t have documentation, you don’t have any leverage.

What that means is your compensation can go down dramatically, even if you’re found to be the victim.  Because Texas is a modified comparative fault state, your compensation diminishes if you are partially to blame.

The less you can prove, the more the insurance company can shift liability to you.  The more liability you take, the less you receive.  And if it’s not documented, it may as well have never happened.

What Evidence Builds Your Case

After a wreck, photographs and videos are one of your most powerful tools.  Too many people, however, believe that snapping a few pictures and taking a video of the area is enough to ensure fault is squarely placed on the negligent party.

That’s not always the case.

Instead, let’s look at four buckets of evidence.

Scene Evidence – Pictures of your vehicle, the road, the surroundings, and anything else that could prove your case should be captured.  Often, that means getting video from traffic cameras and nearby businesses.

Medical Documentation – Immediate treatment starts the trail showing you were injured.  Consistent records and no missed appointments verify that you are indeed injured.  When your records don’t have gaps, there’s not as much for insurance companies to exploit and claim, “you weren’t really hurt!”

Witness Statements – Independent witnesses build credibility.  And while police reports aren’t the final say, they do matter (and in most Dallas area wrecks, they’re legally required).

Digital Data – We are in the digital age.  Event data recorders, phone records, and GPS data can all lead to a sound conclusion on your case (if you’re dishonest about what happened, they can actually work against you; we don’t recommend being dishonest).

The strongest cases aren’t those that are the most dramatic; they’re the ones that are the most documented.

Most Cases are Lost in the Days After the Crash

When cases don’t go the way people planned, it’s usually because of the days following the wreck.

Waiting too long to seek medical care is one of the biggest case busters.  Even delaying by a day can lead the insurance companies to say, “You weren’t really injured.”  Even if you feel fine (usually because of adrenaline), you need to get treated immediately.

The body often heals in strange ways.  It’s not always a linear bad to good.  Instead, you might feel fine right after the accident, take a huge turn for the worse, then feel fine, before leveling off at a slow pace of healing.  If you miss appointments or ignore recommendations because of how you feel, you create doubt around your injuries.

Evidence degrades quickly.  If you don’t preserve evidence like video or photographs, you can’t go back and recreate them.  Witnesses disappear, and even if you can find them their memories are foggy.  Vehicles can be repaired before you can be inspected.

Keep a tight lip.  Speak only to your attorneys at Herbert Law Group, because the insurance companies will record your statements, and use them against you.  If the insurance company says, “Hello Mr. Smith this is the insurance company, how are you today?” and you say, “I’m fine, how can I help you?”  They can twist those words into meaning you weren’t actually injured.  Silence means silence (even on social media).

When the case doesn’t go the way, they want it to, it’s usually because most people realize they have a documentation problem too late.  By this point, the insurance company has already built their own case against them.

Herbert Law Group Maximizes Compensation

And that’s exactly why you need a powerful Texas car wreck lawyer on your side.  Whether the accident happened in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, or any of the surrounding areas, we’ll help you find the justice you deserve.

But first, we need to know what happened.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form, and we’ll do a free case evaluation for you.  All it takes is a phone call to get things started.

You Trusted the Car, but the Law Trusts You

Modern vehicles are much safer than older ones.  And most new vehicles today come with some sort of driver-assistance technology.  Lane assist, automatic braking, blind spot alerts, and in some cases these things even drive themselves.  Imagine you’re driving down the highway and you ensure that the lane assist is on and you set the adaptive cruise control.  You look away for a second to grab a snack out of the glove box and the system fails, or disengages, or otherwise doesn’t work.  You crash and you’re injured.  The faulty technology is at fault, right?

Even when driver-assistance technology fails, liability isn’t always straightforward.  In most cases, the driver is still the one that is responsible.  Today, the Car Crash Captain looks at how this all plays out, and if you’re injured in a wreck in the Dallas, Texas area, you need a lawyer to ensure you receive justice.

What Exactly is Driver-Assistance Technology?

Before we jump into this, there are key differences between different types of driver-assistance tech.  We can break this into three types:

Driver Assistance – Nearly every new car has some sort of advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) installed.  These use cameras, radar, LIDAR, and more for functions like adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping, parking assistance, automatic braking, and similar features.

Partial Automation – When you use multiple assistance features, you’re engaging in partial automation. As we mentioned in the intro, adaptive cruise control and lane keeping mean the vehicle is partially driving on its own, but you still need to be actively monitoring and handling the vehicle.

Fully Autonomous Vehicles – Vehicles that are capable of handling all driving tasks without any human intervention are considered to be fully autonomous.  These are still largely in development, with level 4 autonomous vehicles (fully autonomous in specific areas) being used in certain cities by companies like Waymo.

