Help! I was Hit by a Drunk Driver!

Help! I was hit by a drunk driver

What to Do After a Drunk Driver Accident

Instances of drunk driving have been declining in recent years.  With people more aware of the dangers, and the rise of ride sharing, there aren’t as many fatal crashes anymore.  But that’s not to say the problem is substantially better.  For the last decade, around 30% of all fatal car crashes involved alcohol impairment.

If you have been hit by a drunk driver, you need legal help from a car accident attorney.  With the right representation, you can be compensated for damages to your property, injuries, and even wrongful deaths that occurred during the crash.

Let Zach Herbert, a car accident attorney serving the DFW area and Oklahoma City help you understand your rights after being hit by a drunk driver.

If You have Been Hit by an Impaired Driver:

After any accident, especially those involving injuries, you should immediate call 911.  Notifying emergency dispatch will only strengthen your case if a lawsuit needs to be filed.

Gather Video or Audio Recordings – With any accident, start recording right away.  A driver may admit to causing the accident at the time when adrenaline is flowing, but try to recant later.  If the driver is visibly drunk, a video is great evidence that they are not in full control of their body.

Pay Attention to the Driver – Drivers that know they have done wrong will try to hide the fact that they are drunk or impaired, at least to diminish the effects of their actions.  Take careful note of how they look, smell, and act; especially if you notice alcohol or marijuana smells.

Pay attention if anyone in the other car tries to dispose of evidence such as cans, bottles, or drugs.  Alert the police if this happens.

Watch which driver exits the vehicle.  If someone that is drunk was driving tries to switch places with a passenger that has a lower BAC, they may be trying to reduce their liability.

If a driver quickly uses eye drops after the accident, they could be covering up the effects of marijuana or medications.

Include anything you notice in a report to the police.

Get Witness Statements – If anyone in the area saw the crash, get a statement before they leave.  Some people won’t want to stick around until police arrive, and they won’t want to talk with the police.  But if you can get their name and contact information, and a quick recap of what they saw, it will help if your case goes to court.

State Laws Surrounding Impaired Driving

It seems straightforward that if someone is driving drunk, and they slam into you, they are held accountable.  There are often more details that come into play when pursuing a case against the driver.  For instance, what if the other driver has no assets and no insurance?  While you can file the claim with your own insurance, sometimes you can pursue alternative means.

For example, Texas has what are called Dram Shop Laws.  These laws can hold a business that serves alcohol liable if they serve to someone that is obviously already impaired.

It may not always be one insurance policy that is dinged.  The driver needs to have their own policy, but if the vehicle belongs to a company or to a parent, the policies might be able to be “stacked” and each one responsible for a portion of damages.

In the event that the drunk driver is also killed, it is possible to pursue action against their estate in some cases.

You Might need a Car Accident Legal Help

Drunk driving accidents have the potential to be settled easily.  But often, these accidents are not minor fender benders.  Instead, they are catastrophic and result in permanent injury and death.  When an accident involves more than just property damage, you need legal help from a car accident attorney to help you sort things out.  You may be able to recover substantially more damages than you thought possible.

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Legal Help from Herbert & Eberstein in Richardson, Texas

When you feel stuck and don’t understand your legal rights, Zach Herbert is here to help.  Serving clients in Texas and Oklahoma, he is your car accident attorney and will be by your side after you have been hit by a drunk driver.

Need more information?  Fill out the contact form, or just give us a call at 214-414-3808.  There’s no obligation to become a client, we can answer your questions.

Understand Head Injuries that Happen After a Car Accident

Understand Head Injuries that Happen After a Car Accident

Your Car Wreck Attorney Helps with Your Settlement

Car accidents are a big deal.  Even though you may feel fine immediately following the wreck, if it was more than a small fender bender, you need to get checked out by a doctor and monitored to ensure that you aren’t suffering from a traumatic brain injury.

These injuries can take on a variety of different forms.  Knowing what to watch out for can help you prevent the injury from causing more problems later on in life.  If you have been in a wreck, you need a car wreck attorney to help get you the settlement you deserve; especially if there were injuries or a death involved.

Different Types of Head Injuries

One of the most common injuries in a car wreck is the head injury.  But that encompasses a range of injuries, some more serious than others.

Concussion – A minor head injury that occurs when the brain bumps the inside of the skull.  This happens when your body stops moving suddenly, such as in a car accident.  It may result in loss of consciousness, headaches, nausea, and confusion.  Generally they’re not life threatening, but can take time to heal.

Contusion (or Coup) – Take a concussion, and move it up a notch.  When the head strikes a solid object (or is struck), the brain is bruised at the point of impact.  Symptoms include difficulty thinking, memory loss, balance and coordination loss, and difficulties speaking.

