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It is just a fact of life that accidents are going to occur. Whether it’s on the road or on the job or even in the grocery store, it is inevitable that some sort of accident is going to take place. As a result, injuries are also an unfortunate inevitability.

Sometimes there’s only one person involved; a slip in the shower, or a trip over a curb, something like that. Other times, however, the negligence of another person or entity results in an injury. When that happens, you may be entitled to fair compensation for whatever losses you have incurred due to that negligence.

If you or a family member has suffered an injury due to the negligence of someone else, there are many attorneys who you can call on. However, you have to be extremely careful in selecting your legal representation. Personal injury lawsuits can be extremely complex and intricate, so you need someone with experience litigating, and more importantly, winning these kinds of cases. The personal injury lawyers with our Law Office would like to help you comprehend all the legal complexities surrounding your case and help you wade through the process with as little stress as possible. We will listen to the details of your case and help plot a strategy that can help you obtain the just restitution you deserve. Our lawyers have litigated personal injury cases for two decades. We’ve won thousands of personal injury cases. We’d like to do the same thing for you.

What, Exactly is a “Personal Injury?”
In legal parlance, a “personal injury” is the physical pain and associated mental or emotional trauma resulting from the actions or inactions of another party or of multiple parties. The person who suffered the injury, also referred to as the plaintiff, can try and obtain compensation for the injury he or she suffered from the responsible party or parties, known as the defendant.

The basis of all personal injury laws in the State of Texas is the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code. You will not be able to find any portion of the code that states defendants owe a single thing to plaintiffs. The code only gives a plaintiff the right to try and obtain restitution from the party or parties that caused injury to the plaintiff in order to make the plaintiff whole again.

You can buy a ticket to a concert that gives you the right to watch the concert. But that ticket doesn’t mean that a musician will be coming to your home to perform. Personal injury law follows a similar principle. Defendants are neither required nor expected to, out of the goodness of their hearts, offer you restitution. You, the plaintiff, have to take your request for payment to the defendant, oftentimes eventually to court, just like you have to take your ticket to the concert.

There is only one way you can obtain the compensation you are seeking from the defendant, and that is to prove that defendant was the sole proximate cause of the injury you suffered. In legal terms, the plaintiff carries the burden of proof. Unless you satisfy the requirements of that burden, you have no chance of getting the fair restitution you are looking for.

Do You Have a Case?
The term “duty” is a significant one to understand regarding any potential legal action involving your personal injury case. The law in the State of Texas, as in most states, says that every person owes every other person a legal duty to act as a reasonable person would in making sure they bring no harm to anyone. In other words, say you’re heading down I-30. You are expected and required by law, to safely follow traffic rules and drive in a manner that is safe for all the other motorists around you. Should you choose not to obey those rules and drive recklessly – even for a minute – and injure someone in an accident as a result, you are said to have breached your duty. You will be considered legally liable for the medical expenses and other financial burdens incurred by the injured party. If someone caused your personal injury by neglecting his or her legal duty to you, then you should have the basis of a lawsuit.

Again, though, in order for any attorney to be able to successfully pursue a personal injury claim on your behalf, you, the plaintiff, carry the burden of proof needed to demonstrate you were owed a legal duty of care by the defendant, and the defendant shirked that duty. As a result, you suffered an injury. The type of legal duty owed to you can vary depending on the context of the case and the type of party involved. The standard of care that one motorist owes to another differs significantly from the standard of care a doctor owes to a patient. It all depends on the situation surrounding the incident in question, and the intentions of those involved. For instance, a surgeon is, obviously, within his or her standard of care when working on a patient. However, if that doctor breaks into the patient’s home and stabs that patient with a steak knife, the doctor has then violated a legal duty. The two situations, from a legal standpoint, are different, even though the surgeon is performing the same action of cutting into his or her patient. Whether or not the surgeon has violated a legal duty is determined by the situation, context, and intentions surrounding his or her actions.

It is simple for any lawyer to prove obvious breaches of legal duty that cause a personal injury. However, proving the sometimes vague notion of negligence can be much more difficult.

Take the example of a construction company employee who suffers a concussion after a co-worker accidentally hits him on the head with a two-by-four. The employer in this instance could be held partially liable because it has the legal duty to provide employees with a safe workplace. However, if the person suffering the injury was a contractor and not an employee, then the employer would not be legally responsible. In Texas, contractors are responsible for their own workplace safety; the employer carries no expectation of providing a safe work environment to a contractor or temporary worker. This is another case of context determining liability.

It is imperative that you seek the help of a lawyer to determine whether or not the specific context of your personal injury case allows you to seek the recovery of damages.

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Three Elements Necessary for a Successful Personal Injury Case

In order for a personal injury case to have a chance at succeeding, it has to have three main components: liability as a result of the defendant violating a legal duty, such as negligence; damages, and a solvent and identifiable defendant. This is true in just about every personal injury case; there are almost no exceptions. The following sections go into these three components in detail.

Liability
When a defendant shirks a legal duty he or she owes to a plaintiff, then that defendant, in the eyes of the law, is liable for any damages that the plaintiff has incurred. Most of the time, a defendant is in violation of this legal duty through standard negligence, which is the temporary occurrence of recklessness or carelessness that causes an accident. It’s the most common form of negligence; basically, it’s caused by someone simply not paying attention at a certain time. That differs greatly from gross negligence, which is when a defendant causes harm to a plaintiff – even though accidentally – by engaging in blatantly reckless behavior, not of a temporary nature. For example, someone who gets behind the wheel while drunk and causes an accident that results in an injury to someone else can be considered grossly negligent. Even though that driver didn’t mean to hurt anyone, that doesn’t matter. He or she was still drunk, and as a result, was grossly negligent. Then there is the most severe of breaches of legal duty, the commission of a deliberate or intentional act that harms another, such as assault with a deadly weapon. Negligence is the most common of all liable acts, but you must prove that the defendant breached a legal duty, and your injury occurred as a result, in order to obtain compensation.

