Houston Injury and Accident Lawyer & Attorney : Vujasinovic & Beckcom Law Firm : Workplace Injuries, Car Accidents, Insurance Claims : Harris County, Texas

We are pleased to announce that one of our clients, a commercial diver who works offshore, has obtained a settlement against his employer and a lift boat company following serious injuries he sustained while diving offshore.

Our client was employed by Seamar Divers and worked on a Montco Offshore lift boat.  According to their websites, Seamar Divers provides offshore commercial divers, subsea construction, and subsea fabrication services to the oil and gas industry.  Montco Offshore provides lift boats to the offshore industry.

Our client was hurt when the Seamar supervisor failed to monitor the dive properly, resulting in our client getting "the bends."  The Montco crane operator brought him up too quickly and dropped him too hard on the deck of the lift boat, resulting in severe orthopedic injuries.

After working on the case for less than a year, we were able to negotiate a settlement that takes care of all medical bills, expenses, attorney fees, and still leaves a substantial monetary recovery for our client to invest or spends how he wants.

Did you know commercial divers may be covered by the Jones Act or maritime law?

Many commercial divers (and probably even a lot of lawyers) do not realize that commercial divers may be covered by the Jones Act and general maritime law if they are injured offshore.

To learn more about commercial divers and their rights under the Jones Act, read the following article:

Are Diving Accidents Covered by the Jones Act?

Want to know more about offshore injury claims? 

We strive to provide the best, most professional, and most effective representation to workers in the offshore industry. 

If you want to know more about offshore injury claims, please take a moment to read the following articles:

1.  How to hire the best lawyer for your Jones Act or offshore injury case

2.  What is the Jones Act?

3.  What is a Longshoreman and What Are Their Legal Rights When Injured?

4.  The difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act

5.  The Truth About Offshore Injury Claims.

6.  What Should You Do If You Are Injured Offshore

7.  What you should know if you were hurt offshore and your employer is giving you a hard time

8.  Should I give my employer or the insurance company a "recorded statement?"

9.  Do I need to hire a lawyer for my Jones Act or offshore injury claim?

10.  What happens when you file a Jones Act lawsuit.

11.  6 Critical Things you must know if you are injured at sea

12. The Secrets Your Employer May Not Want You To Know If You Are Injured Offshore.

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According to reports, a worker for New Port Building and Construction obtained a $1.47 million dollar settlement after he was paralyzed while working at the company president's personal residence.

The insurance company discovered after the accident that the injured worker had not filled out the proper insurance forms before the accident.

One of the most important things consumers must remember when purchasing insurance is to be honest and forthright on the application and to fill it out completely.  Do not fail to list information you think may increase your premium slightly or leave out requested information.  If you do, you run the risk of losing coverage for a later accident or covered claim.

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Unfortunately, Houston and the surrounding counties have one of the highest rates of truck accidents and car accidents in America.

Let's say you were involved in a serious truck or car accident in Houston or the surrounding area.  Chances are, the other driver will have insurance.  (In fact, insurance is required by law!).

If the accident is serious, the insurance company will likely have their entire team of investigators on the scene within minutes or hours.  We have seen cases where the insurance investigation team literally beats the police officers and ambulance drivers to the scene.

Why does the insurance company send a team to the scene so quickly?  Simply put, to try in any way possible to minimize what they will pay the innocent injury victims.  The insurance company representatives are looking for evidence that will help them build up a case to not pay a fair settlement.

Often, the insurance company will make contact with the injured person or their family shortly thereafter.  The insurance representative will act like your best friend and do everything possible to convince you to settle out quickly.

This is an insurance company trick.  It's a game.  And they hold most of the cards.

So how do you get the upper hand?  How do you turn the tables on them?  Or at least figure out whether the insurance company is being straightforward and honest is what they say to you?

Try this.  Ask the insurance company representative the following 5 questions and see how they respond:

1.  What are the limits of insurance for the driver that caused the accident?

2.  Will you send me a letter in writing confirming that you have accepted full responsibility for the accident on behalf of your insured?

3.  Will you confirm in writing that you will pay all medical bills, lost wages, and at least that much in pain and suffering?

4.  Can I have a written admission from the driver that he or she is at fault?

5.  Will you send me a copy of the claims file so I can see what you really think about the accident?

The answers to this questions (if the insurance company agrees to answer them, which is highly unlikely) should give you an excellent idea about what the insurance company is really up to.

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A few days ago, Haydee Valdez Mendez, age 30, died when a large vessel being transported by an Ace Transportation flatbed truck came off the flatbed and fell on top of Ms. Mendez's SUV.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Mrs. Mendez was married with two young kids.  She was studying at the University of Houston-Clear Lake to be a teacher.