Coup – Contrecoup – Think of this as a double contusion.  When the impact is hard enough that the brain is bruised, but knocks against the opposite side of the skull causing a second bruise.  Violent car wrecks create this kind of serious injury.  Results are often bleeding and swelling of the brain, skull fractures, ongoing headaches, loss of consciousness, memory loss, difficulty thinking and speaking, and more.

Diffuse Axonal Injury – Axons are what connect nerve cells within the brain (like a telephone wire).  When the brain moves quickly inside the skull, it can stretch or sever these axons.  Severe types of this injury can cause inability to stay awake as well as nausea, headaches, and dizziness.

Traumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage – The brain is surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid providing a cushion or padding.  In the event that the brain or area around the brain starts to bleed, that fluid is mixed with blood causing hemorrhaging.  Widespread problems include sudden severe headache, stiff neck, light sensitivity, and seizures.

Signs of Traumatic Brain Injury

Brain injuries sustained in a car wreck will often have symptoms that show up immediately, and others that will come later on.  Think of it like when you get a bruise, it hurts right away, but the bruise sometimes doesn’t show up until the next day.

  • Loss of consciousness (a few seconds to hours)
  • Headache, especially localized to area of impact
  • Pupil dilation
  • Memory loss
  • Confusion
  • Difficulty thinking or speaking
  • Balance issues

Many of these are early warning signs of a serious traumatic brain injury and none should be ignored.  Some symptoms that may develop later include:

  • Clear fluid draining from ears
  • Inability to wake up
  • Vomiting or nausea
  • Headaches that get worse instead of better
  • Seizures
  • Numbness in fingers or toes
  • Loss of coordination

What Happens if Symptoms Show Up Later?

If you have been in a car wreck, and experience any of the mild symptoms, it’s important to be checked out by a doctor.  The doctor can monitor your health, and give you an accurate prognosis as to what you can expect.

There have been cases where brain injuries today, lead to depression, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s disease months or years later.

When it comes to filing your car accident lawsuit, these medical records are going to be necessary so you can receive the compensation you deserve.  Your car wreck attorney can help you collect payment for medical bills that happen now, and those that show up down the road in case more serious problems develop over time.

Contact Zach Herbert – Car Wreck Attorney in Texas

Because of the unknown nature of traumatic brain injuries, you need a car wreck attorney on your side.  Most insurance settlements will offer payment for what you are experiencing at that time, not taking into account that issues may come up later in life.

Zach Herbert has a great track record of helping victims after their accidents.  Licensed in both Texas and Oklahoma, he can serve as your car wreck attorney and get you the compensation that you deserve.

Call 214-414-3808, let’s chat about what happened and how we can help.

You are Derailing Your Lawsuit When You Do This

You are Derailing Your Lawsuit When You Do This

Protect Your Car Accident Case and Avoid These Blunders

When you’re injured in a car accident, you expect that insurance companies will do the right thing to help restore your life to a fairly normal state.  The unfortunate fact is that often that’s not the case, and you’re left wondering how you’re going to survive financially with all your new hardships.  That is where a personal injury attorney that specializes in car wrecks will help you get back to “normal”; even if that looks drastically different. When it comes down to it, if you have to file a lawsuit to protect yourself against a powerful company, there are ways that you can end up derailing your own lawsuit.  It happens often, and it can be devastating to the victim as their case is dismissed.

8 Ways you’re Derailing Your Lawsuit

When you’re seeking a settlement, it’s best to skip these blunders.

Posting on Social Media
Statistically, you spend over 2 hours every day on social media.  You can check the usage on your phone to see exactly where you lie.  It’s a big part of everyone’s lives.  And if you have been in an accident, you are going to want to let the world know about it!

Of course it’s obvious not to talk details of an ongoing case, but you need to take it a step further.  Until everything is settled, which could be months, it’s best to just get off social media entirely.  Remember, we lived happy and fulfilling lives before social media was a thing; you can go back to that lifestyle!

Name Calling and Bashing
When it comes to court cases, just about anything can be called into question and read before a jury.  It doesn’t matter if it was a private text message conversation between you and your best friend.

If you have messages, even private messages, or if you have been recorded in any way bashing or name calling the defendant, it won’t bode well for your case.  You don’t have to go out of your way to praise them, but definitely go out of your way to avoid negative remarks.

Disclosing Unnecessary Information
When someone is arrested, they are read their Miranda Rights.  Part of that warning states, “anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.”  It’s a warning that you should just stick to the necessary details.

For instance, let’s suppose you’re talking with your doctor about being unable to work due to your accident.  All you need to discuss is your physical condition.  Mentioning the fact that you hated that job and you are glad to have an excuse not to return to work is not going to help.

Telling Friends about the Accident
After you have set aside the social media, and you’re refraining from name calling and bashing the defendant, you are going to be tempted to relay the information to your friends and explain what happened.  Just give a brief overview if anything at all.

If your case goes to trial, your friends may be asked to testify.  If you told them a different story than what you tell the court, your case can be derailed.  Only discuss details with your personal injury attorney.