Damages
“Damages” can often be a confusing legal term. A lot of people think the term refers to the actual injury suffered by the plaintiff. In reality, though, “damages” is the monetary value assigned to not only the injury but also all its associated repercussions. A fractured skull, for example, is an injury. A damaging injury for sure, but legally it’s defined as an injury. The resulting medical bills, lost work salary, and lost future earning potential incurred by the victim due to the injury are damages. There are two kinds of damages to explore further: general damages and special damages.

General damages – These are non-financial, subjective damages that, by nature, are open to interpretation by lawyers, judges, and juries. Because they are subjective, you have to account for all of them and prove them so that you can get the maximum amount of compensation possible. These damages include physical impairment, pain and suffering, loss of consortium of a spouse/loss of unique familial love with a family member, emotional suffering, and disfigurement.
Again, since general damages are subjective in nature, it can be very difficult to not only assign a monetary value to them but also to prove them. The amount given for these kinds of damages can vary widely from case to case, even when two cases have similar circumstances surrounding them.

Consider the example of a fireman sprinting into a burning house to save a child. Let’s say the ceiling caves in, and both the fireman and child are severely burned as a result. They have suffered the same kind of injury, but the damages they can pursue are significantly different. The fireman experienced fear when the ceiling caved in, but not to the extent of the child. The fireman has undergone extensive training in learning how to deal with this kind of stress and has probably encountered similar situations in the past due to the nature of his job. The child, though, had never experienced anything like that fire and was terrorized by it. The fireman is also familiar with the kind of injury that he suffered, by either experiencing it himself in a previous fire or witnessing other firemen being burned. The child, on the other hand, had no such familiarity with burning and could have thought he was going to die.

Because the circumstances surrounding all personal injury cases can differ significantly, you should seek the help of a seasoned lawyer who can ensure that the value of the general damages surrounding your case are accurately determined.

Special Damages
These damages, unlike general damages, are typically tangible. Most often they are easily determined, but there are other times where they can still be somewhat subjective. Let’s look once again at the example of the fireman. He suffered serious injuries, injuries that might not allow him to ever work in that profession, or any other profession, for that matter, again. How do you determine the damages in this instance? It’s not enough to simply count the number of years he could reasonably have been expected to work, multiply that by his present salary, and ascertain the potential earnings he has lost. You have to take into account changes in his salary that may have occurred due to promotions, any specialized education courses he may have taken, and inflation. Experienced lawyers know how to do this.

Special damages include:

Court costs
Damage to property
Past and future medical bills
Lost wages
Lost earning potential
Special damages are especially crucial for most plaintiffs because there are many times where they include already paid for medical or other expenses, plus wages that have already disappeared. They need to recover these damages as quickly as they possibly can in order to be able to get their lives back on track.

Solvency
The last element you must meet in order to successfully pursue your personal injury claim is solvency. You must file your claim against a defendant who has the monetary means needed to compensate you for any damages he or she caused. Let’s say a homeless man runs into traffic and causes a driver to veer off the road and crash into a convenience store. The driver suffers two broken legs as a result of the crash. There’s no doubt that the homeless man is liable for the crash and the injury, but he is not solvent, so it really won’t matter. The homeless man doesn’t have enough money to provide the plaintiff with just restitution. This happens all too often to injury victims.

Knowing that solvency is a key to a plaintiff winning a personal injury lawsuit, many defendants will plead poverty in order to sidestep liability. This is yet another reason you need an experienced lawyer on your side. Many defendants will attempt to hide their money and feign being destitute in an attempt to avoid being held liable. But the personal injury attorneys at our Law Office are very adept at finding any money or assets that the defendant might be hiding. We typically run an asset check on every defendant, and we have a strong track record of unearthing assets that solvent defendants tried to conceal in order to avoid liability.

It is incredibly imperative that all damages are properly ascertained because you only get one chance to recover them in court. The personal injury lawyers at our Law Office know how to account for a plaintiff’s damages. We do so by putting together an itemized list and putting that list into a demand packet that is then given to the defendant or the defendant’s insurance company, along with the compensation that is expected to be awarded to the plaintiff.

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Our Wrongful Death Lawyers Can Assist You With Your Case

When a family loses a loved one due to an accident that was caused by the negligence of someone else, the surviving members often have several questions. How did this happen? Who is responsible? Do I have grounds to pursue wrongful death litigation in order to bring those responsible to justice? Should I hire an experienced wrongful death attorney?

For 20 years, the lawyers at our Law Office have helped bereaved families obtain millions and millions of dollars through successfully fought wrongful death lawsuits. We are well aware of the sense of loss and the incredible pain you are going through. If you would like to find out how we can assist you in pursuing justice for your loved one, we can help. Call us as soon as you can for a confidential and free consultation. We will help you understand all of your legal options and the hurdles that will be placed in front of you that can impede your efforts to get just restitution for your loss. We will listen to all the details surrounding your case, and spell out a plan to help you obtain the compensation you deserve so you can move forward in recovering from the tragedy that has befallen your family.

The Purpose of Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Texas
There are three main purposes for filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas. They are:

Making sure that the party or parties responsible for the accident are held liable for the negligent actions or inaction the led to the innocent victim’s death.
Compelling that responsible, negligent party to change their behavior so that, in the future, more innocent people are not injured.
Obtaining fair compensation for the victim’s family so that they can recover from the monetary setbacks they have suffered due to the victim’s death.
There is, of course, no way that any monetary sum can come close to providing enough restitution to properly compensate you for the immense loss you and your family have suffered. But it is likely that your family is undergoing some substantial financial stress, especially if the accident victim was your family’s primary provider. The wrongful death lawyers at our Law Office will work tirelessly to help you obtain just compensation for the loss you have experienced so you can turn your focus on recovering, both emotionally and mentally, from the accident that claimed your family member due to the negligence of someone else.

What Kind of Compensation Might you Obtain?
From a legal standpoint, the term “damages” means the monetary value assigned to financial and emotional losses that surviving family members of a lost love one incur after an accident. Those family members, also known as the plaintiffs in a court case, can attempt to obtain two different forms of damages in a wrongful death lawsuit: wrongful death damages and survival damages.

