1. What Happens After an Auto Accident ?
I met a friend for lunch at a Chinese buffet restaurant on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It
amazes me how the restaurant can turn-out profit at $6.99 per person when serving upwards of 100
variety of food ranging from crab legs, raw and fresh oysters to filet mignon. I wonder if they
intercept the food right before they are tossed into a dumpster? But, this can’t be because the food is
excellent and pretty fresh. Please remind me to ask them were they shop because I’ve been going to
the wrong places. Anyhow, the waitress repeatedly refilled my friend’s huge mug with coke and he
gulped down as fast as it was refilled. Troubled, I told my friend that he was flirting with diabetes
with such high level of sugar intake. Offended, my friend ( who is an ardent Redeemite) screamed at
me that, “it is not my portion to have diabetes”. He went on, “ I cancel it in Jesus’ name”. I didn’t see
all this coming and I just stared. Upon reflection, was I supposed to have said “Amen” ?
I have news for you. Either you or someone you know will be in a car accident sooner than
you think. Hold it….. before you go off on me, this is borne by statistics and actuarial tables. The
question is , what to do under such distraugthful circumstance ?
Accidents occur even when we are exercising the utmost care. I currently represent a client
who was hit by a commercial vehicle that pushed her vehicle into someone’s house. The commercial
driver was unfamiliar with the area and did not even know he had a stop-sign and just drove
through. I see people putting on eye-liner while driving in the left speed lane on the freeway. My
favorite are those eating their fast food to-go packs balanced between their laps. How about texting
or heated phone conversations while driving, speeding while it rains….
When the unfortunate happens, it is normal to be somewhat distraught by the unexpected
event. Adrenaline will be high (human natural reaction to threat or trauma). Call the Police to come
out and make an assessment of fault for their accident report on the incidence (this will be the first
question the insurance company will ask you---even before they ask if you are ok). Sometimes
(especially if it is raining) the police may take long to show up or may not show up. Be diligent to take
photograph of the positions of the vehicles at the scene (be safety cautious at all times) before they are
removed. Your phone camera is of great utility. Sometimes the other driver (if at fault) may admit
fault at the scene and offer his insurance information. Go further to ask him to write on a piece of
paper and sign that he was at fault in causing the accident (while you are waiting for the Police). In
Texas, you can record a conversation that you are a party to without disclosing that you are so
recording or without getting the other party’s consent (not so in some other states). So, record the
other party’s conversation at the accident scene (before they have the opportunity to formulate and
change their recollection of what transpired). When the Police Officer arrives, comport yourself and
be respectful in addressing the Officer in explaining what transpired. If injured, make sure you tell
the officer because if you don’t he will indicate you are not----even if he forgets to ask you this
question required for his report.
If you tell the officer of your injury, he will ask if you want an ambulance (sometimes the
ambulance is triggered by the call to the police). Some folks, though injured, may choose not to ride
with the ambulance (some folks’ injuries do not allow them a choice) since they will rather go to their
private doctor or drive themselves to the emergency room in their own car. The most important
action is to seek immediate medical intervention if there is any indication of injury. Some folks that
have moved on with their routine have had to go to the emergency hours later when the adrenaline
wears off and pain sets in from the trauma. Once you know you are injured, seek professional
medical help. Do not choose the self-medication option. The more you explore your cocktail of home
remedies, the more you diminish your right of recovery in subsequent adversarial proceeding since
the counsel to the negligent party will argue that if you were truly injured by them, you would have
sought professional care earlier----therefore, they will argue that you may have been injured by a
different intervening action unrelated to them. I’m guilty of the same self-medication when I keep
drinking orange juice for days while miserable with cold---when I can just pop two cold medicines
that will give me instant relief.

2. To the extent that one’s medical condition allows, some folks that were treated at stand-alone
emergency centers (as opposed to conventional big hospital emergency rooms where they wait
upwards of five hours) have done better financially because some of those smaller emergency centers
are doctor-owned unlike the regular bigger hospitals that are statutorily required to be separate from
their doctors. In effect, the $200 Million hospital will allocate their overhead to you (the patients) as
opposed to being seen by the same ER doctor at the strip-center where his rent is $5,000/month. I
have seen ER bills of $12,000 for ER visit after an accident to a regular hospital and have seen $250
visit to those strip-center ER locations for a regular assessment after an accident. (Each care provider
will make the needful medical assessment of the patient). In any event, as a lawyer, my job is to beat
up on the care providers to reduce their charges for services provided to my injured clients. It is also
advisable to give the ER facility your health insurance information (if you have coverage) because
your health insurance likely gets preferred group rate and may pay pennies on the dollar charged----
which the hospital will refuse to give you such discount when you try to self pay their bill. Your
lawyer will still try to further knock down the already reduced amount paid by your health insurance
(when they come for your injury settlement money for their subrogation/reimbursement). Some
lawyers will not get involved with the time consuming medical bill reduction negotiation since clients
do not pay them for this extra work ---which solely increases the client’s recovery on a claim.
Once medical intervention is at a point that the injured can reason, he should contact a
personal injury lawyer immediately. Why ? Next time you drive around, take special notice of some
insurance companies’ vehicles parked at strategic intersections or even under the overpass and
bridges. Do you know why they are parked there? Guess ? Bingo… they are response team. Sort of
first responders. Once you call in an accident to the insurance company, they drive-up and catch you
at the scene and offer to fix your car and cut you a check for $500 right at the spot. In exchange you
sign what looks like a receipt ( but is actually a Release of claims and a waiver of your rights to
recover for any injury sustained---known and unknown). Helloooo !!!!! Sometimes, they assure you
they are like your good neighbor, that you are in good hands or that they are looking out for you. One
fact is that, some of the insurance companies have trained adjusters to deal with the unwary injured
naïve claimant who chooses to seek repair of his damaged car, payment of medical expenses, loss
wages , disfigurement or pain and suffering. Once the claimant hires an attorney, they get rid of that
adjuster to bring a differently trained one in a flip-classification of the file. These are trained
advocates positioned solely to pay as little as possible and show maximum profit for the company. It
is no walk in the park getting just compensation for your property loss and injury with or without a
lawyer. The lawyer’s first battle is establishing liability (even while the extent of the damages or
injuries are unkown). This is mostly determined by what the officer’s police report reflects. Get
witness statements and your on-the-scene statement and recordings will be critical if your claim is
denied. Companies are now selling recording devices attached to cars that can clarify any
controversy on fault.
I do not want to bore you on the legal process attendant in an auto accident injury
representation. However, it is noteworthy to mention that only the injured client (not the lawyer) has
the right to settle a claim. That is , you must consent to settle your case for a specific amount. The
lawyer can only inform you of the amount offered and recommend whether you should settle or not.
Unfortunately, an injured victim may never be made whole because of the nature of an injury.
However, the closest remedy allowed at law is monetary compensation. A good lawyer will zealously
seek to ensure adequate compensation since the other side is definitely pulling the other direction to
not compensate or compensate as little as possible. Such is the adversarial system we have and
everyone is deemed to be fully awake to their rights and obligations. Thus, those who wait to assert
their rights are completely time-barred by statute of limitation that precludes them from any
recovery they are entitled if they wait too long. Such is the law.
This article is merely an overview and is not intended to substitute for a fact-specific legal
advice for a specific situation.

3. (Attorney Patrick Chukelu : graduated from the University of Houston and has practiced law
for over 25 years and represents small business owners, consumers and individuals injured in
automobile accidents. He can be reached at 713-270-5533 for questions on this article).