According the reports in the Houston Chronicle, the driver failed to heed posted warning signs regarding bridge clearance and failed to follow the designated route allowed by his permit. 

The driver told police investigators that he thought his load was 14 feet 6 inches.

The vessel was being transported from Capco Fabrications to Henderson.

You can read the entire story by clicking here.

Now that the investigation has begun, one would hope that the company, Ace Transportation, would do a full-blown investigation into its own hiring, training, loading, and driving policies, as well as inform all of its truckers of the importance of following all safety policies and procedures.  We hope the company will not simply rely on the police investigation.  And we hope the company will preserve all the evidence.

Some questions the company should be forced to answer:

1.  Why was the driver under the impression the load was shorter than it actually was?;

2.  Why was the driver traveling this particular route?:

3.  Who trained the driver?;

4.  What do Ace Transportation's safety policies and procedures say about this particular operation?;

5.  Who loaded the trailer?;

6.  Why wasn't the load better secured?'

These are just a few of the questions that Ace Transportation should have to answer.

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Some insurance companies will send letters to people involved in car or truck accidents telling the injured person that they do not need an attorney.

Since 1995, for example, Allstate has been sending a letter entitled "Do I need an Attorney?" which makes the following claims, among others:

1.  Claims are settled faster when a lawyer is not involved;
2.  Lawyers charge a percentage of recovery and if you settle directly with Allstate you get to keep the entire amount;
3.  Injury victims can hire a lawyer later if they don't like the settlement offer;

The letter includes many other statements that are misleading, half-true, or not true at all.  Other insurance companies also try to convince injured people not to hire their own lawyer.

Here is the plain truth--Allstate, and the other insurance companies who send these types of letters, do not care anything at all about you or whether you receive a fair settlement.

In fact, the insurance company's own statistics prove that its costs the insurance industry an average of $9000 more per claim when the injured person has a lawyer. 

The reason the insurance companies try to convince people not to hire an experienced lawyer is because they know they can settle the case more cheaply if the injured person doesn't have a lawyer.

The truth is that you should always at least consult with an attorney before settling a personal injury or wrongful death claim.  Our firm never charges anything for meeting with a client and answering any questions they may have about their case.   Other good personal injury firms in Houston offer the same benefit.

For example, we will talk to you about:

1.  The reasonable value of your case;
2.  Why delay may be a good thing (or a bad thing);
3.  How to get your medical bills and treatment taken care of;
4.  How to recoup any lost wages;
5.  How long the case will take.

And many other topics.  Or any other questions you may have about your case.

The insurance companies won't answer these questions.  Or at least they won't give you straight and truthful answers.

If you have been involved in a serious car or truck accident in Houston, and the insurance company is trying to convince you not to hire a lawyer, you should know right away that they are trying to trick you into settling your case for pennies on the dollar. 

And once you know the insurance company is trying to do this, you know you can't trust a thing they tell you after that.

For more information on insurance company tricks, visit our firm's main website, www.vbattorneys.com.

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Over our career as lawyers, we have seen injured people make some serious mistakes that have badly hurt their personal injury case. 

While it would be impossible to compile a list of all of the mistakes, or to "scientifically" rank the biggest mistakes from top to bottom, the following are eight common and serious mistakes accident victims make that hurt their case.

1.  Talking to the insurance representative before hiring a competent lawyer to represent you;

The insurance representatives are not there to help you.  Their job is to save the company money.  However, many times, the insurance rep will do a very good job pretending he is your friend and will try to convince you to hold off on hiring your own lawyer.  This is almost always a trick.

2.  Giving a recorded statement to the insurance company;

You should probably never give a recorded statement to the insurance company until you've talked to your own lawyer.  Simply put, the insurance company will try to trick you into saying something that will hurt your case. 

3.  Not getting timely medical treatment;

Some people who are hurt try to "tough it out" and avoid doctor visits.  This is perfectly normal and natural.  However, the insurance company will use it against you by claiming that if you were really hurt, you would have gotten medical treatment sooner;

4.  Not telling your doctors about your complete medical history;

Keep in mind that when you go to a doctor folliowing a serious accident, they will take a "history" and will write down just about everything you tell them.  If you don't tell them about other medical issues that may or may not be related to your current injury, the insurance company will claim you were hiding things from your doctor and paint you as a liar.

5.  Trying to negotiate your case on your own;

Insurance companies have experts who negotiate injury cases for a living.  Unless you are one of these people, you will have nowhere near the experience to negotiate fairly with the insurance company.

You are, of course, free to try to negotiate your own case.  But just know that you will probably get a significantly lower settlement if you do.

