League City is gateway to some of the greatest treasures of south Texas: Galveston, NASA, and the Kemah boardwalk are a few of the amazing local attractions. Unfortunately, all these great attractions also bring a lot of traffic. While League City is a great place to live and raise a family, the number of League City car accidents has been on the rise for years. If you’ve found our website – you may have been in an accident yourself.
You may be injured, you may have questions about “what to do next,” and you may not even know where to start. Please know that we offer a FREE consultation, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so call us right now at 800-898-4877, or click HERE to send us a question or get more information. There is NO cost to get a free consultation right now. If you decide to hire us, you pay us nothing up front, and you will pay absolutely nothing at all unless and until we’ve won your case.
With over 20 years of experience, and thousands of victories under our belts, our team of League City Car Accident attorneys will leave no stone unturned to get you the largest possible recovery for your injuries. Furthermore, we are one of the highest rated major personal injury law firms in the state, and we take pride in treating our clients like family, so contact us right now.
League City Car Accident Statistics
In recent years, traffic accidents have increased, with more accidents, deaths, and injuries as a result. More than 35,000 people died in traffic accidents in the United States during 2015, an increase of 7.2 percent from the almost 33,000 traffic fatalities in 2014. That was the largest increase in fatalities since an 8.1 percent rise from 1965 to 1966. In addition, The Department of Transportation estimated that more than 2.4 million persons suffered injuries in traffic accidents in 2015. The DOT’s estimated number of police-reported crashes rose from six-million in 2014 to 6.3 million in 2015, a 3.8 percent rise from 2014.
There’s no telling when or where a traffic accident will occur. You don’t have to drive on Interstate 45—accidents take place everywhere. Whether you’re on a major route like the League City Parkway or a side road like Calder Drive, accidents can always strike. If a traffic accident in the Houston area injured you, consult with a Houston personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible to explore your options. For a free case evaluation to see if the law entitles you to compensation for your injuries, contact the lawyers of Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, at 800-898-4877, or send us an email through our online contact form.
Traffic Accidents Can Strike Anyone
You think you’re not going to suffer a traffic accident. You’re probably right, at least on any given day. Given time, however, the odds change, and they’re getting worse:
- Passenger car and light-truck occupant fatalities in 2015 hit their highest level since 2009
- Traffic deaths of SUV occupant in 2015 rose by 10.1 percent from 2014
- Van occupant deaths also rose, by 9.3 percent
- Fatalities among passenger car occupant fatalities increased as well, rising by 5.7-percent
- Deaths of pickup truck occupant also rose, increasing by 4.7-percent
- Fatalities among motorcyclists rose 8.3 percent
Vehicle miles traveled increased 3.5 per cent from 2014, the largest increase since 1992, but the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles also rose, going from 1.08 in 2014 to 1.12 in 2015.
The Roads Aren’t Getting Safer—Even in League City
Final statistics aren’t yet available for 2016—2015 is the last year for which full statistics are available—but preliminary numbers for 2016 show no improvement. In fact, just the opposite. In October 2017, the Department of Transportation announced that traffic fatalities in 2016 increased to more than 37,000, a 5.6 percent hike from 2015. While miles traveled rose 2.2 percent, the fatality rate went up as well, hitting 1.18 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, a jump of 2.6 percent from 2015.
The Houston area appears to follow this trend of rising accident rates. A recent study by the Houston-Galveston Area Council found traffic accidents in Houston and its suburbs increased 62 percent from 2011 to 2016. The accident rate per 100 million vehicle miles driven rose, too, going up close to 39 percent.
You might not view League City as ground zero for traffic accidents, but everyone has seen or heard about accidents on I-45 or League City Parkway, or even fender-benders while leaving an event at the Chester L. Davis Sportsplex. Whether you are headed down I-45 to the beach or just going over to League City Town Center, every trip entails at least a little risk. Accidents will happen.
What Steps Can You Take to Avoid Accidents?
No one can do away with the risk of traffic accidents. However, you can reduce the risk of a traffic accident. Grim statistics show the value of taking whatever steps you can to do so. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that every 12 minutes, someone dies in a traffic accident. A person suffers injuries in a traffic accident every 10 seconds. A traffic accident takes place every five seconds.
For the most part, driving safety experts may differ on small points, but they generally offer the same advice for how to cut your risk of a traffic accident. For example, many offer advice similar to that of EHS Today, which advises:
- Enter traffic with caution, whether you merge onto a highway or turning from one road to another. Pay attention to other drivers’ blind spots and objects that might block their views.
- At intersections with signal lights, watch out for cars running the red light.
- Take special care when driving around tractor-trailer rigs—large blind spots to their right sides and behind them can make you invisible to large commercial trucks.
- Avoid distractions like talking on a cell phone—even a hands-free system—as well as navigation systems, stereo systems, and eating. Never take both hands off the wheel.
- Take care of your vehicle. That means the engine—you don’t want your engine to fail when you really need it to perform—and safety equipment, including your position lights, headlights, brakes, and brake lights. Keep your tires inflated at the recommended pressure.