Most vehicle today are not self-driving.  Even Tesla’s self-driving feature is largely considered to be nearly self-driving, but still requires human supervision.  Generally speaking, if human oversight is required, the law often treats the driver as the responsible party.

Who Might be Liable in a Crash when this Tech is Employed?

When it comes down to it, who ultimately might be liable if a crash happens while using driver-assistance technology?  There are three possibilities.

• The Driver
• The Manufacturer
• A Third Party

Most of the time, the driver is the responsible party.  When operating a vehicle, regardless of the technology, the driver is responsible to monitor the system, heed alerts and warnings, and not be overly reliant on technology.  However, there are times when the manufacturer was found at fault.

In 2019, a fatal crash was determined to be partially the fault of Tesla’s autopilot system.  The driver had engaged the software, and then took his eyes off the road.  The Model S blew through a T-intersection and crashed into a young lady and her boyfriend – killing the lady and seriously injuring the boyfriend.  Tesla was found to be 33% at fault, but the driver was found to be 67% at fault because his foot was on the accelerator overriding the autopilot feature.

In 2023 a family was killed in Idaho when their Tesla Model X veered into an oncoming semi.  The driver had set the autosteer feature, but on a gentle curve the Model X failed to maintain their lane and drifted into oncoming traffic.  This lawsuit is still ongoing, however, it alleges that Tesla had a known bug that could cause the vehicle to not maintain its lane.

Numerous other lawsuits and crash reports show that vehicles such as Waymo misread traffic signals, fail to adjust for construction or other hazards, or don’t take into account weather or environment and cause a crash.  Liability for some of these could end up falling on a third party – software companies, engineers, camera or radar manufacturers, and more.

But when it really comes down to it, the human driver is the one responsible to ensure the vehicle is doing what the vehicle is supposed to do.

What Role does Vehicle Data Play?

These assistance features aren’t the only thing included in new vehicles.  They also collect a lot of data.  After a crash, the Event Data Recorders (EDRs) will show what functions the driver-assistance was performing, and what the human was doing.  They collect data regarding:

• Speed
• Braking
• Steering
• System Status

Access to this black box data is owned by the driver, however, a court order can force them to release the data.

When analyzing the data it will affect a case in one of two ways.  It can show that the driver wasn’t at fault because the autonomous features didn’t perform as expected, or it can show that the driver ignored warnings (or overrode the system) and they were at fault.

The more advanced your vehicle is, the more evidence it creates.  Ultimately, it becomes harder to fight these things without the help of an experience car crash lawyer.

Herbert Law Group Helps You Recover Compensation after a Wreck

We are here for one reason: to help you push back against insurance companies that are trying to low-ball your settlement offer.

When you’ve been injured in a crash, whether driver-assistance technology was involved or not, you shouldn’t have to worry about the legal battle that can come along.  Let Herbert Law Group handle the hard stuff from our offices in Richardson, Texas.

To get started, we need to know what happened.  We’ll do that in a free initial phone call.  Just dial 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site, and we’ll get the ball rolling.

PTSD After a Car Wreck Deserves Compensation

There are a lot of car crashes in Texas where there aren’t major injuries.  No broken bones, no paralysis, no life-altering physical deformities occur.  Most wrecks will have some sort of injury though – bruising from the seat belt, mild lacerations from broken glass, concussions or headaches from bumping the head.  Often these crashes that are seemingly small can have huge consequences.  The Car Crash Captain focuses attention on PTSD after a car wreck, and why it’s not just a “get over it” situation.

PTSD After a Car Wreck is a Real Medical Condition

It’s easy to see injuries like cuts and bruises.  Mental anguish injuries, however, aren’t even visible with scans and x-rays.  While we usually think of PTSD as a result of going to war, it’s a result of any traumatic event that the brain continues to flashback to.  Symptoms can include:

• Flashbacks
• Panic attacks
• Nightmares
• Avoidance
• Anxiety

If you suffer PTSD after a car wreck, your panic attacks can hit while driving leading to furthering danger on the road.  You may start avoiding vehicles, highways, or areas of town where the wreck occurred.  You appear physically recovered, but normal everyday activities are difficult if not impossible.  Suddenly you can’t commute to work, drive your kids to school, or even run errands to keep the household operating smoothly.  Relationships suffer, quality of life diminishes, and other mental health problems creep in.  In other words, the trauma from your crash doesn’t heal when the bruises fade.

Compensation for Victims of PTSD

Insurance companies try to diminish mental anguish.  It’s invisible, difficult to pinpoint, and unless you, the victim, stand up for yourself (that’s where Herbert Law Group helps out), it’s brushed over.  However, there are numerous instances where victims did receive compensation for their mental anguish.