6.  Being dishonest;

Everybody has "problems" and "issues" in their background, and people (like jurors) understand that.  The insurance company and their lawyers will do everything they can to use those problems and issues against you. 

If you try to cover them up, the insurance company will probably find out and will paint you a liar.  If, on the other hand, you are honest, then most jurors will understand.

7.  Hiring a lawyer because "a friend" recommended them;

If you choose to hire a lawyer, hire the best one you can find.  And hire a lawyer with a proven track record in the kind of case you have.  Not all lawyers know how to handle personal injury cases.  You need to interview your lawyer and find out what they know about personal injury cases and what kind of success they have had in the past.

8.   Telling the insurance representative how much you will take to settle your case;

This is a no-brainer.  You should never tell an insurance company representative how much money you will take to settle your case because then they will nickel and dime you to death.  They will probably never pay you that much money.  And if they do, you know you did not properly evaluate your case.

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If negligent or reckless person or company caused you serious injury or caused a loved one to suffer wrongful death, you may have a "personal injury" or "wrongful death" case.

However, there are some serious mistakes that people make in these situations that can put such a case in serious risk.

Here are some examples of serious mistakes that may put your injury case at serious risk:

1.  Giving a recorded statement to the insurance company without having your own lawyer present;

2.  Not getting appropriate and timely medical care;

3.  Failing to gather witness information from the scene of the accident;

4.  Not calling the police immediately;

5.  Hiring a lawyer who has never handled a serious injury or death case because "a friend recommended the lawyer;"

These are just a few of the examples of some things that can put a personal injury case in serious jeopardy. 

Before you hire a lawyer, and before you talk to the insurance company, do your own research.  Go to our main website, www.vbattorneys.com, and get free information.  Look on the Internet.  Talk to people who know good lawyers.  Interview more than one law firm to make sure you are comfortable with your lawyers.

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1. First and foremost, get appropriate medical attention. Your health is the first priority, as well as the health of anyone else involved in the truck accident.

2. Second, if possible, call the police. Truck drivers will sometimes accept responsibility at the scene and discourage you from calling the police. Then, after everyone is gone, they start denying responsibility.

It is perfectly appropriate, and a good idea, to make sure the police come and take statements, investigate the truck wreck, etc.

3. If you are able, get the contact information for the truck driver and any witnesses. Get insurance information. Make sure that later on, you will have witnesses to back up your version of what happened.

4. Take photographs if possible. Photos are almost always helpful. Like they say, "a picture says a thousand words." This is true with truck accident cases particularly. It is difficult for a truck driver to claim that he or she wasn't at fault when the pictures show otherwise.

5. Consider getting legal advice if you believe you have serious injuries. The trucking companies and their insurance companies almost never offer fair settlements unless a lawsuit is filed and a trial date is scheduled. And most personal injury lawyers, including our firm, offer free initial consultations to let you know what your options are.

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You are certainly free to talk to the adjuster and/or the trucking company before hiring your own lawyer. However, be aware of some "tricks" they may try to use against you to hurt your case:

"Trick #1" They will try to get a recorded or written statement from you. It is a bad idea to give insurance adjusters or trucking companies written or recorded statements unless you have your own independent legal advice. Often, they will ask you questions designed to lower the value of your case or make it seem like you were at fault. You are not required to give a written or recorded statement.

"Trick #2" Trucking companies and their insurance adjusters will try to convince you not to hire a lawyer. They will claim that you will get less money if you hire a lawyer than if you negotiate the case yourself. This is false, and studies have been done to prove it. The trucking companies and insurance companies have lawyers--you should have one too, and if they tell you that you don't need a lawyer, be very cautious about anything else they tell you.

"Trick #3" Some trucking companies or their adjusters will offer to provide medical care. The trick here is that they hand pick company or insurance doctors. You are NOT required to see company or insurance doctors. You should choose a doctor on your own, a doctor who you feel comfortable with. That is often the only way to ensure that you get appropriate medical treatment.

"Trick #4" All too often, the insurance adjuster or trucking company will tell you that they need a bunch of information and once they get that information, they will settle your case for a fair amount. Then, they keep asking for more information in an effort to delay your case.

Time is on their side. If you wait to long, you may be prevented from ever filing a claim or lawsuit because of the statute of limitations or because the evidence is gone by the time you file your case.

In our experience, trucking companies and their insurance adjusters almost never offer a reasonable and fair amount unless you've acted quickly to preserve your legal rights. Don't let them string you along for months and months while they promise a reasonable settlement. Conclusion:

You are certainly within your rights to try to negotiate a trucking case on your own. However, trucking companies and their insurance adjusters have teams of lawyers giving them advice. You should be very careful when dealing with insurance adjusters or trucking companies without your own independent legal advice.

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