Wrongful death damages provide restitution to family members for financial losses they have experienced as the result of the death of their loved one and include emotional tumult as a result of grief. Spouses, children, parents, and, in some cases, siblings can seek these types of damages. A single, comprehensive wrongful death suit can be comprised of multiple wrongful death damages. These include:

Medical bills that occurred prior to the family member’s death.
Funeral bills.
The loss of financial support the victim provided his or her family before death.
Emotional and mental trauma experienced by the loved one’s family due to his or her death.
The loss of consortium and unique familial love that only the deceased could provide.
Survival damages, on the other hand, provide restitution for damages the victim could have tried to obtain had he or she not perished due to the accident but had survived with injuries. Survival damages differ from wrongful death damages in another way. Whereas in a wrongful death lawsuit, any family member can seek compensation for wrongful death damages, in the case of survival damages, only the closest living family member can seek compensation. This right moves down the line from spouse to child to parents to siblings. The kinds of survival damages that can be sought include:

Medical expenses
Property damage
Lost wages or salary
The loss of future earning capacity as a result of long-term disabling injuries
Pain and suffering the victim experienced
Emotional and mental trauma the victim experienced due to the accident.
Disfigurement compensation

Wrongful death and survival damages claims are different, so a different legal strategy must be developed for each. Each family member experiences different amounts of pain and suffering and financial loss, so the wrongful death claim has to be handled differently in each case. Both wrongful death and survival damages litigation can be very complex and intricate, and that is even before taking into account the opposition and the efforts they will undertake to defeat your case. In order to win, you need someone with substantial experience in the procedures associated with litigation. If you rely on an inexperienced attorney – or worse yet, try to tackle this litigation yourself – your case is almost guaranteed to fail. The wrongful death lawyers with our Law Office have two decades worth of experience in litigating wrongful death cases. We have heard way too many stories of legal laymen trying to represent themselves, only to see their case dismissed because of a legal loophole those laymen didn’t even know existed.

Please don’t let this happen to you. The wrongful death attorneys at our Law Office can use our considerable skill and experience to protect your rights and obtain the damages your family deserves. We know how to fulfill all procedural requirements and close whatever legal loopholes the defense may use in an attempt to avoid liability. We will hold them responsible and make them pay for the tragedy that has befallen your family. This is not only important from the perspective of getting the restitution your family deserves but also in making sure that the negligent party or parties responsible change their behavior. We will work to make sure those responsible never put another family through the pain that yours is experiencing. The attorneys at our Law Office take this critical component of wrongful death law in Texas extremely seriously.

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Determining Whether or Not You Have Grounds for Wrongful Death Litigation

There are some instances where wrongful death litigation is not black and white. It may be difficult for family members to ascertain whether they have a viable basis for a wrongful death lawsuit or not. These kinds of cases – and it’s very important to note this – are civil cases. A plaintiff can file a wrongful death lawsuit even though no laws were broken. If the driver of a car is driving too fast, and strikes and kills a pedestrian crossing through a crosswalk, that driver will not face criminal charges because he committed standard negligence. However, the victim’s family members can file a civil wrongful death lawsuit against that driver. This is the only way that the family can see justice done for that driver’s negligence.

Even if a negligent party is facing criminal charges in someone’s death, a wrongful death lawsuit can still be filed. If the above-mentioned driver was intoxicated at the time the accident occurred, that driver would probably be facing criminal charges such as intoxication manslaughter. The deceased’s family members can file a suit even though criminal charges are pending against the driver. In Texas, four conditions must be met in order for family members to be entitled to file a valid wrongful death suit:

• The responsible party or parties’ actions or inactions caused the victim’s death.
• The responsible party or parties committed some type of negligence that led to the accident and resulting death.
• The victim has surviving family members who can attempt to obtain wrongful death or survival damages.
• The family members have experienced some form of ascertainable monetary damages due to their loved one’s death.

Standards of Proof and Limits to Recoverable Damages in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

There are some instances where the ability of the plaintiff to obtain damages through the means of a wrongful death lawsuit may face some limitations. There are other cases where a plaintiff has to satisfy a more difficult standard of proof than in a more traditional type of wrongful death lawsuit.

One such example is wrongful death litigation involving medical malpractice. Lobbyists did an effective job of convincing Texas legislators that there were too many medical malpractice lawsuits, and as a result, medical costs were going through the roof. To combat these rising costs, legislators decided to pass new laws concerning medical malpractice that put a limit on the amount of monetary compensation a plaintiff could recover in a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit. They also raised the standard of proof that has to be satisfied in medical malpractice litigation. The legislation was successful in serving the purpose of reducing the number of frivolous lawsuits, but also had the unfortunate (and hopefully unintended) side effect of making it a lot tougher for plaintiffs in legitimate medical malpractice lawsuits to obtain the restitution they had coming to them. And those limits also mean a good portion of any settlement simply goes back to the doctor in order to pay for outstanding medical expenses. Thus, a lot of lawyers will no longer accept cases involving medical malpractice. The wrongful death lawyers at our Law Office, however, are very adept at taking on these kinds of challenging cases.

Wrongful death lawsuits that arise as a result of workplace accidents, and involve workers’ compensation insurance, can pose similar difficulties. Most people believe workers’ compensation laws were enacted to assist employees injured on the job heal from their injuries. However, just the opposite is true. These laws were enacted to protect companies from lawsuits involving employees either hurt or killed on the job. If the employer of your loved one purchased, or “subscribed to” workers’ compensation insurance, your family will substantially less compensation than you deserve for the emotional trauma you’ve gone through. But that does not mean you can’t try and obtain fair compensation through other means. The attorneys at our Law Office have a great deal of experience in determining negligent third parties that do not enjoy protection from workers’ compensation lawsuits, and we can seek to obtain wrongful death damages from them. If, for example, a faulty piece of machinery led to an accident that resulted in the death of your family member, you would be able to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of that part. Even if the company that employed your family member is a subscriber to workers’ comp insurance, you will still be able to seek compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit if it can be proven that the employer’s gross negligence led to the victim’s death. In this kind of instance, the compensation you may obtain is not limited, as long as you have the convincing testimony and rock-solid evidence needed to justify that compensation. But the standard of proof in establishing gross negligence is extremely high.