Admitting Fault or Apologizing
We mentioned in a previous article that having a video, or at least audio, recording of the situation is a good idea.  Keep in mind that the other party may be doing so as well.

Never admit fault.  Even if you are at fault, don’t admit it to anyone but your attorney.  Likewise, don’t say anything that could be mistaken as admitting fault.  For example, the phrase, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” can be interpreted as an admission.

Waiting Too Long to Seek Treatment
When you have been injured in a car wreck, you are not required to seek medical attention right away.  But any personal injury attorney will tell you that the longer you wait the more harm you are doing.

Waiting to seek medical treatment shows that your injuries weren’t serious to require treatment immediately.  But even more importantly, a claims adjuster can assert that the injuries happened after your car accident, and weren’t sustained in the collision.

Missing Your Doctor Appointments
Just like waiting too long, skipping or missing appointments is an easy way to throw your case off course.  Sometimes scheduling conflicts come up and you have to reschedule.   But these should be avoided if at all possible.

Missing appointments can lead to the accusation that you don’t really need the medical treatment in the first place.  Don’t give any ammunition to the adjuster, keep your appointments.

Speaking with an Insurance Claims Adjuster
After an accident a claims adjuster will offer the lowest settlement they feel the company can get away with.  If you have been injured, or worse, someone has been killed in the accident, you definitely need your personal injury attorney to speak on your behalf.

If necessary, simply tell the adjuster that you need to speak with your attorney before any decisions are made.

Zach Herbert is Your Personal Injury Attorney in Texas and Oklahoma

Did you know that Herbert & Eberstein can help you in both Texas and Oklahoma?  With offices in Richardson, Texas (serving the greater DFW area), and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, we are here to help you stand up against powerful companies that are not looking out for your best interest.

Let’s chat about what happened.  Fill out the form on our contact page, or simply give us a call at 214-414-3808.

Can I Sue an Uninsured Motorist after an Accident?

Can I Sue an Uninsured Motorist after an Accident?

Your Guide to Being Reimbursed After an Uninsured Accident

Every state requires that you carry at least a minimum amount of liability insurance.  The reason is simple: if you hit someone else, you need to be able to cover the costs of damages.  The good news is that most of us (87% of drivers) do carry insurance.  But that means that 1 in 8 drivers on the road are uninsured.

If you’re hit by an uninsured driver, it can potentially be a bit of an uphill battle to collect the money required to fix the damages to your vehicle.  If there are injuries and other non-economic costs associated; it’s going to be even harder.  As your car accident attorney, we’re here to help; listed below are a few of your options.

Quick Guide after an Uninsured Motorist Accident

Before we jump right into your options for recouping your losses after an uninsured motorist accident, we want to make sure that you have the right procedure to follow.  This can help your case if you end up filing a lawsuit with a car accident attorney.

Record a Video – Immediately after the accident, start a video recording with your phone.  If you have a shirt pocket, put the phone in there, then go speak with the other driver.  Many people will admit fault at the time while their adrenaline is running, and then change their story later.  You want them recorded admitting fault.

Take Pictures – Make sure you have all the evidence documented in pictures.

Call the Police – If you even suspect the other driver doesn’t have insurance (and especially if they admit to it), you want a police report on file to help your case.

Exchange Information – Without insurance, the other driver may attempt to “hide.”  With all of their information, it will be easier to track them down later.

Contact an Attorney – Even if things work out for the best, give Zach Herbert a call.  Having all of the details will help your car accident attorney if a lawsuit is filed.

Now comes the hard part.  If you are injured, or a passenger in your vehicle is injured, doing all of this is going to be the last thing on your mind.  Hopefully it doesn’t come to this, but if it does; preparation is key to ensuring that you are made whole again after the accident.

Make Sure that You have UM and UIM Coverage

Uninsured motorist (UM) and Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverages are available from nearly every insurance plan out there.  These coverages are designed to protect your health and well-being in case you were hit by someone without adequate coverage.

While this type of coverage provided by your insurance company can help, they may not be enough to cover all of the costs (especially if someone died in the accident).  Furthermore, they almost never cover damage to your vehicle.

Check if Your Policy Allows UMPD Coverage

In order to have your vehicle repaired (or replaced) after an accident with someone that doesn’t have insurance, you want to see if your policy has Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD) coverage.  It’s usually a low cost option to protect your own property without having to go through a car accident attorney.

Use Your Policy’s Collision Coverage

While it is not the most ideal way to recoup losses after being hit, you can use your own policies collision coverage to do so.  The downfall: you have to pay your deductible, and your rates may go up.  If you have exhausted other methods, or there doesn’t appear to be any recourse from using a car accident attorney, this may be the only way you can avoid paying for the repairs completely out of pocket.

