At the law office of Stewart J. Guss, our attorneys have worked closely with clients from the Sugar Land area for many years. We know this community in the Houston metropolitan area well and understand that its location near Houston makes it a desirable place to live and work.
You probably know that Sugar Land’s unique name stems from Imperial Sugar. You may not know that Imperial Sugar was so important to the city, its logo was actually featured in the city seal!
As one of the most affluent and fastest-growing cities in Texas, the city has several very important venues for the people of greater Houston. We regularly visit the Smart Financial Center, a large concert venue, and Constellation Field, home of the Sugar Land Skeeters. We also know that Sugar Land is a major shopping destination, and is home to the First Colony Mall, a major shopping destination in the area.
Major transportation links in the area include the well-traveled Interstate 69 and Highway 59. Because Sugar Land is located in a large and busy metropolitan area, especially one well-known for its traffic issues, we are sadly not surprised when we learn that a traffic accident has occurred here.
After a crash, 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, seven days a week, so call us right now at 281-664-6500, 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 more than 20 years of experience, and thousands of victories under our belts, our team of Sugar Land 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 persona>l injury law firms in the state, and we take pride in treating our clients like family, so contact us right now.
Metro Houston Car Accidents Are on the Rise
Unfortunately, there is a bit of bad news for drivers nationwide, and especially in the Houston metro area. The rate at which drivers get involved in accidents is going up everywhere. Nationally, the NHTSA estimates that 37,461 persons lost their lives on U.S. roadways in 2016, an increase of 5.6 percent over 2015. The Texas Department of Transportation found 3,773 deaths from car accidents in 2016, an increase of 5.45 percent from 2015. And in the Houston metro region, things aren’t looking much better. The Houston-Galveston Area Council found 713 deaths due to traffic accidents in the area in 2016, a disturbing 16 percent increase from 2015.
Sugar Land itself had 1,623 accidents reported in 2015! In those crashes, there were 388 possible injuries (status unknown), 200 non-incapacitating injuries, and 32 incapacitating injuries. Sadly, four fatal crashes changed the lives of those families forever.
If you were injured in a car accident in the Houston area, including Sugar Land, consult with a Sugar Land personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible to explore your options. The sooner you contact an attorney after an accident, the sooner we can begin collecting and preserving essential evidence for your case. 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 (281) 664-6500, or send us an email through our online contact form.
Why Do People Crash?
Most traffic accidents are caused by human error rather than weather conditions or technical malfunctions. A few of the most common causes of car crashes include:
- Distracted driving: Distracted driving is a common reason why drivers end up crashing their vehicles. In the few seconds it takes to apply makeup, send a text message, or find something at the bottom of a bag, the traffic conditions in front of you may have changed—and it’s too late to avert disaster.
- Speeding: Roadways are designed for safety only at certain speeds. The time and distance it takes to stop a vehicle that violates the speed limit on a particular roadway is much longer than for those that follow the speed limit. Higher rates of speed also usually equate to more severe injuries, since the force of impact increases the faster the vehicle is traveling.
- Driving under the influence: Driving under the influence of any drug—including alcohol, marijuana, and even prescription sleeping pills—presents serious danger, as many of these substances put their users in a state of mind that is not ideal to the quick reaction times necessary for safe driving.
- Texting and driving: Studies have shown that people who text while they are driving are 23 times more likely to crash than drivers who pay attention to the road. Texting takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an average of five seconds, which is more than enough time for the car in front to have come to a complete stop before the texting driver even realizes it. Texting and driving is one of the leading causes of accidents in today’s hyper-connected world.
- Running red lights or stop signs: You’ve probably heard the old joke “no cop, no stop.” Well, that flippant attitude can be responsible for accidents, since red lights and stop signs are there for a reason. Drivers who attempt to get ahead by ignoring traffic signals frequently strike other drivers who have the right of way in the intersection.
- Wrong-way driving: A momentary lapse of judgment due to distracted driving (possibly texting), can lead a driver to make a turn onto a one-way road in the wrong direction. Head-on collisions are the most common type of accidents that occur with wrong-way driving, which can often cause the most severe injuries of any crash.
