Will Victims Of Hurricane Harvey Be Victimized Twice?

Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those in the path of Hurricane Harvey. The potential damage  is simply heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, due to the timing of the storm, it also makes it likely that many of you who suffer property damage will be victimized twice.

Why do I say that?

Last legislative session, the Texas legislature passed a law that severely limited the rights of many property owners making claims against their insurance carriers.  Unfortunately, that bill goes into affect and covers lawsuits filed starting on September 1, 2017.

That means that some victims of Hurricane Harvey will have less than a week to get their lawsuits on file without having their rights limited by the new law.  That’s hard to do, and it makes it imperative that a potential claimant seeks and talks to a windstorm lawyer as soon as possible.

Now, if you’re a potential claimant and you can’t file a lawsuit before the September 1, 2017 deadline, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to act. Arguably, one important portion of the law only goes into affect for CLAIMS (as opposed to lawsuits) filed after September 1, 2017.  To try and at least save those rights, you should send your insurance agent or company a written notice of the claim BEFORE FRIDAY, and keep a copy of the notice (fax receipt is probably best).

If you don’t do either of these things, you still have a claim so don’t give up — you should still talk to a lawyer even after that deadline.  But if you had your preferences, you’d prefer to have your case on file before the new law goes into affect.

For those of you who have losses in our coastal counties, those rules are a little different.  Contact a lawyer as soon as possible to learn about your rights on those claims.