Use a Personal Injury Attorney to Sue the Other Driver

A personal injury attorney, especially one that specializes in car accidents, may be your best option for recovering damages.  You may run into some problems even going this route though.  You can only collect on a settlement, if the guilty party has assets to settle with.  If they have chosen not to drive with insurance, it’s likely they won’t have anything with which they can pay.

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Contact Zach Herbert Car Accident Attorney

Our goal is to make sure that you are well taken care of after a car accident.  Often that means standing up for you when someone who is at fault is not paying their fair share.

If you have been in an accident, whether with an uninsured motorist, or with anyone else, and you don’t feel that you have been treated fairly, then we need to talk.  Herbert & Eberstein is licensed in both Texas and Oklahoma and we help with your car accident needs.

Visit our contact page, or call us at 214-414-3808 to get more details.

How Long will My Car Wreck Settlement Take?

How Long will My Car Wreck Settlement Take?

What to Expect with your Car Accident Attorney

If you have ever been in a minor fender bender, you know that settlements can go quickly.  The body shop assesses the damage, reports it to the insurance company, it’s approved, and everything is settled up by the time your vehicle is done being repaired.  Some accidents aren’t quite so simple; and you’re left wondering how long the car wreck settlement will take. Zach Herbert is a car accident attorney serving Texas and Oklahoma.  Over the years, he has discovered that settlements can go relatively quickly, or drag out for well over a year.  Fortunately, there are some factors we can look at that will often extend the settlement timeline so we know just what to expect.

Faster Car Wreck Settlements Still Take Weeks

Aside from the scenario above, when the only damage is economic and easily measured, don’t expect a settlement to be finalized in less than 4 or 5 weeks.

With a fairly simple settlement, there are still negotiations that will need to be done with the insurance company.  Even when all of the facts are straightforward, there are no disputes as to who is at fault, medical bills and property damage are easily measured, the insurance company will still offer the lowest reasonable settlement.  If you accept this settlement, you waive all rights to any recourse in the future.  Because of this many people victims will enter into negotiations; either with the help of a car accident attorney or through your own negotiations that we outlined last week.

Many wrecks will actually take longer to settle.

Longer Car Wreck Settlements Take Months

If you are involved in a major car wreck, it is highly likely that it will take months from the time of the accident, until the settlement is finalized and closed.  Here are a few of the factors that can cause a settlement to drag out longer.

Serious Injuries – If you have been in a car wreck, and you were injured, the settlement will take longer to finalize.  The more serious those injuries, the longer it will take.  Medical conditions aren’t one-size-fits-all.  Some people heal quickly with few complications; others will take years of rehabilitation for the same injury.  Until a physician has indicated that you have reached the maximum medical improvement, or the point where you’re not going to get any better, there’s no way to fully know how much the medical bills will cost.

Insurance Company’s Willingness to Settle – Insurance companies will range in their responsiveness.  If you’re filing a car accident claim here in Texas, the company must approve or deny a claim within 15 days of their receipt of documents.  But, if an adjuster has good reason, that can be extended to 45 days.  If they deny the claim, and you appeal, the timeline just keeps extending out from there.

Some Car Wreck Settlements Take Years

Accidents involving life changing injuries, death, or those with complicated matters, can end up going well past the year mark before they’re finally closed.  The biggest factor that ends up causing cases to take longer than others is when the courts become involved.  Legal proceedings can tend to be a drawn out process; here is the condensed version of how they can go.

Complaint Filed – When the at-fault driver is denying responsibility for the wreck, or the insurance company is denying a claim that is legitimate, the complaint must be filed so that a lawsuit can begin.

Defendant Served – Just filing the lawsuit doesn’t mean the defending party will know what’s going on.  They have to be served with the lawsuit.  If the defendant has moved, or otherwise is making themselves scarce, it can take anywhere from weeks to months to track them down.

Defendant Answers – The defendant will enlist the help of their own attorney, and they will answer the complaint and legally file it with the court system.

Discovery – Each party will discover the evidence in order to be prepared for the trial.  This is getting all evidence in order, making sure they have sound arguments, and more.

Trial – The actual trial is the quickest part of the whole process.  Most cases only last a day or two in court before a result is delivered.

Appeal – The results are not always final.  Either party can appeal the decision.  If this happens, the case can extend into many years before a verdict is finally reached.

If your settlement doesn’t go through immediately, and you have to move to court proceedings.  There is good news.  After the lawsuit has begun, most of them are never completed.  Since the process is long, expensive, and most car accident attorneys will have a good idea of the outcome, the case will usually settle before it even goes to trial.

Zach Herbert – Car Accident Attorney in Richardson, Texas

Some wrecks are easy to settle.  Some wrecks take a lot longer.  Until the specifics are known, it’s hard to say how long any of this will take.  But there is one thing that we can be certain of: most car wreck settlements will take longer if you try to go it alone, than if you hire the help of a car accident attorney.