As previously stated, a wrongful death lawsuit is a very complex and intricate piece of litigation; much more than it might look like at first sight. That’s not even taking into consideration the formidable opposition you will face in trying to get those responsible for the death of your loved one to be held accountable. To have any chance possible to succeed, you will need to seek the assistance of a skilled and experienced wrongful death lawyer.

You can attempt to represent yourself, of course. The law will not keep you from trying to do so. You must know going in that you have little to no chance of winning – and you won’t get a second chance to try. The opposition will have talent, skill, and resources that you can’t possibly match, and they will work extremely hard to defeat your case. Please contact an experienced attorney as soon as you possibly can, someone who will fight to bring you fair compensation and bring those responsible to justice. The wrongful death attorneys of our Law Office will work tirelessly to protect your family’s rights and make those responsible for the tragedy you have experienced pay dearly for their negligence.

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Wrongful Death Lawyer
Call the Attorneys at our Law Office to Speak to a Wrongful Death Lawyer

Have you suffered the tragic loss of a loved one due to the negligence of another person, either through someone’s actions or inactions? If you have experienced this tragedy, then you understand the severe emotional toll it takes on you and you know that taking the next step can be difficult.

The wrongful death lawyers at our Law Office understand the toll this experience has taken on you and can help you take the next step in this important struggle. Our fatal accident attorneys provide this article by way of information and empowerment so that you will know what your rights and legal options are, as well as what some of the obstacles and hindrances to achieving full and fair compensation as well as bringing the negligent parties to account for the accident in which your loved one was fatally injured or killed.

In the state of Texas, wrongful death laws and the legal procedures that surround wrongful death litigation are complex and full of subtleties that are a challenge for people who have studied the law, much less for a family who is in the midst of grieving the loss of a loved one. We hope that through this article we can provide some idea of what is involved in litigating these cases and what you can expect from the defense and from the lawyers you have retained to help you. After twenty years of experience in wrongful death lawsuits, the wrongful death attorneys at our Law Office have worked hard to gain a comprehensive knowledge of wrongful death law and deep competency in litigating cases where the negligence of a person causes the death of another. While we understand that talking about compensation for the death of a loved one is unsettling given how precious life is and how nothing can replace the vital member of the family you have lost, we will commit to making certain the negligent parties are brought to account for their actions, and that the grieving family is given the full and fair compensation they deserve. We hope that if you have suffered this tragedy, you will find this article useful. If you have any questions regarding wrongful death litigation or if you want to discuss your case, then call us for a free consultation.

Wrongful Death Litigation
In the state of Texas, wrongful death cases are a commonplace occurrence and are an unfortunate fixture of the courts. The types of cases that fall under the umbrella of wrongful death cases are numerous and cover situations where negligence while on the job gets a fellow co-worker killed to automobile accidents to any number of situations where the negligent action or inaction of a person results in the death of another person. The Texas state legislature has created a legal system, therefore, whereby there are certain frameworks in place that help the bereaved families and surviving loved ones pursue legal action against the negligent party or the defendant. Wrongful death cases are very serious, however, and have far-reaching ramifications that place them in a whole different category of difficult litigation from personal injury cases. The compensation for a wrongful death case can be quite high and the added bad reputation that defendants get when a jury judges them guilty is something that anyone would want to absolutely avoid. Texas civil law, therefore, holds what is called tortfeasors, that is, the convicted guilty party, responsible for the damages and the injuries that result from their actions, forcing those tortfeasors to owe a financial responsibility to the family of such victims should a wrongful death occur and the defendant is proved guilty in court.

It is not so simple for the grieving family of the deceased, however, as under the law the family bears the burden of proof to show that the negligent party is in fact guilty of negligence and did cause the death of the victim through either action or inaction. The defendant must be proven in court to have been the proximate cause for the death of the victim, a standard, which requires much investigation and a strong case since, as we all know, the standard in US law is that any defendant is innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, if you have suffered the loss of a loved one in a wrongful death situation, then you bear the burden of proving in court that the defendant was negligent and was the proximate cause of the death of the victim. Once you have shown that the defendant is the proximate cause of the death, you must show a carefully quantified list of damages that you expect to be compensated by the defendant, showing your eligibility through a precise listing of all of your financial burden that has come as a part of this experience of losing a loved one, as well as a quantified listing showing your emotional trauma. There are two different kinds of damages that the plaintiff has the option to prove under Texas law: there are wrongful death damages and there are survival damages.

Wrongful Death Damages
The wrongful death damages include a wide range of financial and emotional losses that can be tallied and shown in court. There is a strongly subjective component to wrongful death damages in that some of the damages are intangible, as with any claim for compensation for suffering and emotional trauma. Wrongful death damages are based on the legal idea that the grieving family of the deceased deserves to get restitution for any emotional trauma, as well as for the actual loss of the deceased family member. These damages could include quantifiable losses for emotional and mental pain and suffering, loss of an integral member of the family unit, loss of potential future revenue based on the wages that the deceased brought in, as well as any other loss that can be shown to take place in the absence of the victim. The idea is that the defendant in taking the victim’s life impacted the whole family consortium and has taken something from them all. These damages can often be difficult to show in court as they carry a strong intangible component and require the careful strategy of a lawyer to build into an argument for the total loss that the grieving family of the loved one has suffered as a result of his or her death.

Survival Damages
Survival damages are a much more objective set of damages that are essentially inherited by one of the deceased victim’s family members and equal the total set of damages that the deceased might have claimed for himself or herself if he or she had not perished. This would include any claims that could be made as a part of a personal injury lawsuit involving trauma, hospital bills, severe emotional anguish, as well as lost wages during convalescence, loss of future work opportunities based on injury, and any additional loss of property or opportunity. Whoever is the rightful estate executor of the victim can claim the survival damages and pursue a lawsuit based on these in court.

