Injured Houston drivers and passengers are being warned to learn their legal rights before they give a statement to an insurance company or sign any paperwork, according to (713) A-B-O-G-A-D-O | Abogados de Accidentes, a Houston personal injury law firm. The firm said too many injured people accept the first offer they receive, often within days of a crash, without knowing what their claim is really worth.
The issue is widespread in a state with a high volume of crashes. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, one person was injured in a Texas traffic crash every 2 minutes and 9 seconds in 2025, and 3,769 people died on Texas roads that year. Those figures underscore how many residents could face pressure from adjusters while still recovering from injuries.
"A lot of what we do is just making sure that people don't sign something that will take away their right to receive the true value of their case," attorney Corey Gomel said. "They should know what their options are before an insurance company tells them what to do."
The firm outlined several rights it says every injured driver and passenger should know. Crash victims do not have to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company; adjusters often call within a day or two, and anything said on that call can later be used to argue injuries were minor or that the injured person was partly at fault. Signing a release usually ends the claim, meaning a person generally cannot ask for more money even if they later learn they need surgery or more time off work.
Texas law also allows fault to be shared. An injured person can still recover damages as long as they are not more than 50% responsible for the crash, though the amount is reduced by their share of fault. Insurers sometimes overstate a driver's share of fault to lower payouts, the firm said. Most personal injury claims in Texas must be filed within two years of the injury date.
Ride-share crashes follow different rules. Uber and Lyft carry larger insurance policies, but which coverage applies depends on whether the driver was logged in to the app, heading to pick up a rider or carrying a passenger at the time of the crash. People hurt in an Uber or Lyft accident in Houston often must deal with more than one insurer.
The firm, which most of its clients contact in Spanish, said language should not be a barrier and that it works with clients in Spanish or English. Gomel said the practice represents only injured people: "We only represent people. Not insurance companies, not businesses. Just people who got hurt because someone else was careless."
The firm handles Houston car accident cases, truck accident claims and rideshare injury cases, and reports past recoveries including $4.5 million in a car accident case and $900,000 in an Uber accident case, while noting past results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Spanish-speaking clients can reach the firm through 713abogado.com, and English-speaking clients can visit 713lawsuit.com. For readers, the practical takeaway is that early statements and quick settlements can permanently limit compensation, making it important to understand the two-year deadline and Texas fault rules before signing anything.