Call Herbert & Eberstein at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site, and let’s discuss your case.  There’s no obligation to you, we first want to chat and find out how we can help.

How to Get a Larger Settlement After Your Wreck

How to Get a Larger Settlement After Your Wreck

Negotiation Power is in Your Hands; Use It!

Being in a wreck sucks.  Even the smaller ones where you aren’t injured, the damage is relatively minor, and there won’t be long-term consequences are just a big pain.  Your first thought may be to hire a car accident lawyer to help you out, but that might not be feasible. Here’s the situation: you’re driving around in your 2010 Honda Accord and someone blows a red light smashing into you.  The at-fault driver has insurance, but your vehicle is totaled.  Now you have the problem of finding a replacement car with the money insurance is willing to give you. Compound those problems, with the fact that even though your vehicle is worth $8,500, you’re only offered $6,200 to replace it.  You can’t find a similar replacement for that much!  Top it off, and the amount of the settlement that goes to a car accident lawyer makes legal help out of the picture.

Here’s how you can negotiate a higher settlement.

Get Checked Out for Medical Issues
You may feel fine after the accident and think there is no reason to get checked out.  At the moment, however, adrenaline is rushing and your body “overrides” the pain to ensure your survival.  It’s a lot harder to go back after a claim has been settled and re-open it for medical issues.

This medical exam will also help when you’re negotiating your settlement later on.

Know the Value of Your Vehicle
Vehicle prices range widely, even when the vehicle is the same make, model, and trim level.  To recover the full replacement value, you want to know the precise value.

This can be done online using Kelley Blue Book or NADA guides.  Be sure to include any upgrades you have made and their costs (window tinting, new stereo, custom seats, and the like).  Your goal here is to show that the vehicle is worth as much as possible.

Be Ready to Wait for a Settlement 
You don’t have to settle right away.  In fact, it’s almost always in your best interest not to take the first offer from the insurance company.  The insurance company doesn’t want to keep open claims on their books.  They want them to be cleared off as quickly as possible.  Not taking the first offer for settlement, your claim can be escalated to someone that will give a better offer.

This does not mean, however, that you have to wait for months to negotiate a better offer.  Next, we will look at how you can use the previous steps to get a settlement that you are happy with.

Negotiate with the Claims Representative
When you file a claim for an accident, the adjuster will look it all over and determine the lowest reasonable offer.  It will be put in front of the representative, who will have very little “wiggle” room to adjust the amount that you receive.

Looking back at our hypothetical situation above where you need $8,500 to fully replace your property.  When you have spoken with the representative, you can use language like this:

“According to Kelley Blue Book and NADA Guides, replacing my vehicle will cost $8,500, and that does not take into account the added value for the MP3 player and the tinted windows.  Also, I fear that medical issues will become apparent that are not noticeable today.  I feel a fair settlement would be $10,500, but I am willing to accept $8,500 if we can settle today.”

It’s not an outrageous increase, you have the data to prove the value, and most insurance companies will be willing to pay a fair settlement amount in order to get this claim off their books.

Car Accident Lawyer in Richardson, Texas

Here at Herbert & Eberstein, our goal is to make sure that you are taken care of.  Often there isn’t enough value that we add for a car accident case described above; so we have empowered you to be able to handle it quickly.  Unsure if this is a case where you can enlist the help of a car accident lawyer?  Check out our previous article that can help guide you on your decision.

If you have been in an accident, and it is more complicated than we just described, or if there was significant injury or loss of life, please call us at 214-414-3808 for your free initial consultation.

Zach Herbert is a car accident lawyer that serves Texas and Oklahoma to help you stand up for your rights when the insurance companies aren’t playing nice.

Do I Need an Attorney After a Car Crash?

Do I need an Attorney After a Car Crash?

When You Want a Car Crash Attorney

If you have been in an accident, you know the stress they cause.  To top it all off, you get this ridiculous low-ball offer from the insurance company that in no way will replace the vehicle that you were driving!  Now, you’re stuck, wondering if you should have hired an attorney to help with your accident claim.  At this point, there may not be a whole lot that an attorney can do; especially if your accident isn’t complicated enough to need a car crash attorney.

Long before you’re in an accident, you need to know what type of car crash is going to necessitate the help of an attorney.  Herbert & Eberstein is here to help those in North Texas and Oklahoma serving as their accident attorney, and we want to make sure you’re compensated properly.