The Trial, The Suit, and the Settlement
Despite what people commonly think about wrongful death lawsuits, most do not end up in court in front of a jury. In the greater majority of wrongful death cases, the settlement is decided before the trial period even begins. The lawyers for the defense and the lawyers for the plaintiff will undertake a lengthy and comprehensive investigation, each trying to bring to light the facts of the case, but where the council for the plaintiff is working to help bring full and just compensation to the family of the victim, the council for the defense will be working hard to prevent the settlement from taking place by discounting the plaintiff’s claim and showing that the defendant was not liable or that the damages claimed by the plaintiff are too high or false. The council for the defense will contact the insurance company for the individuals involved and you can be certain that the insurance company will send a team of insurance adjusters who have had years of denying claims to show how each part of the claim is somehow false or lacking in proof in order to prevent the plaintiff from achieving any sort of fair and just settlement. During this period, the council for the defense, should the defense retain the legal assistance of an experienced and competent lawyer with years of experience in wrongful death cases, will be conducting another investigation. This investigation will take into account all the evidence available from the initial accident, although much of it can be compromised by either time or the actions of individuals who hope to conceal their role in the wrongful death of another. The attorneys retained to help protect the rights of the family of the victim will build a case that relies on all aspects of the investigation, on evidence gathered from the scene, on interviews, and on police reports. Once both the council for the plaintiff has gathered their evidence and built a preliminary defense, the outline of a proposed settlement will be sent to the defense attorneys who will then review the proposal and based on their impression of the negative exposure they could suffer if the case goes to court weighed against the possibility of having to pay the amount demanded, they will decide to either accept the offer, and pay the settlement, reject the preliminary offer but leave open the option for a compromise, or reject the offer outright and go to court. Before this point in the whole proceeding, everything will have taken place outside the legal realm and in the offices of the lawyers, but at this point, the motions that have been filed will require the attorneys on both sides to accept that a court case will happen. At this point, the whole case will rest on the courtroom skills of the attorneys and the investigations they have built.

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I Have Suffered the Wrongful Death of a Loved One. What Is My Next Step?

The number one most important first step if you have suffered this tragedy is to avoid signing any document that admits liability or any document that agrees to a settlement in exchange for an agreement on your part not to sue the defendant. In many cases, the grieving family of a victim feels like it is important to get closure in the situation and will agree to settle and give up their rights to sue. The settlement will not take into account so much of the loss that the family of the victim has experienced and can often be fully detrimental to achieving any sort of financial balance after the tragedy.

The next step is to retain the services of a competent and capable and experienced attorney who has worked in wrongful death law before and who understands how fast evidence will disappear following an accident such as this. The witnesses will start to forget what happened and whether any malicious intent will compromise the actual scene of the accident. The attorney you retain will need to begin the investigation immediately and start building a strong case for your damages and for the necessary settlement. Remember, as soon as the accident happens, defense attorneys and insurance adjusters are going to be working against you every step of the way, trying to gather evidence showing that your loved one was liable for his or her own death, trying to get you to settle for something less, and trying to build a case disproving your financial needs as stated in your list of damages. If you have experienced a tragedy like this you need a fatal accident lawyer who knows the ropes and can help you get the settlement you deserve.

Here at our Law Office, the wrongful death attorneys have been working for 20 years to help the aggrieved families of fatal accident victims get compensation as well as the justice that they deserve for the loss they have suffered. We know the situations and have dealt with law offices and insurance companies all over the state and the nation. They know us too. Our experience and our reputation for success will convince some defendants to accept an out-of-court settlement demand from us, but if they do not, we are eager to stand up for your rights in court. We will build an investigation that will protect your rights to just and fair compensation. If you have lost a loved one to a fatal accident anywhere across the state of Texas, then don’t hesitate to get the justice you deserve and call us for a free consultation.

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Intentions of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Texas Attorney on Why You Should File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

A wrongful death lawsuit has two primary goals: to secure adequate financial compensation to the family of the deceased and to prevent future accidents by bringing about changes with the negligence parties.

Under Texas civil law, defendants who may not be held accountable under criminal law can be held fiscally responsible for deaths they caused under civil law, so a wrongful death lawsuit is often the only way to bring the parties who caused your loved one’s death to justice. The laws governing wrongful death often overlap and can be very complex, so you will likely need the assistance of an experienced wrongful death attorney to secure the compensation you seek.

The unexpected and sudden shock caused by the tragic death of a loved one in a fatal accident can be devastating no matter where it happens — on the road, at work, or on someone else’s property. While nothing compares to the emotional loss you have sustained, the financial distress caused by the death of a family member can also be tremendous. On top of figuring out how to live without the deceased family member, surviving loved ones must also try to determine whether or not the family has legal recourse for compensation and whether or not they need a Texas wrongful death attorney. The attorneys at our Law Office have been successfully litigating wrongful death claims all over the Lone Star State for 20 years, and we want to help you understand that recovering from the financial setbacks is one of the primary intentions of wrongful death lawsuits.

What are Damages in Wrongful Death Lawsuits?
The surviving family members in wrongful death lawsuits have the right to damages. From a legal perspective, damages do not refer to the harm done to the plaintiffs but to the financial value of that harm. The loved ones of the deceased in most wrongful death lawsuits may pursue two types of damages: wrongful death damages and survival damages.

Wrongful Death Damages
Only spouses, children, parents, and in rare cases dependent siblings may seek wrongful death damages in most car accident cases. Wrongful death damages may include:

The victim’s medical expenses prior to death
Funeral expenses
Loss of future monetary support the victim would have provided
Compensation for mental and emotional trauma and the loss of the unique familial love provided by the deceased

Texas wrongful death attorney
Survival Damages
With Survival damages, the closest living relative may pursue compensation for the damages the victim could have pursued had he or she only suffered injuries in the accident and not died. The line of ascension for survival damages goes from spouse to children to parents and finally to siblings. Examples of survival damages include:

Medical bills.
Property damage.
Lost wages during the hospital stay the victim would have had if he or she had survived and recovered.
Lost earning capacity due to possible long-term severe injuries.
The victim’s physical pain and suffering.
The victim’s emotional or mental distress he or she would have endured during the rehabilitation process if he or she had only been injured.

