Thank you for assisting myself and my family through this 'trying time' with my son. Your efforts have not gone un-noticed or unappreciated, you are a master of your craft.

-K. Johnson
 

How Uninsured/ Underinsured Motorist Claims Work

Our Houston car accident lawyers can help you with your uninsured / under insured motorist claim.

Uninsured and under insured motorist coverage insurance is an optional form of insurance coverage that many people purchase. In fact, many car insurance providers will include it as part of a default package.

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The idea behind this type of insurance coverage is that in the event your vehicle is struck by a driver that does not have any car insurance coverage, or does not have enough car insurance coverage to cover the full extent of you property damage or injuries, you will be able to file a claim against your own insurance company under the uninsured/ under insured portion of your insurance policy.

This is a fairly common scenario because most motorcycle accident drivers only carry the minimum insurance coverage that is required by law. It is very easy for the total of your property damage and personal injury damages to exceed the value of their policy. In most cases, their insurance company is not required to pay beyond the amount of the coverage that their insured purchased.


Difficulties in Filing an UM Claim

As you are probably aware, the whole idea behind the insurance industry is that they are banking on the fact that they will likely never have to pay out on most policies. Uninsured/ underinsured coverage works the same way only more so. Naturally, you will only receive a payout if you meet certain requirements and so forth.

The biggest hurdle to overcome is that you must completely exhaust the defendant’s insurance policy before any under insured money will be disbursed. If the defendant’s insurance company does not release their policy limits, you may never get be able to take advantage of a UM claim. Thus, it is imperative to have the help of an aggressive car accident injury attorney who can recover the full limits of the defendant’s insurance policy.


Some of Our Most Recent Successful Cases
$71,197.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Soft-Tissue Neck Injury)
(policy limits + UIM claim) Recovery for client who sustained soft tissue injuries to neck which required steroid injections and chiropractic treatment.
Total Recovery:
$71,197.00
Attorney Fees:
$23,852.00
Litigation Expenses:
$125.00
Confidential Recovery - Wrongful Death / Commercial Vehicle Accident
(policy limits) Our attorneys secured a recovery against a major trucking company for the daughter of a man who was killed after his vehicle collided into an 18-wheeler which was blocking the roadway. Litigation is ongoing against additional defendants.
Total Recovery:
Confidential
Attorney Fees:
Confidential
Litigation Expenses:
Confidential
$337,500.00 Recovery - Third-Party Dram Shop Accident (Punctured Colon and Soft Tissue Injuries)
Our client suffered a punctured colon and numerous soft tissue injuries in an alcohol-related car accident. The accident occurred as the defendant driver crashed his car into a concrete median. The plaintiff, a passenger in the vehicle, alleged that the defendant driver was over served alcohol to such an extent that he was several times the legal limit. As such, a claim was brought against the defendant driver and the bar which over served him. A settlement was reached with the defendant driver and the plaintiff turned his focus on the bar in question. The case was resolved successfully through litigation. Based on the egregious conduct of the bar and it's numerous TABC violations, the defendant's liquor license was revoked soon after the case was resolved.
Total Recovery:
$337,500.00
Attorney Fees:
$134,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$3,750.00
$80,000.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Closed-Head Injury)
Recovered for client who suffered a closed-head injury in a car accident.
Total Recovery:
$80,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$26,666.00
Litigation Expenses:
$200.00
$2,000,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / Commercial Vehicle Accident
The family of a deceased woman hired our firm following a fatal 18-wheeler accident. The fatal accident occurred as the driver of an 18-wheeler lost control of his vehicle and veered out of his lane, resulting in a massive collision. The decedent, a passenger in a vehicle, died on the scene.

Her adult children consulted our firm to initially investigate the accident and make sense of the facts and circumstances since the family felt that the police report did not make it clear enough precisely what occurred. We launched a full investigation an immediately deposed the investigating officers.

Upon the completion of our investigation, it was apparent that the trucking company was indeed negligent and a lawsuit was soon filed. The defendant's launched an aggressive defense whereby they initially claimed that the truck driver was overcome by his passenger who allegedly grabbed the steering wheel and deliberately drove the truck off the road, despite the truck driver's best efforts.

We refuted this claim by illustrating that the tire marks that were present clearly show the truck gradually moving across the road and eventually onto the grass, which is entirely inconsistent with an abrupt lane change caused by someone taking control of the wheel. It was quite an unusual defense strategy that we were frankly surprised to even find ourselves having to refute.

The defendants then argued that a tire blowout may have contributed to the accident, which is significant because it would enable the defendant to offset some portion of their liability to a tire manufacturer or installer. Through deposition testimony of the investigating officer we established that there was absolutely no indication at the scene of the accident that a tire had blown out.