You May Need a Car Crash Attorney If…

  • You were injured. Some injuries are easy to quantify; most will have a hospital bill that shows just what they cost.  However, if you have not been told by a doctor that there will be no ongoing problems, or if the injuries were substantial, it may be time to consult an attorney.
  • Someone died. Nearly 40,000 people lose their lives on US roadways each year.  Many of those crashes were due to negligence.  Monetary reimbursement will help ease the strain and allow the grief process to work.
  • Pain and suffering. Pain and suffering is a hard one to pin down as there is no way to quantify what it is.  The results are usually left up to the judge and jury and each case can vary greatly.  The bottom line is that you’ve been hurt, and a crash attorney can help you be made whole.
  • Multiple injuries. Many car crashes involve more than one vehicle, and there are usually multiple occupants in vehicles.  When there are multiple injuries, some that may have ongoing issues, your accident lawyer helps everyone get compensated fairly.
  • Long term health suffering. Humans are both resilient and delicate creatures.  Many wounds will heal without lingering complications.  Many others, however, will continue to cause problems for years to come.
  • Out of work. When your accident has caused you to miss an extended period of time at work, you still need to be able to survive.  Being reimbursed for those missed days ought to be part of the settlement.
  • Disputes over fault. Many accidents have a clear at-fault driver.  But sometimes, they aren’t quite so simple.  A lawyer will help you prove your case and determine the at-fault driver.
  • Complicated details. Some crashes are straight forward, such as; a driver ran a red light and crashed into the victim.  Others are not as simple; especially when they involve commercial vehicles, training, drive times and schedules, and more.
  • Insurance isn’t on your side. Insurance companies are required to act in good faith and fair dealing.  When they are withholding a claim, denying a claim unfairly, or delaying payment, they are acting in bad faith.

You Probably Don’t Need a Car Crash Attorney If…

  • No injuries or deaths. If the accident only damaged property, you can calculate the costs to replace or repair the damaged property.  An attorney is usually not needed.
  • You’re offered a fair settlement. If you are offered a fair settlement, hiring an attorney to get you a larger settlement is probably not in anyone’s best interest.
  • Damage was minor. Many fender benders cause minor damage to vehicles.  These settlements are usually quick and easy without the need of an attorney’s help.
  • Your claim is small. A few thousand dollars is a big deal, but consider this.  Your settlement is $5,000, but an attorney can help you bump that up to $8,000.  Sounds good, until you have to pay $4,000 of your settlement to the attorney, and you’re left with less than you started.
  • It’s all economic damage. In the world of car crashes, there is economic and non-economic damage.  Check out our blog post on these two types of damages to see the differences.

Herbert & Eberstein Serving as Your Crash Attorney

Are you on the fence about whether or not you need the help of an attorney with your car crash settlement?  Our process is to get to know you and what happened.  We will work together to determine if your case should be escalated where we step in to help you receive the compensation that you deserve.

Zach Herbert is a car crash attorney that serves Texas and Oklahoma.  Located in the DFW area, he understands how the insurance companies work, motor vehicle regulations, and will help you navigate these difficult times.  If you have been in a car crash, visit fill out our contact page, or call 214-414-3808 to schedule your free initial consultation.

Let’s talk about it.

Personal Injury Attorney Zach Herbert talks with Dr. Chris Chun about the Coronavirus or COVID-19

Personal Injury Attorney Zach Herbert talks with Dr. Chris Chun about the Coronavirus or COVID-19

Car Wreck Attorney Zach Herbert interviews Dr. Chris Chun of Epic Pain and Orthopedics about the Coronavirus, what steps we can take, and how we are still seeing patients/clients during the pandemic.


Zach:
Hey everybody, Zach Herbert here. I am with Dr. Chun. Dr. Chun is a double board certified anesthesiologist, and I came to know Dr. Chun because he treated some of my past clients that I had at Herbert & Eberstein Group who were injured in car wrecks, and I thought that today I would just reach out to Dr. Chun and ask him a few questions about coronavirus, or COVID-19, what steps that we can take as people to stay safe, and then also what are we doing? Both of our businesses are businesses that are there to help people, and we are the people oriented businesses, so what are we doing to be able to make sure that we’re staying safe and making sure that our clients or patients are staying safe? So hey, Dr. Chun, how are you?


Dr. Chun:
Good. How are you doing sir?


Zach:
Just fine. Just fine. So first tell us about the coronavirus. What do we know so far? What does the CDC say about it?


Dr. Chun:
So just the coronavirus in general, there’s a lot of actually different coronaviruses. This one’s specifically COVID-19. It was discovered in December of 2019, first seen in Wuhan, China, and that’s where it started. But now it’s kind of spread out and all over. The unique thing about it, it was initially animal to human transmission, and now it’s mainly human to human transmission, and it’s spread through respiratory droplets. And so the CDC, it seems daily is coming out with recommendations. Number one, just in statistics, so far in the U.S. there’s been 3,487 cases as of yesterday, 68 total deaths. Just in generally speaking, I mean, there’s been a 1% mortality rate, so people just say, “Well, so many more people die with flu, but so many more people have gotten the flu yearly,” and so this is 10 times more lethal than the flu.


Dr. Chun:
And so for example, right now we are doubling in cases every three days in the U.S. If that were to continue, I read a statistic today that by May, 100 million people will have been exposed. If 100 million people have been exposed and 1% die, that’s a lot of people.


