Pearland is a great place to live and raise a family. As the 2nd fastest growing city in Texas, it changes and expands daily. With a straight shot down 288, the medical industry is rapidly expanding in Pearland and it is becoming the “medical center south.” In addition to industry, Pearland has a great selection of retail shops and restaurants, including the best place for beer and pretzels – King’s Biergarten! While the growth of Pearland is great for the economy, unfortunately, traffic and traffic accidents are on the rise. 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 Pearland 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 our Pearland personal injury lawyers take pride in treating our clients like family, so contact us right now.
Pearland, Texas Car Accident Statistics
Traffic accidents nationwide and in the Houston area are on the rise. The number of accidents is up, as is the rate at which traffic accidents take place. Neither local nor national trends bode well for people taking to the ever-busier roads. More than 35,000 people died in traffic accidents in the United States during 2015, a jump of 7.2 percent from the nearly 33,000 traffic fatalities in 2014. That increase was the largest rise in fatalities in about 50 years. Furthermore, the Department of Transportation estimatedthat traffic accidents injured more than 2.4 million persons in 2015. The DOT’s estimated number of police-reported crashes rose by 3.8 percent in 2015 from 2014, from six-million to 6.3 million.
There is no way to know when or where traffic accidents will take place. They can strike anytime, on any road. You don’t have to drive on State Highway 35 or the Pearland Parkway to find them, or for them to find you—accidents take place everywhere. Whether you’re on a major route like Broadway Street Parkway or a side road like East Plum Street, accidents are always possible. If a traffic accident injured you in the Houston area, you need to consult with a Houston 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.
Traffic Accidents Can Strike Anyone
Traffic accidents don’t discriminate—anyone can suffer one. Telling yourself that it won’t happen to you does not make it so. Accidents, fatalities, injuries, and accident rates all are increasing:
- In 2015, passenger car and light-truck occupant fatalities in 2015 reached their highest level since 2009
- 2015 fatalities among SUV occupants jumped by 10.1 percent from 2014
- Almost as bad, van occupant fatalities increased by 9.3 percent in 2015 from 2014
- Passenger car occupant fatalities increased by 5.7 percent
- Fatalities for pickup truck occupants rose 4.7 percent
- Traffic deaths for motorcyclist also rose steeply, up 8.3 percent from 2014
The total numbers of fatalities don’t mean much in the abstract—the rate per miles traveled is the more meaningful statistic. Unfortunately, those numbers are rising, as well. Vehicle miles traveled increased 3.5 percent in 2015 from 2014, the largest increase since 1992—even so, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles jumped to 1.12 in 2015 from 1.08 in 2014.
The Roads Aren’t Getting Safer—Even in Pearland
While 2015 is the last year for which the government has made full statistics available, preliminary statistics for 2016 don’t look any better. In October 2017, the Department of Transportation reported more than 37,000 traffic fatalities in 2016. That’s an increase of 5.6 percent from the roughly 35,000 traffic fatalities reported in 2015. While miles traveled increased by 2.2 percent, that still yielded a fatality rate of 1.18 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, an increase of 2.6 percent from the rate of 1.12 in 2015.
Houston and its surrounding communities are experiencing the same sorts of increases. A recent study by the Houston-Galveston Area Council found that traffic accidents in the area rose 62 percent from 2011 to 2016. The accident rate per 100 million vehicle miles driven also rose, increasing almost 39 percent.
Your experience might show that Pearland is a fairly safe area as far as traffic accidents go. Even so, everyone has seen or heard about accidents on State Highway 288, Broadway, or State Highway 35, or even fender-benders turning into the parking lot at King’s Biergarten. Whether you head downtown to work or just go over to Market Street, every trip carries some risk. Where you find traffic, you find accidents.
How to Avoid Accidents
Drivers cannot eliminate the risk of traffic accidents, but they can reduce them. Strong incentives encourage you to reduce your risk of a traffic accident. After all, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reported that somewhere in the United States, a person dies every 12 minutes in a traffic accident. Furthermore, a traffic accident injures someone every 10 seconds, and some kind of traffic accident takes place every five seconds. Simple self-preservation should lead to taking steps to avoid becoming one these statistics.
Driving safety experts largely make similar recommendations for how to reduce your risk of a traffic accident. EHS Today offers a list of typical advice:
- When entering traffic, use vigilance and exercise caution. Beware of other drivers’ blind spots and avoid pulling into them. Look out for objects that might obstruct other drivers’ vision, including signs and other vehicles.
