One second you’re driving home on the Katy Freeway. The next, there’s the crunch of metal, glass on the dash, and your heart pounding in your ears. If that’s where you are right now, take a breath. You’re okay enough to be reading this, and that’s a start. The rest — the insurance, the paperwork, the fight to make it right — that part’s our job now, not yours. That’s what a Houston car accident lawyer is for.
I’m Jay Blass Cohen. I’ve been representing injured people in Houston since 2009, and I want to walk you through what actually matters after a car wreck, straight and with no BS.
First, take care of the people — then the case
Nothing on this page matters more than your health. Get checked out, even if you feel “mostly fine.” Adrenaline is a great liar. It masks whiplash, concussions, and internal injuries for hours or days, and the gap between “I felt okay at the scene” and a real diagnosis is exactly the gap the other side’s insurer will use against you later.
So see a doctor. Follow the treatment plan. Keep every bill, every discharge sheet, every appointment. You’re not being dramatic — you’re building the record that proves what this wreck actually cost you.
For a legal consultation, call (713)-664-4000
What to do at the scene, if you can
If you’re able to move and it’s safe, a few things help your case more than anything a lawyer can do after the fact:
- Call the police. A crash report creates an official record. Get the report number.
- Take photos. Both vehicles, the damage, the position on the road, skid marks, the intersection, traffic signals, and any injuries you can see.
- Get names and numbers. The other driver, sure — but witnesses matter even more. A neutral stranger who saw the whole thing is worth a lot.
- Say little. Don’t apologize, don’t guess about fault, don’t downplay how you feel. “I’m sorry” at the scene has a way of becoming “the other driver admitted fault” in an adjuster’s notes.
If you couldn’t do any of that because you were hurt or in shock — that’s completely normal, and it does not sink your case. We know how to reconstruct what happened from the evidence that’s left.
The hard truth about the other party’s insurance company
Here’s the no-BS part. The other party’s insurance company is not on your side, and it is not neutral. It is a business, and its business is paying you as little as possible.
That friendly adjuster who calls a day or two later, sounds sympathetic, and wants a “quick recorded statement to close this out”? That call is not a courtesy. It’s the first move in getting you to say something they can use to shrink your check — or to lock you into a lowball number before you even know how hurt you are.
You do not have to give the other side’s insurer a recorded statement. You do not have to accept the first offer. And you should not sign anything or take a settlement before you understand the full extent of your injuries. Once you sign a release, that’s it — you can’t go back for more if that “minor” neck pain turns into surgery six months later.
The move is simple: don’t sit on it, but don’t get rushed into a bad deal either. Let us do the talking with the insurer so you can focus on healing.
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Texas gives you two years — but don’t wait
In Texas, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). Two years can feel like forever when you’re hurting. It isn’t.
Evidence disappears fast. Skid marks fade, dashcam and traffic-camera footage gets overwritten, vehicles get repaired or scrapped, and witnesses forget details or move away. The sooner we’re on it, the more of the story we can lock down while it’s still there to lock down. Don’t sit on it.
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When the other driver was drunk, the science is on your side
This is where my background is a little different from most injury lawyers’. Before anything else, I’m a forensic scientist by training — a certified ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, a certified Drug Recognition Expert, and a certified instructor in standardized field sobriety testing.
Why does that matter to you? Because the exact same intoxication science the State uses to prove a DWI, I use to prove the drunk driver’s impairment and go to bat for the person they hurt. Breath and blood testing, field sobriety results, drug recognition — I read that evidence for a living, and I know where it’s strong and where it falls apart.
Drunk-driving cases can also open up avenues a normal fender-bender doesn’t. Texas caps on punitive damages generally don’t apply when a driver’s conduct amounts to intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter. And the Texas Dram Shop Act can put a bar or restaurant that over-served the driver on the hook too. Translation: when someone chose to drive drunk and hurt you, there may be more than one party responsible — and more than the standard playbook to even the odds.
What a good car accident lawyer actually does for you
Plain version: we take the fight off your plate. That means investigating the crash and preserving the evidence, dealing with the adjusters so you never have to, calculating what your case is truly worth (medical bills, lost wages, future care, and the pain that doesn’t show up on an X-ray), and pushing hard for a fair recovery — settlement if it’s fair, trial if it’s not.
At Blass Law, we’ve recovered millions for injured Texans, including a $2.95 million result in a semi-truck case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome — every case stands on its own facts — but it should tell you we don’t flinch when the other side digs in.
Talk to us — it’s free, and there’s no pressure
If you or someone you love was hurt in a car accident in Houston, call Blass Law at (713) 664-4000 or reach out through our site for a free, no-pressure case evaluation. You’ll talk to real people who care about getting you through this, not a call center.
Take that breath. Then let us even the odds.
Blass Law PLLC — 917 Franklin Street, #400, Houston, TX 77002 — (713) 664-4000
Keeping Innocent People Innocent®
This article is general information, not legal advice, and doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Call or text (713)-664-4000 or complete a Case Evaluation form