Zach:
Yeah.


Dr. Chun:
And so the big thing about this virus, I mean, it seems to be skewed in regards to what we call morbidity, which is I mean very detrimental or mortality, which is death, skewed more towards the elderly. So, if you’re 80 and above, it’s almost one in five are going to die. And if you’re 70 and above, 60 and above, it’s one in 10. And so it seems to have less symptoms in younger patients, and thankfully for kids, it doesn’t seem to really bother them at all. However, there’ve been people in almost all age groups that have had serious just symptoms even by getting it. So it’s something that we all need to be aware of, and-


Zach:
Well, that reminds me or that brings us to the next thing I wanted to talk to you about was just social distancing. I talked to a couple of people today that didn’t know what social distancing was. It doesn’t necessarily mean you are afraid of getting it, or you’re going to be overcautious because you don’t want to get it, it’s more of a you don’t want to help spread the virus because of what you just said, the morbidity rate for people over 80, even if you’re not over 80, you don’t want to be responsible for spreading it and causing that exponential curve that you already talked about. Right? So what can we do? What is the social distancing aspect of the whole thing?


Dr. Chun:
So social distancing, I mean, simply said is just having basically you want to keep at least six feet away from just people in general. Like I said, it can be asymptomatic, meaning you can have no symptoms and still be carrying the virus. In fact, it takes anywhere from two to 14 days to even show symptoms. So you could be infectious without you even knowing. And so just generally speaking right now, I mean I have resorted to the elbow as in regards to saying hi to people, or just way from afar altogether. Why is six feet so important? It’s because if someone coughs, if someone sneezes, the rest of the [inaudible 00:04:50] droplets, which is what comes out of your lungs and just sneezing, that will travel about six feet. So if that were to get on your hands for example, and you were to touch your face, and what we call the mucus membranes, which would be the eyes, nose and mouth, and were get into your system, then you will get infected.


Dr. Chun:
And so it is actually for you to just protect yourself in general, but also you don’t want to be a vector, meaning a carrier of this virus to someone that is high risk. So high risk, we talked about that, the elderly, we also talked about people with diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure that are higher risk as well.


Zach:
Well I wanted to talk also about what steps we’re taking in our own businesses. I personally, I meet with clients face to face a lot. We have depositions that are a bunch of people in a room less than six feet apart, and then there’s court. I got to go to court. I got to go to hearings. I know that for me I’m doing things like this Zoom call with you, I’m doing that with my own clients instead of face to face. I’m setting up depositions the same way with the Zoom call, and then courts are even using telephonic hearings now, and they’re allowing us to be by video like this, and so hopefully we’ll be able to keep on business as usual. We’re just going to shift how we do that a little bit by going more telephonic and in video calls. What are you doing at Epic Pain Centers for your patients?


Dr. Chun:
So, at Epic in ortho, we’re still seeing patients obviously because they need medical care. However, we are screening. Okay. So what are we screening? We’re asking, and this was suggested to me, I was asking some colleagues, my hospitalist friend, he’s a medical doctor and works at UT Southwestern, which is pretty much the academic center here in Dallas. So what they are doing is the screening questions are any flu-like sentence.


Dr. Chun:
So, the three kind of triad of symptoms that seem to be correlating with the coronavirus is high fever, and fever just for definition is over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit is a fever, so people say, “Oh, 99, that’s not technically a fever, and these seem to be actually very honored, compared to 104 to [inaudible 00:07:13] fever, cough, dry cough actually and shortness of breath. So, if you have that triad of symptoms, have a history of a travel, I mean used to be international but now it’s even out of state to some of these hotspots, and the third question know of exposure to anyone of course with COVID-19, then unfortunately we are not going to see you as a patient in our clinics because we don’t want to exposure to our staff and our providers, but also just exposure to your patients.


Dr. Chun:
We are also taking steps in regards to making sure everything is thoroughly cleaned, in between patients going to rooms, clean any high touch areas with Clorox wipes, those types of things, hand sanitizing, which I know is actually pretty difficult to get out there from what I hear, but we’re taking all precautions in regards to still being able to treat our patients but also remain safe.


Zach:
Awesome. Great. The last thing I want to talk about is what do you recommend, anybody watching this video, what do you recommend they do for prevention? What steps should they take to make sure that they’re staying safe?


Dr. Chun:
Well, I’ve been reading a lot on this, just trying to educate myself and just making sure that I’m telling people the right things, and I think the main thing you hear all about quarantine. I was told that, I guess, the root of the word quarantine is actually 14 days. I guess that kind of started from back when they were kind of discovering America for example, if they would stay on the boat for 14 days before they would come to shore with less chance of infecting the natives. So, in a way that’s kind of what this is as well. However, if you’re sick, meaning like colds, and the thing that’s difficult, it’s hard to differentiate this from a common cold or the flu, because you can have similar symptoms, right, fever, cough, I mean, shortness of breath, that can all happen. But if you’re sick, just stay home.