- Pay attention when you back up. Mirrors aren’t enough—you may not see pedestrians or other vehicles in them because of their blind spots. Turn your head to look so you know for sure you are clear of obstacles.
- Stay a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you.
- Behave. Don’t take any actions that might inspire road rage in another driver.
You can’t prevent all accidents. You can reduce your risk of one striking you, though. Pay attention to your surroundings and the drivers around you, and remain vigilant at all times. Whether you merge into traffic on I-45 or take a leisurely drive to Hometown Heroes Park, vigilance constitutes your best defense.
If you suffered an injury in an accident, your first thought may not turn to suing someone. However, after you deal with medical treatments, property damage to your vehicle, and the other immediate needs that can follow a traffic accident, consider whether you deserve compensation for your injuries. At that point, contact a personal injury lawyer. The People’s Law Library of Maryland states that personal injury accidents are not a good time to think about representing yourself. The legally and factually complex circumstances tend to require investigative and legal experience most people really don’t have.
Questions to Ask Your Lawyer
If a traffic accident injured you and you decided to hire a lawyer, why not get the best one you can find?
So how do you do that? Most importantly, you want an attorney who knows what to do. You probably don’t have experience with injury claims arising from traffic accidents, so your attorney better. To help find that attorney, consider asking these questions:
- How long have you worked as a personal injury attorney?
- How many traffic accident cases have you handled?
- Do you have experience with traffic-accident cases and injuries like mine?
- Do you have the professional credentials to show you’re prepared for my kind of case, including professional awards and recognition?
- About how many of your traffic accident injury cases settle? How many go to trial? What is your success rate in winning financial recovery for your clients?
If you are confident in the attorney’s competence to handle your case, go on to ask other questions. For instance, you want to know how your attorney will handle your case. Case management style is important. Not all attorneys handle cases the same way, and not all clients are comfortable with all styles of case management. You need to ensure that your prospective attorney has a case management style that suits you. How does your attorney work with clients? Will the lawyer tell you what to do, or offer your options and seek your input on how to proceed?
Neither approach is inherently wrong. Some clients like to have input into decisions about their cases. Others want their attorney to handle everything—and you hired your attorney to serve as the expert. Even so, however, your attorney should always inform you as to how you will proceed and why you will proceed a certain way. Clients, however, are not necessarily the best-qualified people to decide which option to take.
Realizing that you will give up some control, you still can ask questions about your attorney’s style, including:
- Who will manage my case—you, or another attorney in the firm?
- Who will handle any settlement negotiations? Who will make court appearances, if necessary?
- Who will serve as my regular contact person? How do I reach that person quickly if I need to?
- Will I receive progress reports? What information will they contain if I do? What form will they take—written, email, or personal consultation?
Ask About Your Case’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Before you decide whether to proceed with your case, you need to know the strength of your case. Ask about your case’s strengths and weaknesses, how likely you are to recover compensation, and whether that recovery will justify pursuing it. These questions are all a bit speculative in the early stages of a case—realistically, your attorney can only give an estimate, at least when it comes to monetary amounts. As the facts of your case develop, though, those estimates likely will solidify. The strength of your case can change depending on what investigations uncover.
What Will My Case Cost Me?
For many people, the two most important factors are, how much compensation can I recover, and how much will that cost me? Obviously, these questions cut to the heart of the matter. Can you recover enough compensation to make the case worth pursuing? Once again, a certain answer may evade you during the early going, but that’s why you hire an experienced attorney. Both of your interest’s demand pursuit of a recovery that is worth it.
You may not know how much you will recover. You must know how much it will cost to do so. Ask what your legal representation will cost you. Questions to ask include:
- How will your attorney charge you—by a contingency fee or an hourly rate? If a contingency fee, what percentage of whatever damages you recover will your attorney expect? Will you need to pay lawyer’s fees if you recover no compensation?
- If your attorney charges an hourly rate, what is that rate? Again, will your attorney require you to pay if you recover no compensation?
- Will you need to pay a retainer fee up front?
- What expenses will you need to pay, and will you need to pay them even if you recover no compensation?
Usually, your insurance will cover your actual damages (within the policy’s limits), meaning your out-of-pocket expenses, even if you are at fault in an accident. These damages would include medical expenses, damage to your vehicle, and time lost from work because of your injuries. To recover more than that requires that you establish that the other driver caused the accident, which can open up the amount of compensation available to you. Asking these questions can help you determine whether that is possible, and what it will cost you.
If You Suffered a Traffic Accident Injury in the League City Area, the Attorneys of Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, Can Help
If a traffic accident in the League City area injured you, consult with a League City personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible to explore your options. For a free case evaluation to see if Texas law entitles you to compensation for your injuries, contact the lawyers of Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, at 800-898-4877, or send us an email through our online contact form. Remember, you pay nothing at the time we take your case, and you pay us nothing unless and until we’ve won financial recovery for your damages.
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“I was very pleased with how Stewart handled my case. He acted professionally at all times and really had my best interests at heart. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome too! I would definitely recommend my friends and family to use him as their lawyer.”
-Joshua L.
