How To Get Money After A Car Accident Without A Lawyer in Dallas

In 2021, there were 35,355 car crashes in Dallas, TX, resulting in thousands of injuries. You might be seriously hurt if you’ve been in a car accident in Dallas. Perhaps you need expensive medical treatment and are struggling to pay the bills.

If you’re trying to recover fair compensation for your medical expenses and other losses, you’ll want to hire a Dallas car accident lawyer. Anderson Injury Lawyers can help you. 

We handle other vehicle accidents like bus accidents in Dallas, taxi accidents in Dallas, Uber & Lyft accidents in Dallas, truck accidents in Dallas, and more.

However, you don’t always need an attorney. Here’s how to get money from a car accident without a lawyer in Dallas, Texas. If you have questions or need assistance, Contact our law firm for a free consultation at (214) 327-8000. 

How Our Dallas Car Accident Lawyers Can Help You Recover Fair Compensation

How Our Dallas Car Accident Lawyers Can Help You Recover Fair Compensation

Before we explain how to get money without a Dallas personal injury attorney, it may be helpful to explain our legal services. 

If you hire our Dallas car accident attorneys for help, we’ll: 

  • Handle every aspect of your claim process so that you can focus on healing
  • Investigate the cause of your crash to determine causation and liability 
  • Gather evidence proving your case 
  • Consult experts for help with complex issues if necessary 
  • File all claims and negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf 
  • Represent you in court proceedings if we cannot reach an agreement with the at-fault party

If you need help after a collision in Dallas, TX, contact Anderson Injury Lawyers for a free initial consultation.

How To Get Compensation After a Dallas Car Accident Without an Attorney

Below, we explain the steps you should take if you decide to handle your claim alone. 

Collect Evidence 

To get money from a car accident, you need to have evidence to present to the insurance adjuster or the court. It is important to collect your evidence as soon after an accident as possible. If you wait too long to collect evidence, you may lose it.

Call The Police

Texas law requires you to call the police after a car accident if it causes injury, death, or property damage over $1,000. 

You should consider contacting the police after any car accident as a precaution. That’s because the police will complete an accident report and investigate the cause of the crash. They will interview you and the other drivers, locate witnesses on the scene, and take photos of the car damage and accident scene. 

The police report can be valuable later in court or when you negotiate with an insurance company.

Document Vehicle Damage 

You should still photograph your car after an accident, even if the police come. Take photos of the damage from different angles and try to include your license plate. You should also keep repair estimates from the auto body shop. These estimates will become important when you ask for money later in the case.

Collect Witness Contact Information

The police will probably obtain contact info and a statement from witnesses. However, you should make sure that you also get that information, whether from the police or by asking the witnesses yourself.

Witnesses can help prove who caused an accident. For example, a witness might have seen the license plate in a hit-and-run in Dallas or be able to give valuable information in a parking lot accident in Dallas.

Seek Medical Treatment 

Seek medical treatment after a car accident. This is for your own safety and evidence-gathering.

Medical records show the extent of your injuries and treatment, plus necessary ongoing expenses related to the crash. You can use these records to prove your damages to the insurance adjuster. Don’t wait too long, or the other driver’s insurance company may argue that you aren’t actually hurt or that your injuries aren’t that severe. 

Calculate Your Damages

You can ask for economic damages and non-economic damages after a car accident in Dallas for many common injuries. 

Economic damages are expenses after a crash and can include:

  • Medical bills 
  • Lost wages 
  • Rehabilitation 
  • Car damage
  • Future medical expenses

Keep every receipt and carefully calculate your economic expenses before talking to the insurance adjuster. 

While economic damages are easy to calculate, non-economic damages are more difficult to value. Non-economic damages recognize the non-financial impact of an accident. 

Non-economic damages in Dallas could include:

You can document how the accident and your injuries affected you beyond medical bills. Keeping track of your pain and suffering, feelings, and the change in your lifestyle makes it easier to claim these damages later on.

Contact the Insurance Adjuster 

Once you have evidence and calculated your damages, you are ready to contact the at-fault driver’s insurance company. You will file a formal claim requesting that they cover your costs. 

The insurance adjuster will take your statement and investigate the claim. After investigating, Texas law gives insurance companies 15 days to notify you whether or not they are accepting your claim.

If they accept your claim, they will make you a settlement offer to pay for all or some of your damages. You may need to engage in back-and-forth negotiations before you receive an offer you want to accept. If you fail to reach an agreement, you may have to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Talk To the Court Clerk

Since you don’t have a lawyer, you should talk to the court clerk before filing your lawsuit. The clerk will have information on how to file your case and the applicable court fees. 

After you file the lawsuit, you’ll negotiate with the at-fault party’s lawyer. They may offer you a settlement. If you can’t agree, you’ll need to go to trial and explain your case to the judge.

Go To Trial 

At trial, the judge or jury will decide who is at fault for the car accident and the amount of money you deserve. It may be more or less than previous offers. Once a verdict is given, you can move on.

Representing Yourself Can Be Risky – Contact Our Car Accident Law Firm in Dallas for Assistance

Even though you know how to get money from a car accident without a lawyer in Dallas, it can be risky. If the other driver has a lawyer, they will know the law and court procedures better than you. 

Luckily, most Dallas car accident lawyers charge a contingency fee. You won’t have to pay the lawyer unless you win. Then you pay a percentage of the settlement or verdict. Anderson Injury Lawyers charges a contingency fee and doesn’t get paid until you do. We’re available for a free consultation so that you don’t have to fight your case alone.

Our law firm handles all types of car accident cases:

Additional Dallas Car Accident Resources