Dr. Chun:
I mean, I read something the other day and I will do the clean version of it, hashtag stay the F home, and that is not necessarily a bad idea, especially if you’re having symptoms. And you know, the CDC went from no gatherings of 500, to 250, then they had 50. Just today, they’re saying 10.


Zach:
I saw that. Yeah.


Dr. Chun:
And so just don’t be in places that are crowded. I mean, there’s a lot of young people that, “Oh, it’s not going to affect me this much,” and they’re going out there and they’re like, “Oh, screw this disease. We’re going to overcome it and we’ll be fine,” and they’re going out there and purposely going out to bars and nightclubs or whatever. In fact, even in LA, New York, Chicago, they literally shut them down. I heard San Francisco’s doing that. I heard Denver’s doing that now. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a nationwide, some sort of lockdown to be honest. Friends just said it today, too.


Zach:
Wow. Okay, so thank you very much, Dr. Chun. I really appreciate taking the time to talk to me and to help us kind of through the pandemic that is the coronavirus right now. If you have any questions, I’m going to put a link underneath this video to both Dr. Chun’s website and my own. Thank you very much, Dr. Chun. I will talk to you later.


Dr. Chun:
Thank you. Same to you. Bye.

Top Reasons to Seek Medical Care After a Minor Automobile Accident

Top reasons to seek medical care after a minor automobile accident.

If you’ve been involved in an automobile accident, it’s absolutely crucial that you receive medical attention, even if the accident was minor. Here are some reasons according to Dallas car wreck lawyer Attorney Zach Herbert.

When a serious automobile accident occurs, emergency responders are often quick to arrive on the scene. These responders include paramedics who can provide a preliminary medical assessment to everyone involved. This situation isn’t always the case in minor accidents where the only emergency responder to arrive on the scene is a police officer who is there only to take a report.

Just because a car wreck itself wasn’t serious doesn’t mean that the people involved didn’t sustain some degree of injury. Neglecting to seek medical attention after an accident, no matter how minor, may be a decision that you’ll ultimately regret.

Why You Might Not Notice a Car Accident Injury

When a collision occurs, it happens in the blink of an eye. Protective safety equipment such as seat belts and airbags can minimize the injuries sustained during impact. Still, it’s important to realize that minor car accident injuries do occur, even in low impact collisions where everyone involved may appear to feel just fine.

We all know that there is a tremendous difference between a minor, low-speed collision and a devastating high impact crash. When a person has been involved in a relatively minor accident, they may take a moment to realize how lucky they are and decide they’re fortunate enough to not need medical attention.

While it’s true that many minor accidents could have been much worse, this doesn’t mean the driver and any passengers haven’t sustained an injury — even if the injuries are not yet apparent. Combine this with the flurry of activity surrounding an accident and it becomes easy to see why people get distracted and forget to make their own wellbeing a top priority.

Reasons You Need Medical Attention After a Car Accident

Anyone who has ever been involved in a car accident, regardless of how minor, knows all too well how disorienting the experience can be for someone. Your levels of stress and adrenaline are at an all-time high and all you really want is to go somewhere else, calm down and try to regain a sense of normal. While it’s tempting to not seek medical attention after a car accident, it’s incredibly important that you do.

Here are a few reasons why.

All other things aside, your health and wellbeing should be your top priority. Symptoms of injuries aren’t always immediately evident, especially after a minor collision. It’s possible for the rush of adrenaline you’re experiencing to block some of the initial physical pain of an injury. Soft tissue damage and internal bruising or bleeding can take hours or even days before signs of an injury become obvious.

By not seeking medical attention immediately, you risk causing further damage that could have been prevented by a quick medical assessment after your accident. The pain of back injuries and whiplash can escalate quickly and become potentially life-threatening injuries that when left undiagnosed can pose a serious threat to your health, resulting in hospitalization and additional time in recovery.

There are also practical reasons that you’ll want to seek attention immediately after an accident. For starters, the insurance company is going to want a copy of your medical records if you hope to receive any financial reimbursement for medical expenses and time off work to recover. Additionally, if you’re considering filing a personal injury claim, not seeking immediate medical care can significantly jeopardize your ability to receive fair compensation.

Reach Out to a Personal Injury Attorney in Dallas

If you’ve been in an automobile accident, your very first priority should be to seek medical attention, even if you feel perfectly fine. There will be plenty of time to take care of your vehicle and deal with insurance companies but your health can’t wait. If you believe that you may be entitled to financial damages, a personal injury attorney in Dallas at Herbert & Eberstein can review your case and help you recover the financial compensation you deserve. Call Attorney Zach Herbert in Richardson today at 214-414-3808.

 

Media Contact:

Attorney Zach Herbert

(T): 214-414-3808

https://zachherbert.attorney/