Finally, the defendants argued that the company which loaded the trailer may have improperly loaded the cargo. This argument was most plausible considering that the precise cause of the decedent's death was that she was essentially pummeled by cargo that broke through trailer and struck her person.

Our firm consulted several experts in the fields of heavy cargo transportation and physics. Our experts felt that the cargo was secured in a manner that is perfectly consistent with industry standards and that due to the forces involved, the cargo would not have behaved any differently irrespective of how it was secured. In short, the collision caused the cargo to break free and the negligence lay squarely on the trucking company and not any other entity. The case was successfully resolved through litigation.
Total Recovery:
$2,000,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$775,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$25,000.00
$350,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / First Party Dram Shop
Our firm was hired by the minor child and parents of a young man who was killed in a motorcycle accident after being over served alcohol at a South Padre Island bar. The plaintiffs hired our firm to investigate the claim on the basis that the decedent was over the legal limit at the time of his death. In initial attempts to settle the case out of court, the defendants denied liability. Suit was filed soon thereafter.

The defendants initially argued that the decedent never consumed alcohol on their premises. Through physical evidence and deposition testimony to the contrary, we were able to conclusively prove that the decedent had indeed been drinking at the establishment.

The defendants then asserted allegations that the decedent's minor child was not actually his biological child, which would bar his claim entirely. A DNA test was performed and this argument was defeated.

The defendants then asserted the safe harbor defense. Our attorneys argued that the defendants did not qualify for safe harbor protection due to the fact that their servers were not all licensed providers. However, while this element was being addressed, our attorneys focused their attention on addressing the second element of the safe harbor defense regarding the bar's encouragement of the over service of alcohol. The defendants claimed that they would never serve the double-shot Bacardi cocktails that witnesses claimed the decedent drank several of. We sent private investigators into the bar to order the same drinks that the decedent consumed on the night of his death and the very same bar tenders who over served the decedent, without hesitation, served copious amounts of alcohol to the investigators, all of which was captured on hidden camera.

Once the safe harbor defense was defeated, the defendants argued that the decedent's BAC was low enough at the time of his death (as recorded by the hospital) that he would not have necessarily appeared obviously intoxicated to the servers and therefore the bar should not be held liable even if he had been over served. Eyewitness testimony refuted this.

Additionally, our firm's testifying medical expert reviewed the medical records related to the emergency helicopter flight that transported the decedent to the hospital after his accident. She determined that the EMS technicians administered numerous blood transfusions while in flight. Armed with this newfound data, our medical expert reverse extrapolated and determined conclusively that the decedent's BAC was actually in the range of .19-.21 at the time of the accident, though it was drastically diluted by the time he arrived at the hospital, which accounted for the relatively low BAC found in the hospital's medical records. This testimony proved to be pivotal in the case, resulting in a successful recovery for our clients.
Total Recovery:
$350,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$140,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$40,000.00
$75,000.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Soft-Tissue Back Injury)
Recovery for accident victim who suffered soft-tissue back injury caused by rear-end collision.
Total Recovery:
$75,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$30,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$2,700.00
$335,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death/ Commercial Vehicle Accident
The mother of a young man hired our firm to investigate the death of her son following a fatal car accident. The incident occurred as one of the two vehicles involved ran a red light and drive into the path of the other. The defendant was driving a work vehicle for a construction company. The defendant survived the accident and stated to police that the decedent caused the accident. The police could not conclusively determine who was at fault, yet the police report strongly implied that the decedent was likely at fault based on the statement provided by the defendant.

The plaintiff's mother was not convinced. Through a thorough investigation, we ultimately determined that the stoplight that the defendant claimed that our client ran, in fact, worked on a timer whereby the light was always green between certain hours unless a vehicle traveling on the intersecting road had been stopped at the right light for more than 30 seconds. Based on an analysis of the vehicles and tire markings, it was conclusively determined that both vehicles were traveling at the speed limit, which clearly indicates that the defendant driver had not accelerated from stop, rather, he was traveling at the speed limit, which would not have triggered a green light for the defendant.

The logical implications of this information is that the light could not have been red for the plaintiff, and it certainly would have been red for the defendant. As a consequence of this information, the case was resolved through litigation.
Total Recovery:
$335,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$134,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$63,000.00
$41,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident (Soft-Tissue Injuries)
Recovery for client who suffered soft tissue injuries when she was struck by an 18-wheeler.
Total Recovery:
$41,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$13,666.00
Litigation Expenses:
$135.00
$47,500.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Broken Leg)
(policy limits) Recovery for client who sustained a broken leg in a car accident.
Total Recovery:
$47,500.00
Attorney Fees:
$19,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$168.00

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