In 2021, in Tampa, Florida, a young mother and her child were hit by a distracted driver that ran the red light.  The physical injuries weren’t life threatening, but the mental anguish the young lady suffered caused her to be unable to work and care for her child.  Her case settled for $890,000 to offset long-term therapy and lost earnings.

In 2022, in Miami, Florida, a software developer was hit head on by a driver that was trying to avoid a pedestrian.  The victim had multiple fractures that took time to heal, but also developed severe anxiety that made it impossible for him to drive.  He has to take medication and has regular therapy sessions to keep the anxiety in check.  The initial offer hardly reflected the PTSD suffering, and negotiations brought his compensation to $1.2 million.

In Connecticut, a 56-year-old woman was rear-ended.  Her physical injuries healed, but PTSD left her unable to enjoy life – her settlement was for $450,000.  In Boston, a teenage passenger couldn’t sleep and suffered with social anxiety after a crash left her with a broken tooth and a head injury – her settlement was for $150,000.  In Wisconsin a driver crashed into cattle that had escaped through a hole in a fence that was neglected, he suffered PTSD and a neck injury – they settled for $85,000.

The dollar amount isn’t what you should focus on; other than the fact that initial offers were always much less than the settlement amount.  The takeaway is that psychological trauma can carry real financial consequences – which you would have to pay for out-of-pocket if you don’t have Herbert Law Group on your side.

How Compensation is Calculated for PTSD Victims

Your wreck wasn’t minor.  Just like a broken back, that leaves a person paralyzed, PTSD after a car wreck can leave you with severe mental anguish. And you could rack up costs.

Medical and Therapy Costs – Counseling, psychiatric treatment, medication, and long-term therapy can get expensive quickly.  Even with great health insurance, your deductibles and co-pays can be tens of thousands of dollars.

Lost Income – It’s easy to see that you might miss work if you’re in the hospital.  But what about being punished at your job for arriving late because you can no longer drive during rush hour?  What if you can’t come in because of panic attacks or anxiety?  What if your entire job is to deliver goods or people and you can’t do that anymore?

Pain and Suffering – You likely enjoy a particular standard of living.  When every day is plagued with flashbacks, anxiety, panic, and headaches, will you still enjoy life the same way?  Suppose you and your spouse once enjoyed scenic car drives, and now you can’t – what’s that worth?

PTSD after a car wreck can be the central component of your claim. It’s not just an afterthought.

You Need Herbert Law Group on Your Side

Emotional injuries are invisible.  But they’re just as severe and deserve the same attention as physical ones.

If you’ve been in a car crash, and you’re suffering from PTSD, your turmoil is not imaginary, exaggerated, or even rare.  It’s a real issue that needs to be handled like any other medical condition.  And Herbert Law Group is here to ensure you get the compensation you deserve, so you can get the treatment you need.

It all starts with a phone call so we can get to know you, and find out what happened.  Call our offices in Richardson, Texas at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site and we’ll reach out to you.

Evidence is More than a Police Report

Here’s the scenario: you’ve been injured in a wreck near Dallas, Texas.  The police come, they create a report, and you are on the road to recovery from your injuries.  Then the insurance company gets back to you.  They’re denying your claim because they believe you are at fault, even though the police report indicated you weren’t.  Long before you’re in this situation, the Car Crash Captain encourages you to know why a police report isn’t enough to win your claim, and how to set yourself up for victory despite the insurance company diminishing your claim.

Texas Law Requires a Police Report When Injuries are Present

If you are involved in a wreck, and there is an injury, death, or damage that would be more than $1,000 to repair, Texas law says that the police must be contacted.  What it doesn’t say, however, is that a police report must be drawn up.  If the officer shows up and doesn’t see an injury, thinks the damage is minor and vehicles are drivable, they could write it up as a “minor crash” and not prepare a full-on report.  This isn’t common, but if you’re the victim be sure to specifically ask them to create a report.

This isn’t all that has to be done, though.  And the police report, which can help confirm your case and claim, isn’t all of what needs to be done.

A Police Officer is Not a Witness

It’s rare that a police officer actually witnesses the crash.  They generally show up later; after the damage is done and after the incident occurred.  Using their own observations and the statements from other drivers, they create the report about what happened.  However, we know that sometimes injuries are invisible or show up later – they’re not obvious when you’re at the scene.

Police aren’t witnesses and they’re not medical professionals either.  They draft a report based on what they see, hear, and can conclude.  These reports often include omissions and mistakes.  Not intentionally but things can get overlooked.

Texas is a Fault State; Paperwork Doesn’t Prove Fault

Here in Texas fault is determined through what is called modified comparative fault.  What this means is that if you were the victim, but you were found to be speeding (and the crash wouldn’t have occurred had you been driving the speed limit) you might be partially at fault.  Suppose you’re found to be 20% at fault, the insurance company can reduce your payout accordingly.  If the other driver’s fault drops below 51%, you might not have a case.