- Tailgating: Tailgating usually occurs because an impatient driver in the back is trying to intimidate the driver in front to speed up. With only a few inches between two bumpers, it is almost impossible to stop in time if the lead driver slams on the brakes. A distracted tailgating driver can confound the problem.
- Reckless driving: It goes without saying that driving recklessly can cause accidents. Street racing, sudden lane changes, and improper turns are all examples of reckless driving.
Types of Car Accidents We Handle
Our team of personal injury attorneys has seen it all—from accidents caused by speeding and those caused by teenagers texting and driving to those caused by road rage and just flat out bad driving. We are confident in our ability to handle any type of car accident that may have injured you. After all, personal injury law is the only type of law we practice.
- Head-on collisions
- Rear-end accidents
- Side-impact crashes (also known as T-bone accidents)
- Rear-end accidents
- Single-vehicle accidents
- Rollovers
- Multi-vehicle pileups
- Drunk driving accidents
- Truck accidents
- 18-wheeler accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
Tips for Defensive Driving
If you’re reading this, then chances are pretty good that a car accident has already injured you and you are looking for advice. While our main goal is to help you get the compensation that you deserve after an accident, we also want to make sure that you aren’t ever injured in a car accident again. To that end, below we’ve outlined a few tips for defensive driving.
- Minimize distractions: Driving is primarily a thinking task, so you want to make sure that you’re devoting all of your thinking power to the task at hand without distractions. This means no texting, no applying makeup, and no eating.
- Stay alert: Driving requires you to often make split-second decisions to avoid an accident. If you’re not completely alert, you increase the chances that you will cause an accident. Never drive if you are tired or under the influence of any substance.
- Check your blind spots and stay out of others’: Are you 100 percent sure that there’s not a car hiding in the lane you’re about to change into? The only way to know is to physically turn around and check rather than relying on your mirrors alone. Also, stay out of other drivers’ blind spots, especially trucks’.
- Maintain your vehicle: Vehicle maintenance is as important as good driving. If your tires are bad or your windshield wipers don’t work like they should, these defects can put you at serious risk of an accident.
Should You Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
The following accident scenarios necessitate an attorney:
- Someone died in the accident
- Someone suffered severe injuries in the accident (especially if the injuries caused the victim to lose income)
- Fault is at issue
- Your insurance company refuses to pay or offers an unreasonably low amount
All of the above situations involve complex determinations of facts and law that most people lack the experience to handle by themselves, especially when they are trying to recover from injuries.
When it comes time to select a personal injury attorney, here are a few questions that you should ask every potential candidate:
- How much experience do you have representing clients with cases like mine? Ideally, your attorney should have experience representing cases that are similar to yours. So, for example, you wouldn’t want to hire a personal injury attorney who primarily handles pedestrian accidents to handle your drunk driving accident. Personal injury law is a broad practice area, so make sure you hire an attorney who is well-practiced in accidents like yours.
- How often will you communicate with me and can I speak directly to you if I need to? Neglect is the number one complaint filed against attorneys in Texas, and the number one reason attorneys are sanctioned by the state bar. Make sure the attorney you hire has an established way to update you on your case. Also make sure that you can communicate with your lawyer directly, rather than support staff, if necessary.
- Can you provide me references from some of your past clients? Good lawyers leave behind a trail of happy clients who are willing to speak to prospective clients about their experiences. Ask your potential attorney for a list of references who are willing to speak to you, especially references who were in a similar accident to yours.
- Was your bar license ever suspended or have you ever faced sanctions? Bar license suspensions and sanctions by the state bar’s ethics committee are red flags. If you find a lawyer you like, but who has faced one or more of these problems, ask for an explanation so you can get a better idea of what happened. However, in these situations, always trust your gut.
If a Sugar Land, Texas, Car Accident Injured You, Contact the Attorneys of Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law
If you were injured in a car accident in Sugar Land, consult a Sugar Land personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible to explore your options. For a free case evaluation to see if Texas law might entitle you to compensation for your injuries, contact the lawyers of Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, at 281-664-6500, 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.
Don´t Take Chances – Let Us Help You!
See what past clients have to say:
Review: 5/5
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“We received QUALITY service, reliable guidance and we are VERY satisfied with the outcome. Our treatment was both fair & honest; we highly recommend. If one word sums it up, the word would be Exceptional. “Thank you” for all you did!”
-Jeri B.