Varieties of Wrongful Death Lawsuits
Someone can die due to someone else’s negligence in a variety of ways — due to an accident involving a wide variety of vehicles: cars, trucks, buses, planes, trains, and motorcycles; then can be wrongfully killed at work in dangerous jobs like construction or relatively safe jobs like clerking in a bank, and they die while visiting a property whose owner negligently ignored a responsibility to provide for the safety of his or her patrons.

No matter how the wrongful death occurred, resolving a wrongful death lawsuit is seldom easy and usually requires the expert touch of an experienced attorney.

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Automobile Accident Obstacles

In car and truck accident wrongful death cases, people often lie about their degree of liability in order to avoid fiscal responsibility and possible criminal charges for their negligence. You need the help of an attorney skilled in investigating the scene of like accidents to determine the negligence of all responsible parties and be able to prove it in the court of law. In all forms of wrongful death lawsuits, the burden of proof falls on the plaintiff to establish the negligence of the liable parties. Our attorneys have mastered the art of investigation in the 20 years we’ve been handling cases, and we leave no stone unturned: sequestering and examining all vehicles involved, gathering forensic evidence, locating and questioning witnesses, and searching for video or photographic proof.

On-the-Job Wrongful Death Cases
When it comes to wrongful deaths in the workplace, you are even more in need of representation. Just knowing how to proceed with such a case can be complex since how a case is handled depends heavily on whether or not the employer purchased workers’ compensation insurance. The handling of an on-the-job wrongful death claim differs entirely whether the employer was a subscriber who bought workers’ comp insurance or a non-subscriber who didn’t. Just like with vehicular wrongful deaths, on-the-job wrongful death cases often involve trickery and deception in which some employers feign having workers’ compensation insurance when they don’t, and other employers deny that their employees are actually employees, calling them contractors to avoid liability. Only an experienced lawyer can see through all of the lies and protect your family’s right to compensation and the ability to seek justice against those responsible for your loved one’s death.

Premises Liability Wrongful Death Cases

If your loved one was killed while visiting a property owned by somebody else, then you may have a wrongful death lawsuit under premises liability. The owners of properties have the duty to provide for the safety of visitors to their property. However, different duties or owed to different types of visitors, so you need the guidance of a skilled wrongful death attorney to determine whether your loved one had a duty of safety denied to him or her by the owner of the property on which he or she was killed. You will need an attorney who can hold that liable party responsible for his or her negligence.

An Experienced Civil Lawyer Can Help Bring You Justice
During the course of the investigation to establish grounds for a civil lawsuit to resolve a wrongful death, our lawyers occasionally find evidence to suggest the death was due to an intentional act, and we are able to pursue criminal justice against the perpetrators. In most cases, however, the monetary damages we are able to secure go toward ensuring that the responsible parties will not commit their negligent acts again. In the end, the result of more wrongful death litigation is fewer wrongful deaths.

If you have lost a loved one due to any type of wrongful death, then call us today for a free consultation and find out how we can help. We will answer any questions you may have about the specific details of your case and help you start down the road to recovery.

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Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations
What is the Statute of Limitations for a Wrongful Death in Texas?

If you’ve had the unfortunate experience to lose a loved one in wrongful death, grieving the loss can take many months to many years. However, during this understandably difficult and emotional time, it’s in your best interests to contact competent legal help before the statute of limitations expires and you’re no longer able to seek just compensation for your loss.

Additionally, certain exceptions exist that can allow for an increase in the time allotted for wrongful death statute of limitations. To further assist you in understanding the statute of limitations for wrongful death cases, our Texas wrongful death attorneys explain what that means, as well as the multiple exceptions that might benefit your case.

What is the Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Cases?
The statute of limitations equals the time that you have as a possible plaintiff to bring legal action against a possible defendant. In wrongful death cases, the statute of limitations allows two years from the accident’s date for a victim to resolve a claim or file a wrongful death lawsuit. However, the following exceptions can apply to certain instances. Contacting our competent lawyers can help you understand if such exceptions might apply to your case.

The Plaintiff Cannot File Due to a Physical or Mental Incapacity
A mother and daughter might be involved in an auto accident caused by the negligence of a drunk driver where the daughter dies and the mother is in a coma for five years. The mother has the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit, but she was physically incapable of doing so within the two-year statute of limitations. This is an exception that can result in an extension, allowing the mother to bring a wrongful death suit against the responsible parties.

Unknown Accident Cause or Unknown Defendant
A man may unexpectedly die and his autopsy shows little as to the cause of his death. Many years later a certain experimental drug that he was taking is shown to have contributed to his death. Even if two years have passed, the victim’s family may still be entitled to present a wrongful death suit. This is known as the “discovery rule” in Texas law and means that if a plaintiff doesn’t know what caused a wrongful death or who perpetrated the crime, the statute of limitations does not begin until that information has come to light. This allows for just compensation to be made to a victim’s family if pertinent information regarding a victim’s death was not known at the time of their passing.

Fraudulent Defendants
Some defendants in wrongful death cases might attempt to lie about their involvement in the death for two years, hoping that they’ll never be found out during the statute of limitations. If this perpetrator is found to have been lying about their involvement and can also be held responsible for wrongful death, an extension can be granted allowing you to seek fair compensation for your loss.

The Plaintiff is a Minor
Minors that can be plaintiffs in a wrongful death case have until the age of twenty years old to bring a suit against a possible defendant. Essentially, their statute of limitations for bringing a case starts when they turn 18, giving them two years from that time to seek justice for their loss.

Sometimes it’s better that a parent or guardian brings a suit on behalf of a minor before that minor is of age to do so themselves. Plaintiffs in many wrongful death cases are served best by quick action after the accident has occurred. Evidence can be lost over time and witnesses might not be as valuable years in the future when the minor can bring their own lawsuit. If a parent or guardian brings a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a minor, a court-appointed ad litem third-party attorney will be assigned to the child to ensure that his or her best interests are being served by the lawsuit. If a lawsuit is not brought on behalf of a child while they are still a minor, that child retains the right to seek just compensation when they turn eighteen.

Unknown Date of Death
If a victim’s family is under the impression that their loved one has been missing for years, only to find out after two years or more that their loved one was in fact murdered, that family may be entitled to an extension. Since the victim’s family was not aware of their loved one’s death at the time it occurred, an extension may be granted so that the family can seek fair compensation.