Even if the police report shows contributing factors, note that you are 0% at fault, and determine you are indeed the victim, the insurance adjusters will conduct their own investigations looking at:

• Vehicle Damage
• Black Box Data
• Surveillance Footage
• Medical Timelines
• Prior Medical History
• Driver Statements

The police report can suggest fault, but when it comes down to receiving justice and compensation, fault is determined by admissible evidence and not the officer’s opinion.

What You Need to Win a Texas Car Wreck Case

This all sounds pretty doom and gloom.  But it’s not quite as bad as it sounds.  The key to being compensated fairly is to know your rights, and know what needs to be done before the accident occurs.  Powerful evidence includes:

• Immediate medical documentation
• Expert medical opinions
• Accident reconstruction
• Consistent medical treatment
• Wage loss documentation
• Lifestyle disruption reports

You still want that police report to help build the foundation.  But what’s really going to find you the justice you deserve is building the evidence that shows you truly are the victim, and using a professional car wreck lawyer based in Richardson, Texas.

Herbert Law Group Wins Texas Car Wreck Cases

We deal with insurance companies every single day.  We know their tactics, their tricks, and how they attempt to diminish your claim.

We represent you against their teams of powerful attorneys to show that you need to be compensated adequately, and we aren’t afraid to take things to court if they won’t play nice.

All that we need from you, to get things started, is a free phone call.  Just dial 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form and we’ll reach out to you, and we’ll have a conversation and determine just how we can help.

Why a Driveable Car isn’t a Seriousness Indicator

It was just a fender bender, right?  Those minor wrecks, ones that don’t shut down the roadways for hours, are often called fender benders.  Vehicles sometimes hardly looked damaged, many of them still seem to be “driveable,” but the victims of those wrecks can still have debilitating injuries that show up days, even weeks, later.

Today the Car Crash Captain is looking at how the physics behind a crash (and modern vehicle technology) can mean that little damage to the vehicle is showing, but human injury can be severe.  Remember, if you’ve been injured in a car wreck in the Richardson, Texas area, you need Herbert Law Group on your side to ensure you receive full compensation for your injuries.

Why Driveable Car Does Not Mean No Injury

After a fender bender, one of the first things people will look at is how much damage the vehicle took.  Many injuries that drivers and passengers sustain aren’t immediately visible (you can’t see whiplash in another person), and the damage to the rig are what we have to go on.

However, there’s little correlation between car crash damage and human injuries.

The NHTSA has researched this extensively, and laws are in place that require car companies to manufacture vehicles that protect the occupant first.  However, there are several factors that still come into play.  And a big part of it is that there are so many variables that go into the wreck, that you can’t account for every single one of them and how they will affect the human body (and every body is different, so the outcomes and situations are literally endless).

Modern Vehicles Can Transfer Impact to Occupants

Let’s start this off that modern vehicles are much safer than older vehicles.  The chances of surviving a major wreck in a new vehicle, versus even 20 years ago, are much higher.  There are some things, however, we need to take into account.

Vehicles today are built with crumple zones.  These areas on the vehicle are designed to absorb the impact.  Physics tells us that force has to go somewhere, and when vehicles crush, or crumple, the body of the car absorbs that force instead of transferring it to the occupant.

However, this is mostly during more intense crashes.  Lower speeds means that vehicle doesn’t crumple as much.  But the force still needs to be transferred somewhere – usually into the occupant.  And we all know that the human body isn’t nearly as tough or strong as a metal vehicle.

Even with a small amount of damage to the structure of the vehicle, the body inside can still be damaged.

How Older Vehicles are Even Worse

That section on modern vehicles wouldn’t be complete without a short section on older vehicles.  Think of it like two billiard balls.  They don’t crumple and what happens when they collide?  They violently ricochet off each other.  If a human was inside the ball, they’d be bounced around inside.

It’s similar in older rigs.  The force of the impact causes the human inside to take the force and “crumple.”

Injuries Drivers Sustain in Low-Damage Collisions

Insurance companies love to minimize the injuries you’ve sustained in your wreck.  They don’t pay out as much, they keep collecting premiums, and ultimately they’re posting record profits year after year.

That’s because they claim your car is driveable, so your injuries aren’t severe.  Those injuries which can include:

• Neck and Back Strain
• Herniated Discs
• Nerve Damage
• Concussion and Mild TBI
• Chronic Pain that Worsens Over Time

If you settle quickly after a wreck, some of the damages will be covered.  But these injuries that require longer term physical therapy, perhaps even years of chronic pain, and a diminished quality of life need to be accounted for.  And that’s why you need a professional car wreck lawyer in the Dallas, Texas area to fight for you.

