Houston, Texas Auto Accident Attorneys

Insurance companies are not above employing any number of tactics to reduce or deny a claims payout on a car accident claim. For this reason, it's important to understand the terms of your policy and speak with a lawyer after you've been injured in an auto accident. While a claims agent may seem genuinely concerned about your injuries, the questions they're instructed to ask are probative: like criminal investigators, they're hoping you'll say something they can use against you later to reduce or deny your claim. At the Krist Law Firm, our auto accident attorneys are familiar with how insurers operate and the lengths they will sometimes go to in order to reduce claim payout amounts.

If you've been injured in a car, truck, motorcycle, or bicycle accident, contact auto accident claims attorneys at the Krist Law Firm today to schedule an appointment and learn how we can protect your rights and interests.

Colossus and Claims Estimates

Although it's not widely publicized - certainly not by insurers - a fair number of nationally known insurers use a computer program called "Colossus" to calculate claims payments. This program uses various pre-determined algorithms to calculate the amount of claims payments after a claims adjuster enters certain variables into a computer. Not only does Colossus reduce the role of human judgment, it's also proprietary software.

As a result, there's no way to determine what its pre-set algorithms are or how they function when calculating claims payouts. Additionally, Colossus does not calculate pain and suffering nor does it have the ability to take into consideration medical complications. For instance, a herniated disc may never heal properly, making it difficult for a person to return to work on a regular basis. Colossus does not have the ability to take this into account.

Uninsured / Underinsured Claims

A surprisingly large number of Texans do not have adequate car insurance. If you were hit by an uninsured / underinsured driver, you may be eligible to recover a portion or all of your damages through your insurer if you have uninsured / underinsured coverage. However, since Texas is a "comparative negligence" state, the amount you can recover will depend on whether or not you are deemed partially at fault in causing an accident: if, for example, you are deemed 20% at fault, the amount you can recover will be decreased by 20%.

For this reason, insurers have an incentive to find you were partially at fault in an accident involving an uninsured / underinsured driver. That's why our attorneys work closely with accident investigators and other experts in establishing the fault of the other driver.

Contact the Car Accident Attorneys at the Krist Law Firm in Houston

As personal injury lawyers who have represented numerous clients over the years, we're familiar with the tactics insurers use to deny or reduce claims payouts. Before you talk to an insurer, agree to release your medical records, or accept a settlement offer, contact personal injury attorneys at the Krist Law Firm today.