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Matt Hines on What to Do After a Car Accident, and Building a Firm from Day One

Matt Hines on What to Do After a Car Accident, and Building a Firm from Day One

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 What happens when a law school graduate forms his LLC before he even knows if he passed the bar — and then on the day the results come in, skips the celebration and opens for business instead — building over 20 years what becomes a multi-state personal injury firm serving clients across Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas, with over 95% bilingual staff and a specialty in protecting the Hispanic community? In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Matt Hines, founder of Hines Law, about the single most important thing to do in the first hour after a car accident, why saying "I feel fine right now" to an insurance adjuster can destroy your case before it even starts, and why the other driver's insurance company calling you immediately after an accident is not customer service — it's strategy. Matt explains how cases are built from medical records as ammunition, why 97% of personal injury cases never go to a courtroom, what uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage actually does and why most agents never bother to mention it, and how Georgia's comparative fault rules mean you can still recover even if the accident was partially your fault. They also discuss the wrongful arrest case where three men cleaning out a foreclosure were jailed because the former cop-owner was angry, how Section 1983 federal civil rights law becomes the tool when government officials abuse their power, what stacking insurance policies means and why insurers hope you never ask about it, the case where a woman's father was killed by a car and other attorneys had already turned her away before Hines Law looked at the police report and found a real claim, and why waiting even a few weeks to see a doctor after an accident is often the single most expensive mistake a client will ever make. Matt Hines is the founder of Hines Law, a personal injury firm serving clients across Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas, with a dedicated Spanish-language practice at 404abogado.com. Connect with Matt Hines: hineslaw.org Phone: 770-800-2000 404abogado.com Atlanta, Georgia Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Matt Hines 00:43 Forming the LLC before passing the bar and opening day one 01:41 Working for other attorneys in law school — collecting knowledge, not loyalty 03:00 Someone just got rear-ended on I-285 — what to do in the next hour 04:02 The other insurance company just called and said they'll take care of everything 05:07 My neck is a little stiff but I feel okay — do I really need to go now 05:49 What does the insurance adjuster do the moment they hang up the phone 07:01 Can posting about my accident on Facebook actually hurt my case 07:22 Walk me through what happens when someone calls Hines Law the day of an accident 09:30 Medical records as ammunition — what gets built during the treatment period 10:30 How long does a personal injury case take in Georgia from first call to settlement 11:09 What is a realistic range of recovery and what factors swing the number 12:52 How attorney fees and medical bills come out of the settlement 13:37 Georgia's two-year statute of limitations and when it gets paused 15:00 What happens when the at-fault driver has minimum insurance and you have serious injuries 17:00 Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage — why your agent probably never mentioned it 18:46 What if the at-fault driver is wealthy — can you go beyond the insurance policy 21:00 Taking the insurance money versus suing personally — and why you usually can't do both 21:42 Can your own insurance company work against you — bad faith claims explained 23:14 Why you need an attorney even just to tell you whether to sign a document 24:19 Rapid fire — Clemson or Georgia, martial arts or travel, worst five words to say to an adjuster 26:03 The wrongful arrest case — three men, a corrupt cop, and Section 1983 29:11 What a case looks like when someone comes in thinking they have nothing 31:12 Roadway construction defects and how expert witnesses unlock invisible claims 32:18 The biggest mistake that costs people the most money in their cases 32:48 A result that still sticks — the civil rights case and why constitutional law matters 33:37 If the accident was partly my fault can I still recover in Georgia 34:25 The biggest lie insurance companies tell accident victims 35:24 Can you stack multiple insurance policies together to increase coverage 35:45 A client comes in three months after their accident with no treatment — is it too late 36:31 What people think their case is worth versus what it's actually worth 38:25 Building 404abogado.com — a dedicated Spanish-language arm for the Hispanic community 40:22 Supporting drug rehabilitation, human rights, and education in Atlanta 42:24 How to reach Hines Law in Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas #MattHines #HinesLaw #PersonalInjuryGeorgia #TrustcastShow #CarAccidentLawyer #InsuranceAdjusterTactics #AtlantaLawyer #GeorgiaPersonalInjury #BilingualLawFirm #Section1983
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