How Herbert Law Group Fights for You

We have dealt with every insurance company.  We know their tactics, we know their sleight of hand, and we know how to push back.  When you’re struggling to recover physically, you don’t have the capacity to argue with insurance companies that won’t play fairly.

That’s why you need Herbert Law Group.

We will take on those insurance company and ensure you receive the most compensation possible.  It all starts with a conversation to determine how we can help.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out our contact form and we’ll reach out to you.

A Rollover Accident Can be Intense, Know Your Rights

The rollover accident is one of the most violent crashes out there.  They often result in extensive property damage and injuries.  Yet they are some of the most misunderstood wrecks when it comes down to it.

Before the Car Crash Captain dives into this topic, we have to clarify two quick points.  A personal injury lawyer can only help if someone else caused the crash (there’s an at-fault party) and if someone was injured in the wreck.  A single-vehicle rollover that was caused by driver error or one with no injuries?  A lawyer likely won’t be able to help – property damages are fairly easy to calculate.

However, if another driver’s negligence caused the rollover, and you, or a loved one, were injured, then you certainly should enlist the help of a car crash lawyer in Texas to ensure you fully recover physically and financially.

Always Receive Medical Attention

When you’re in a wreck, your body dumps a lot of adrenaline into your system.  Adrenaline can tend to mask the pain you would otherwise experience.  This means that you might feel fine right after the accident, but later the symptoms of head injuries, spine or neck trauma, internal bleeding, and soft tissue damage can start to show up.  Delaying treatment can mean worsening injuries, and the possibility that the insurance company will say your injuries were sustained some other time.

Get a Police Report and Preserve the Scene

Herbert Law Group serves the Dallas area from our offices here in Richardson.  This means we are dealing with rollover accidents in Texas.  Texas law states that a police report is required if there are injury, death, or damages exceeding $1,000.  A rollover accident is very likely to result in injury or death, and will always exceed $1,000 in damage to the vehicle.

Having the police on scene means you have official documentation of what happened, and ideally you, the police, or a witness will be able to record evidence of skid marks, vehicle resting positions, road conditions, and more.  Getting witness information helps to strengthen your case.

Mums the Word with Insurance Companies

We know that the insurance companies don’t want to pay out.  They will rush a settlement, and do what they can to cause you to slip up.  If you admit or even allude to the idea that you lost control of the vehicle, they can twist your words to seem like it was entirely your fault.

To prevent them from twisting your words, don’t say very many words to them.  Really, you just need to know these 13 words:

“I’m working with Herbert Law Group, all questions must be directed to them.”

Know Why Rollovers Need Higher Compensation

Your rollover accident can be misunderstood because few people walk away without serious injuries.  The injuries you sustain in this wreck can have long recovery times, result in permanent lifestyle changes, missed work and reduced earning capacity, extensive (and ongoing) medical expenses, pain and suffering, and sometimes permanent disability.

The insurance companies know that what happened to you can be expensive for them.  And they want you to settle quickly on what appears to be a good payout, but really, it’s nowhere near adequate to help you recover.

Work with Herbert Law Group to Ensure Recovery

You need an experienced attorney on your side to ensure your rights aren’t brushed aside.  Herbert Law Group knows how to preserve the scene, build a strong case, negotiate with insurance companies, and advocate for you.

After a traumatic, confusing, and overwhelming wreck has shaken you up, pass the hard work on to someone that will fight for you.  It takes a simple phone call to our offices at 214-414-3808 and we’ll have a free conversation to determine how we can help.  No time to talk right now?  Fill out our contact form and we’ll be in touch with you shortly.

A Minor Car Crash Doesn’t Mean Short-Term Pain

It was a seemingly minor car crash, caused by an inattentive young driver.  Whiplash that should have been remedied with a bit of physical therapy, but Julie Roberts’ life was turned upside down when the pain wouldn’t go away.  The X-rays showed that there weren’t broken bones, but a cyst formed in her spinal cord leading to a condition called syringomyelia – a painful spinal condition that threatened paralysis and ended her career as an airline pilot.  That simple fender bender turned into a life-altering medical nightmare.

The Car Crash Captain, serving Richardson, Texas and the surrounding areas, looks into what can happen, and what you should know before it’s too late.

Minor Doesn’t Mean Temporary

A rear-end crash creates a force that doesn’t look that bad on paper.  But the body isn’t designed for those types of jostles and jolts; it can easily be injured when muscles, ligaments, discs, and nerves are damaged.  This damage won’t show up on X-rays and often not even on CT scans.  But the pain can be intense, and endure for a long time after the wreck.

These long-term pain mechanisms are well-documents in medical literature.  But they are rarely acknowledged by insurers right after the crash.  In fact, most of the time the insurers want you to believe that your pain is temporary and will fade quickly.  Their goal is to get you to accept a settlement that won’t cover the long-term care that you need for a full recovery.