Our Experienced Texas Wrongful Death Lawyers Can Help
Should you be in the position to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against a responsible party, it’s important that you act quickly and contact us to understand what your options might be. Wrongful death cases have a statute of limitations of two years. In instances like those described above, you may be able to extend that time.

Whatever the case may be, you should contact us as soon as possible after a wrongful death accident to allow us to help you understand which instance might fit your case. The competent Texas wrongful death lawyers at our Law Office have 20 years of experience in dealing with the intricacies of these kinds of cases. We’re here to help you in your time of need, and will seek to help you get fair compensation for your loss.

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Solvent Defendant: Though liability and damages are elemental in building a successful personal injury case, probably the most important is to have a financially solvent defendant. Without someone who can afford to pay your damages, it makes little sense to sue them in court. Financial solvency means they have the means to reimburse you for their negligent liability that caused the wrong you are now suffering. For example, if a driver accidentally crashes his car into you while swerving to avoid hitting a homeless person who was jaywalking, there is certainly provable liability and damages to your vehicle. But there is no way to sue the homeless person who caused the accident because he has no financial worth. Ans id the driver who hit you has no insurance, then you’re out of luck when it comes to collecting damages from those who caused the accident. It is unfortunate that some cases involving defendants without monetary resources will leave victims hurt and with no way to seek compensation for the damages suffered. You don’t like it but sometimes compensatory justice falls through the cracks of our legal system.
But such instances are more the exception than the rule which is why identifying solvent defendants is an area where an experienced attorney can be a great asset to you in getting the justice you deserve. While many defendants often attempt to shed their financial liability by claiming hardship and the lack of monetary means, many of them are simply trying to hide their true worth by stashing their money in separate, maybe even offshore, bank accounts, or closing all their accounts and hiding the cash in a safe deposit box, or falsifying their lack of insurance. We see many insurance falsifiers because some defendants are fearful that their carrier, having recently paid a claim or two, will drop them if they have to pay one more.

Regardless of what liable defendants do to prevent you from finding out their true worth, our experienced legal team won’t be denied from identifying, then recovering all possible monies that they may be trying to hide from you (and the court). An intensive asset check of all defendants is the most effective way to discover financial means that they try to hide. Luckily for our clients, many of these asset investigations turn up money that the defendant hoped we would never find, and often enough to pay your fair damage claim. Coupled with an equally stringent investigation of the events leading up to your accident, the asset check produces all the evidence necessary to bring your injury claim or case to a successful conclusion.

There Are Many Benefits of Having an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer On Your Side?
Most Texans commonly assume that state law will magically deliver to them equitable financial recovery for their injuries. This assumption, in and of itself, is actually false. Personal injury victims have the right to ask for financial recovery. But they must secure it for themselves. It’s never given to them outright.

Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Codes state only that personal injury victims in the case of an accident may seek out compensation. They must follow specific legal guidelines and accept the fact that the burden of proof is on them, the victims. In order to be compensated, they must convince the jury that the defendant’s decisions can be considered the proximate cause, or reason for the injuries that they sustained and by doing so, justify the amount of damages they ask the court (and the civil jury) to award them. Personal injury cases can get extremely touchy, especially if there are very large sums of defendant money (or defendant’s insurance money) at stake. It takes a special kind of attorney to be successful in this law environment. And until you hire an experienced injury lawyer, a host of less than knowledgeable friends and family are more than willing to give you “free legal advice” (which is rarely worth its no price tag value.)

You also might have a relative or friend who is a lawyer who wants to protect your best interests and represent you in a personal injury claim or lawsuit. And though we don’t want to stick our nose in your personal relationships, we must tell you that when it comes to legal representation of any type, it is certainly in your best interests to avoid retaining anyone who might have a difficult time emotionally disassociating him or herself from your case. Personal injury law can become quite passionate at times. And your attorney must be pragmatic, focus solely on the facts of a case and be cool under fire in order win your case, or successfully negotiate a just and fair settlement on your behalf. What happens if that friend or relative attorney doesn’t win the case, or accepts a less-than-fair settlement, and leaves even more money on the table due to that inexperience, or thinking more with their heart than their head? How will you feel about your friend or relative then? Very rare is the case where family members or friends belong in your legal business. And you would be wise to keep this in mind.

Knowing the Law is Only Half the Battle
One of the reasons why there’s a lot of “free legal advice” from people who think they know the law, is that many feel that all one needs to do in order to represent themselves effectively in a lawsuit is to simply have the knowledge. So they think all they have to do to be a good lawyer is to read the law. Well, contrary to what you might think, knowing the law itself is only about 25 percent of the equation that will lead to a successful personal injury case. Let us ask you this, if you know how to do the math, work a 10-key calculator, and are a whiz at using bookkeeping software, does this qualify you to be a CPA? Of course not. There’s more to success than just knowing the tools to use. Most legal triumphs are a result of experience, knowing how to execute the procedures, proving the damages properly, and establishing a strong tie between the defendant’s actions and the victim plaintiffs’ injuries. Most importantly, however, your lawyer must have the knick of being able to convince a jury in an injury liability case. This is how to win a personal injury trial. Knowing the law is one thing. Applying it is altogether different. When it comes to any profession, from CPA to personal injury lawyer, experience wins every time.

Now you might be able to read a law book (although you’ll quickly learn that such reading can get awfully boring to non-lawyers). You might even have pride in your ability at being a tenacious negotiator in life, and in your gift for “doing deals.” But when it comes to personal injury law, someone on your side must know how to apply the law by using the proper procedural methods. Without it, you’re a legal accident waiting to happen and you will be lucky if your lawsuit isn’t thrown out on some obscure technicality long before your day in court

Sadly, many people don’t call an attorney until they learn, often by the experience of botching their case, that their chances of winning have become extremely low. Those who are successful in their personal injury case will tell you that if you call us quickly, you have a much better chance of winning your damage claims and cases than if you call us as a last resort after too much time has passed. By first attempting to represent themselves, and handle the issue alone victims are often misled by the insurance companies they have been corresponding with. Insurance companies know how to shed injury claimants and entice them with low-ball compensation amounts. We are aware of many people who have settled, and then called us, too late, when they realize they’ve been fooled into thinking they won, when not only did they lose, they got slaughtered. And after you sign that release attached to that check, the defendant (and his insurance company) simply skate away, with big smiles on their faces after victimizing you. You only get one shot at fair compensation. An experienced personal injury attorney helps you make it your best shot.