- At intersections without traffic signals, look both ways at least twice before you enter them.
- At traffic signals, watch for vehicles running red lights or trying to squeeze through on the last of the yellow. Make sure cross traffic actually stops for the signal before you proceed.
- When passing commercial trucks or even driving near semis or tractor-trailer rigs, pay attention to these vehicles‘ fairly extensive blind spots, especially on their right-hand sides and to their rears.
- Minimize distractions, such as the navigation system, stereo equipment, a cell phone—even hands-free—eating, taking your eyes off the road while talking to passengers, or taking both hands off the wheel for any reason.
- Keep your vehicle in good driving condition. This includes your engine, which you want to respond if you need to accelerate to escape a dangerous situation, but also your brakes, position lights, brake lights, and headlights. Keep your tires properly inflated, too.
- When you back up, remember your mirrors’ blind spots—turn and look to ensure that your way is clear of obstacles.
- Never follow too closely.
- Avoid aggressive driving, which increases risk to you and could actually spark road rage in another driver, endangering you and every other nearby driver.
You cannot prevent all accidents. But by exercising proper caution and remaining vigilant, you can reduce your risk of a traffic accident. Whether you drive on Pearland Parkway or go to Killen’s BBQ for a bite to eat, vigilance is your best defense.
Despite your best efforts, automobile accidents remain a high risk, and you still could find yourself injured in a traffic accident. In such a circumstance, you may not at first think to sue someone. However, after dealing with medical treatments, notifying your insurer, and taking care of other immediate concerns, you should give some thought to whether the law entitles you to compensation for your injuries. If you believe the other driver caused the accident and decide to pursue compensation for your injuries, personal injury accidents are not good circumstances for self-representation. Such complex cases tend to require investigative and legal experience that most people don’t have.
Questions You Should Ask Your Lawyer
So, a traffic accident injured you and you decided to hire a lawyer. Isn’t it natural to want to find the best lawyer you can? How do you do that? You’ll want an attorney with experience and a successful track record with your kind of case. You want someone who knows how to handle car accident cases. To do that, consider asking questions such as these:
- When did you start practicing personal injury law?
- How many cases involving traffic accidents like mine do you handle each year? How frequently do you recover compensation in those cases?
- What are your professional credentials? Where did you go to law school, and what did you study? What are your bar memberships? Do you have any professional awards or other recognitions?
- About how many traffic accident injury cases do you handle every year? About how many settle? How many go to trial?
Once you believe you have found an experienced attorney who can handle your case, find out how that attorney will handle your case. Case management styles differ from attorney to attorney, and you will want to ensure you find an attorney whose style works for you. Questions about case management could include:
- Who will manage my case, you or another attorney in your firm? Will you supervise the case even if you do not handle day-to-day events?
- Who will handle any settlement negotiations? Who will take care of court appearances, should my case go to trial?
- Who will serve as my regular contact person?
- Do you provide progress reports? In what form? What might those reports include, and how often will I receive them?
- How do I reach you with questions? How quickly will you respond?
Ask About Your Case’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Ask for an honest assessment of your case’s strengths and weaknesses, including what works against you and what works in your favor. The value of your case, while difficult to determine before factual investigations, forms another important factor in deciding whether to pursue the case. Rest assured, your attorney will provide an opinion about this—effort and time come with a price for both of you, so seek at least an estimate for your possible compensation before committing to the effort and expense of launching a case.
What Will My Case Cost Me?
Ask what your legal representation will cost you—how your attorney will charge you, whether your case will cost you money up front and, if so, how much. Possible questions to ask include:
- If you charge a contingency fee, what is the contingency percentage? Will that include expenses, or do you charge those separately? If the case doesn’t recover compensation, will you still charge attorney’s fees?
- If you charge an hourly rate, what is that rate? Will you require me to pay if the case doesn’t recover compensation? Will you require me to pay a retainer? What about expenses?
- Will I need to pay anything if you fail to obtain a settlement or win a judgment?
- What expenses will I need to pay, and will I need to pay them even if I lose and receive no money? How expensive will they get, and what kinds of expenses will they include?
Obviously, you will want to know much more. The most important thing to know, however, is that you hired an attorney upon whom you can rely. Look for a forthcoming and experienced attorney.
If a Traffic Accident Injured You in the Pearland, Texas Area, the Attorneys of Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, Can Help
If a traffic accident injured you in the Pearland area, consult with a Pearland 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 compensation for your damages.