The Hidden Economic Costs of Long-Term Pain

There are two types of pain: chronic and acute.  Acute pain is one that comes on quickly and goes away when the body heals.  When you hit your thumb with a hammer, it hurts.  When the thumb heals, the pain goes away.  If you hit your thumb with the hammer and break something in the joint, your thumb might heal, but the pain lasts for years to come; sometimes the rest of your life.

If you’re injured in a seemingly minor car crash, the pain can become chronic, and ripple through the rest of your life.

Productivity and work can be disrupted.  In fact, the CDC estimates that injuries from nonfatal car crashes contribute to $69 billion in lost productivity costs here in the US (for 2019).

To make matter worse, victims now have ongoing medical and rehabilitation costs too.  Persistent pain leads to repeat visits to the doctor, physical therapy, diagnoses (sometimes misdiagnoses), medications, and treatments.  Months or years later, the medical bills are still piling up, and insurers don’t want to cover them (especially without strong documentation).  If you’ve settled already, they might not legally have to cover your ongoing medical bills.

That loss of productivity and loss of satisfaction at your job, accompanied by constant pain and medical care leads to a dramatic decrease in quality of life.  You can’t earn money, you’re spending a ton on medical costs, and everything is snowballing.  That minor car crash injury has suddenly turned your life upside down.

Delayed Symptoms Can Kill a Claim

Most injuries have symptoms that show up at the time of the wreck or shortly after.  If you hit your head, once the adrenaline calms down, you notice the pain.  But there are some injuries that won’t show up until much later.

A lot of neck or back injuries don’t fully manifest until a few days or weeks later.  Pain, stiffness, loss of mobility, and nerve symptoms can appear slowly, and you don’t realize you’re not okay until much later.

When you try to add these issues to your claim, insurance companies may argue that these symptoms aren’t related to your wreck.  Since they weren’t documented at the time of the crash, they believe it’s a secondary issue that has popped up.

This is one of the big reasons to be fully checked out medically, even after a minor car crash that had seemingly minor injuries.

Herbert Law Group Helps Minor Car Crash Victims

All of this means you need a strong car crash lawyer on your side.  Herbert Law Group helps victims in the greater DFW area push back against the insurers.  No matter if you have minor car crash injuries, or something that was major or killed a loved one, we are here to help.

Let’s start by getting to know you, and figuring out what happened and how we can help.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site, and we’ll have a free conversation to form a plan.

After a Texas Car Wreck, Your Digital Footprint is Huge

Here’s the situation.  You’ve been in a car wreck where you’re the victim, the other driver was clearly at fault.  You know that you shouldn’t be posting on social media, so you log out of those accounts thinking you’re safe.  Nothing posted means no digital evidence, right?

In this post the Car Crash Captain takes a look at what actually gets recorded digitally, and how all of this can be used against you.  You leave digital traces even without your knowledge, and often without your consent.  Learn more about how we serve Northwest Texas, including Richardson, Dallas, Plano, or more.

Hidden Metadata Recorded on Your Phone

Everything you do on your phone is tagged and recorded.  Every picture you take has the geolocation recorded behind the scenes; even if you never posted those pictures to an online profile.

Your movement is tracked by a number of different apps – maps, fitness apps, weather apps, and more.  Even when you ask the app not to track, they’re still monitoring your location and patterns.

Bluetooth logs and Wi-Fi connections show when and where you tapped into a network.

All of this happens with your phone whether you want it to or not.  There are numerous cases that have popped up around the country where insurance companies were able to subpoena phone records and found data including:

• Google timeline data
• Fitbit and Apple Health logs
• Instagram EXIF Data
• Uber/Lyft Ride Logs

All of these can be used to counter your claims of limited mobility, insomnia, whether you were home or not, or your ability to drive or work.  As more and more apps continue to harvest more and more of our data, these logs will become more heavily used by insurance companies to lower their payouts.

Silent Tagging on Other People’s Social Accounts

You’ve likely been tagged in a photo or video in the past.  Sometimes you’re not even there, but you’ve been tagged because friends and family are missing your presence.  Maybe it’s at a restaurant, a birthday party for a family member, or a coworker tagging you so you get a notification of the shenanigans they’re getting up to without your presence.

If you’re staying off social media, you won’t even see these.  If you contact that friend or family member to remove the tag, it’s still embedded into the metadata, and anyone with access to that page could have taken a screenshot.

When you’re in court, arguing that you were indeed injured, the opposing counsel could argue that if you’re well enough to attend a birthday party, you’re well enough to work.  Even if all you did was sit in the corner and smile as the kids opened presents.

To protect yourself, encourage friends not to tag you in posts, adjust your privacy settings as soon as you can after the wreck, or even temporarily disable your accounts.

