Humble is a small city surrounded by a lot of people who say they live in Humble. The City of Humble has its own police department. Atascocita and most of the neighborhoods around Humble aren’t in any city at all. They’re unincorporated Harris County. Kingwood, just to the north, has been part of the City of Houston since 1996. Which side of those lines you crashed on decides who wrote the report. For a wreck in Humble or Atascocita, the case belongs in Harris County, and when we file it, we file it at the civil courthouse at 201 Caroline in downtown Houston, in front of a Harris County jury. Kingwood is a little different. Kings Mill and a few other neighborhoods on its north edge sit in Montgomery County, and so does 59 once you get up toward Porter. A crash there can end up in front of a Montgomery County jury, so we look at where you were hit and where the other driver lives before we pick the courthouse.
Call (713) 664-4000. The consultation is free, and there’s no fee unless we recover for you. If we don’t recover, you don’t owe us for case expenses either. If the other driver’s insurer calls, don’t give a recorded statement until you’ve talked to us.
Crashes on 59 and FM 1960
US 59 (I-69) runs straight through Humble, and it’s where the fastest, worst crashes happen, especially at the FM 1960 and Will Clayton Parkway exits. FM 1960 itself is a wall of shopping-center driveways and left turns from the freeway east toward Atascocita. Beltway 8 and the airport traffic around Bush Intercontinental add drivers who are running late and don’t know the roads. Wrecks at those intersections turn into arguments over who had the light, so we look for video fast, before the businesses record over it.
Humble police, a Harris County sheriff’s deputy, a constable, a DPS trooper or Houston police may have worked your crash, depending on where it happened. Whoever it was, the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report is the first thing the insurer reads. Officers get details wrong, and a wrong box checked on fault can cost you real money. We check the report against the photos, the damage, the witnesses and the cars’ event data recorders, and we get it corrected when it’s wrong.
HCA Kingwood and Memorial Hermann Northeast
People hurt around Humble usually go to HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood, a Level II trauma center, or Memorial Hermann Northeast, right on 59 in Humble. The most serious injuries go to the Level I trauma centers in the Texas Medical Center. Whatever the first ER wrote down about your pain will be quoted back to you by the adjuster, so tell the doctor everything that hurts, and go back when you’re told to.
How the insurer values a Humble claim
What counts. Lost income, the work you can’t do anymore, pain, scarring and the time the injury took from your family. Insurers push back hardest on those.
What the bills are worth. Texas lets you recover what was actually paid or is still owed for your care, not the sticker price (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.0105). The way your care gets paid for changes that number, so we plan it with you from the start.
Where the money comes from. Plenty of drivers on 59 carry nothing more than the Texas minimum, $30,000 per injured person and $60,000 per crash (Transportation Code § 601.072). We look for the vehicle owner’s policy, the driver’s employer if he was working, a rideshare policy if one applies, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (Insurance Code § 1952.101). Your personal injury protection pays medical bills and lost wages no matter who caused the wreck (Insurance Code § 1952.155). Texas insurers have to put it in every auto policy unless someone named on the policy turned it down in writing (§ 1952.152). The standard amount is $2,500 per person, and plenty of policies carry more.
How blame cuts it down. Your recovery drops by your share of the blame, and if a jury puts you over 50 percent at fault, you get nothing (Civil Practice and Remedies Code §§ 33.001, 33.012). The adjuster’s friendly questions about your speed and your phone are aimed at that. We prove fault with evidence instead.
Notice rules for the City of Humble and Humble ISD
Texas generally gives you two years from the wreck to file suit (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003). A claim against a government entity has its own, much shorter deadline. If you’re making a claim against Humble ISD over a bus crash, the district has to get notice within six months (§ 101.101). If your claim is against the City of Houston, say over a crash with a city vehicle in Kingwood, the city charter requires sworn notice within 90 days. A claim against the City of Humble needs written notice to the city manager within six months, and then a 60-day wait before we can file suit.
Money we’ve recovered for clients
We got $100,000 for a client hit by a driver who ran a red light. We also recovered a $2.95 million settlement for a client rear-ended by a commercial truck driver who was following too closely. See all of our settlements and verdicts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Hurt in Humble or Atascocita? Call us
Jay Blass Cohen was born and raised in Houston and has practiced here since 2009, and we prepare every case as if a Harris County jury is going to decide it. We also handle 18-wheeler wrecks and crashes caused by a drunk driver. If you were the one charged after a crash, see our Humble DWI page.
Call (713) 664-4000. A week from now, half the evidence from your wreck may be gone. Call today.
Reviewed by Jay Blass Cohen, founder of Blass Law PLLC, ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, certified Drug Recognition Expert, and SFST instructor, serving Houston since 2009. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.