AI Recognition is Really Good

As AI gets better and better at simulating humans, it is also getting better and better at recognizing images.

Facebook has had facial recognition for quite some time, prompting a tag if you post a picture that includes someone it recognizes.  But now similar software is getting better at recognizing things like:

• Body movements
• Facial expressions
• Exercise activities
• Sporting events

The images, no matter where they are posted, can recognize you, show that you’re doing an activity that could be difficult given your stated pain levels, and then argue that these images show you aren’t actually in the pain you claim you are.

Every App is Watching What You Do Creating Digital Evidence

Whenever you install a new app, you usually get a notice that allows you to “ask the app not to track.”  For the most part, selecting that option does very little.

Most apps are still recording things like:

• Location history
• Movement data
• Activity level
• Device or App usage
• Metadata
• Timestamps

Even if your account is entirely private, everything is being recorded.  Even if the app isn’t sharing the data, it’s still storing the data.  Given the right avenues, the insurance companies could gain access to that information to show that you’re not being honest.

Deleted Posts Are Archived; Not Deleted

Suppose you forget and you start posting on social media.  Something innocent, perhaps, like sitting on a lawn chair in the back yard sipping on some lemonade.  Sounds innocent, but then you think, “oopsy, I should delete that!” and you do.  No harm, right?  Post is gone, evidence is gone, and it wasn’t even showing anything that could be used against you, right?

It’s not quite that straightforward.  Deleting posts can be seen as what is called “spoliation” or the act of intentionally destroying evidence.  Even though the digital evidence wasn’t useful for anything, it was deleted intentionally and now there’s suspicion of what else have you been intentionally hiding?

Even if you delete it and it’s no longer accessible from the end-user standpoint, it is still stored on the servers, and it can be recalled if subpoenaed.

Herbert Law Group Helps Texas Car Wreck Victims

That’s pretty heavy hitting, and quite frightening to know just what can be pulled and used against you.  However, it’s not all bad.  First, this helps track down the people that truly are trying to game the system.  There are some people that see these claims as payouts so they never have to work again, and they fudge the truth so they can get more.  These cheaters are being called out.

Unfortunately, it also means innocent victims, like yourself, are caught in the crossfire.

And it means you’ll need to be vigilant to take care not to “mess up” while your case is still going through the system.  It also means you need a professional Texas car wreck lawyer more than ever.

Herbert Law Group knows how to push back against these insurance companies.  When they’re using digital evidence against you, they can twist the truth.  A great car wreck lawyer can push back.  And we’re not afraid to push back.

Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site, and we’ll have a short conversation with you to learn what happened, and determine how we can help.

Telematics and Wearables Record Your Data Constantly

You’d be hard pressed to find someone these days that doesn’t have a smart phone, a smart watch, or a smart car (not to be confused with a Smart car which is a brand of itty bitty vehicles).  We’re constantly connected, and whether we like it or not our data is being scanned, compiled, and often sold.  All that data, however, can produce a very rich digital record of what happened before, during, and after your car wreck.  Your speed, your heart rate, how hard you braked, and more might be available to investigators.  It can help you prove your case, but it could also hurt your case if it’s incomplete, misinterpreted, or doesn’t corroborate your story.  The Car Crash Captain looks at what you need to be aware of.

What Your Devices Actually Record

Event Data Recorders (EDRs) have been installed in passenger vehicles since the early 2000s.  It’s estimated that today around 96% of new vehicles have these black boxes that record data continuously (overwriting past data until a crash stops the overwriting process).  Similar to the black box in an airplane, they can provide vital clues as to how the vehicle was being driven before, during, and after an accident.

Your phone also keeps track of certain data.  If you have an iPhone, you can set a feature up that automatically turns on DND once you hit 10 miles per hour.  Newer phones even have a feature that if it detects a sudden stop or jarring movement, it will alert EMS unless you instruct the phone not to.

Smart watches record heart rates, steps, and can have a fall or crash detection feature.

All of this data is stored somewhere.  And in some cases it can be court ordered to retrieve that information if a person is not providing it willingly.  But will it make a difference?

How That Data Can Help Your Claim

Assuming you’re not lying about what happened, the EDR or phone data can be analyzed to match the moment of impact, and then cross compared with medical data to show that medical issues were not present before the wreck, but now they are showing up.

The heart rate on your smartwatch can show it elevated at the time of the wreck, and the lack of steps show you were indeed driving at the wreck.  Abnormal sleep patterns that pop up after the wreck can show that pain and reduced activity could be a result of injuries you sustained in the crash.

How that Data Can Hurt Your Claim

It’s not as easy as merely showing your phone and the logs recorded on there.  The court might require authentication of the data, and if it can’t be authenticated, it may not be admissible.

Heart rates can spike for non-issues (like being startled by a spider, or remembering a past incident that irritated you and you get worked up all over again.  The accelerometers on a phone can misclassify non-crash events.  When Apple released their crash detection feature on iPhones, there were hundreds of “fake” 911 calls, especially from people skiing.  It turns out that a fall while skiing down the mountain was significant enough that it would call for help.

This data can sometimes be hard to obtain too.  Improperly obtained digital evidence may be suppressed or considered inadmissible by the court.

What to Do After a Wreck

For the most part, if you were indeed in a wreck, and you were injured because of someone else’s negligence, there are a few things to do so your Texas car wreck claim goes as smoothly as possible.

• Ask first responders and medical doctors to make notes in their records that indicate you have a wearable – especially if it alerted the crash or fall.
• Take photos and screenshots that show timestamps of any alerts.
• Ask for the EDR to be downloaded by a qualified technician.
• Stay off social media for a while so you don’t accidentally say something that could hurt your case (learn more about that on our blog about how social media can hurt your case).
• Let Herbert Law Group help you obtain the maximum compensation for your injuries.

Herbert Law Group Helps Dallas Area Car Crash Victims

Our offices are located in Richardson, Texas, but we serve clients from all over the area.

If you were injured in a car wreck that wasn’t your fault, then we should talk about how you can find justice and compensation for your injuries.  It all starts with a simple phone call.

Let’s hear what happened, and then we can determine how we can help.  Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site and we’ll get in touch with you for a free initial consultation.

After a “Minor” Accident, Chronic Pain May Pop Up

If you were the victim of a minor accident, you probably weren’t as distraught as you would be if it was a major wreck.  Of course, by minor we mean no serious injuries like bone fractures, loss of limbs, severe lacerations, and all of that.  It’s one where it was relatively low speed, the car is messed up, but no obvious injuries that look like they’re going to disable you or require massive hospital bills.

These so-called minor collisions, however, can result in major problems.  Soft tissue injuries, nerve damage, trauma, and delayed onset pain are just a few that are mostly “invisible” but can lead to long-term problems.  Let’s see how the Car Crash Captain, your car wreck lawyer in Richardson, Texas, explains the situation.

How Chronic Pain Develops After a Wreck

No matter how minor the wreck seems, the body gets bounced around a bit.  Those low-speed collisions can end up causing whiplash, spinal jarring, joint issues, inflammation, stretched ligaments, and even minor fractures.  Most of these injuries aren’t visible, and often they don’t even cause immediate pain (sometimes due to adrenaline that’s causing your brain to ignore the pain).  But that pain will come later.

One of the issues, though, is that it’s not always pain the way we think of pain – that sharp sting or dull ache.  Instead, this pain can show up as stiffness, decreased range of motion, fatigue, and of course, those common aches we refer to as pain.  If they’re left untreated, they can take months or years to go away; often they just keep getting worse.

And the big issues start to compound as your quality of life diminished, your ability to work is affected, and your sleep is upset.  Ultimately, these “invisible” injuries can cause severe problems later on.

Why Insurance Companies Push Back on These Claims

If you get in a wreck and your bumper really just barely touches the other car’s bumper, and you don’t see any physical damage, would you panic?  Often people don’t even worry about it, shake hands, call it good.  But internally, the vehicle could have suffered from issues.

When it looks minor, it’s assumed you need minimal treatment, and you must be fine.  When an insurance adjuster sees you, and you’re minimally affected (at least externally) by the wreck, they believe you are probably fine.  That’s especially true when the pain doesn’t show up right away.  If you’ve already settled, and now that chronic pain is popping up, there’s not much recourse.

Just know that if the adjusters are pushing for a quick settlement, demanding recorded statements, and minimize your need for follow up care or ongoing treatment, your red flag indicator should be sounding the alarm.

How to Protect Your Rights as a Victim

Fortunately, you have rights as the victim, and there are methods to ensure you receive the justice that you deserve.

• Make sure you’re working with a qualified car wreck lawyer.  Qualified, in this sense, means one that has the experience and not only the credentials.
• Always document your injury progress.  This written record of how you’re feeling, what’s going on, and the treatment you’re receiving is vital to prove your claim.
• Don’t skip your appointments.  Even if you happen to feel good that day, keep the appointment and have it all documented with official medical records.
• Avoid social media for a while.  Anything you post can be used against you, and when faced with big payouts, the insurance companies are going to use anything they can against you.

Let Herbert Law Group do the Hard Work

Herbert Law Group has worked with thousands of clients in the Dallas area, and we know how to fight for your compensation.  When the insurance companies push back, we know how to push back harder.

Those minor car wrecks can lead to chronic pain.  So, if you’ve been injured, we need to talk before you speak to the insurance adjusters.  And all of that starts with a simple phone call so we can know just how to help.

Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site, and we’ll reach out to you for your free initial consultation.