Insurance companies and their defendants are motivated by only one thing, to settle with you, hopefully for pennies on the dollar. But if you are represented by lawyer who has a winning track record and commands their respect and fear, your settlement magically becomes dollar for dollar. Non-attorneys rarely, if ever, create fear in the minds of an insurance company, despite their empty threats. Insurance companies have many ways to defeat you and your inexperienced legal counsel.

Do you know how you would need to respond to a motion for summary judgment or how you’re supposed to answer interrogatories? Can you effectively take witnesses’ depositions that get to the bottom of the facts in your case? Can you investigate an accident scene? Can you follow the paper trail of defendants who try to hide their assets and appear insolvent so they can avoid paying damages? What recent rules of Texas personal injury law apply to your situation? What should you do if a countersuit is filed against you, which calls for quick and proper action to prevent your civil damage suit from being dismissed? These scenarios are only a sampling of the common obstacles to a personal injury liability lawsuit we see every day. And they’re the same challenges your, or your attorney’s inexperience can bring doom to your damage case long before it’s time to appear in court.

Call the Injury Lawyers at our Law Office to Help You
If you or someone you love has suffered from a personal injury, the injury lawyers at our Law Offices will assist you and bring to you the justice and fairest reimbursement you deserve. We have been fighting for our injury clients for over 20 years and won thousands of personal injury damage claims and cases. Like those we have won judgments for, we’ll do whatever it takes to help you, too

Put our years of experience to work for you. If you want to know what your rights are, how to proceed with your claim and how much compensation you can secure from your personal injury case, regardless of how it happened or who is liable, we can answer all of your questions. Call our Law Office now for a free consultation and find out how we can help you.

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What is a Personal Injury? What are my Rights in Texas? Am I Owed Compensation for my Injuries?

Everyone gets hurt from time-to-time, but what actually constitutes a personal injury? According to the state of Texas, any injury or harm done to a person’s body, mind or emotions represents a personal injury. The Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code provides this definition and serves as a basis for explaining the rights and legal options afforded a personal injury victim to seek financial compensation.

Have you suffered a personal injury in Texas? Do you want to know what your rights are? The Attorneys at our Law Office have compiled 20 years of experience trying personal injury cases, and we’re here to help you better understand your situation.

In most legal claims, personal injury occurs when one person is hurt due to the negligent behavior or indifference of another person. In Texas law, each individual has a responsibility to provide a minimum criterion of care for other people. When a person is injured due to someone else failing to maintain that standard of care, the injured party (plaintiff) can bring a lawsuit against the person (the defendant) whose actions or inaction caused the injury. When this occurs, the injured person cannot undo the injury, but he or she can seek monetary restitution for the harm done through a personal injury lawsuit.

You might think you know the law, but just knowing your rights does not prepare you to go to court and fight for them. You need an experienced lawyer who knows the tricks of the trade and how to build an effective strategy for getting you the compensation you deserve.

A plaintiff’s best course of action is to hire a seasoned personal injury lawyer to represent him or her in court or through the settlement process. An experienced lawyer knows how to make the defendant monetarily responsible for compensating the plaintiff for the complete extent of his or her injuries.

For example, Jon Doe is pulling off I-35 when a car on the access road fails to yield to his pickup truck coming off the interstate. The second driver clips the rear end of Mr. Doe’s truck and drives it into a guardrail. The force of the crash breaks Mr. Doe’s legs, but fortunately, he was wearing his seat belt, and the injuries are not life-threatening. He is rushed to the emergency room, but he must spend a week in the hospital, accumulating staggering medical expenses and then four months in double casts, making him unable to perform his job as a construction worker. Moreover, he has nightmares of the accident and is now uneasy about getting behind the wheel.

In this fictional example, the driver of the second car (the defendant) who failed to yield, clipping Mr. Doe’s truck, ignored his legal standard of responsible care by not operating his car in a way that was safe for the other drivers on the road. The defendant represents the proximate cause of the accident – he was 100 percent responsible for Mr. Doe’s injuries, and Mr. Doe is perfectly in his rights to seek monetary compensation.

Mr. Doe hires an experienced Texas attorney who sues for medical expenses and lost wages. Mr. Doe’s legs heal, but he develops nagging pain in his back that is so severe that he can no longer perform simple construction tasks. Since Mr. Doe can no longer continue his career, his lawyer can seek damages for Mr. Doe’s lost potential income for the rest of his life. Additionally, Mr. Doe’s lawyer can seek restitution for the lack of sleep, fear of driving, and general emotional pain and suffering that the other driver’s negligence has caused. The process to receive just compensation is complex. However, only an experienced lawyer can navigate all of the issues successfully.

Don’t Sign Anything
If your situation makes you feel like Mr. Doe, don’t worry. The first thing to remember is: don’t sign anything. The insurance company of the party that injured Mr. Doe does not want to justly compensate him. Insurance companies are in business to make money and not help people. They will send adjusters to talk to Mr. Doe immediately. They may even hire defensive attorneys to interview him in an attempt to prove that Mr. Doe was at fault for the incident. In most cases, they will even attempt to get Mr. Doe to sign away his legal rights to sue in return for a settlement. But what if Mr. Doe did not know at the time that he wasn’t going to be able to work? Any settlement he received immediately after the accident would grossly under-estimate the amount he was owed for lost future earnings.

For Mr. Doe, and you, if you have suffered a personal injury, the best course of action is to find an aggressive attorney as quickly as possible. The longer you wait, the harder your case is to prove.

Our team of seasoned and assertive attorneys can help you. For the past twenty years, we have helped people who have suffered personal injuries all over Texas. We will use our extensive knowledge of all facets of personal injury law to make the negligent parties pay justly. We have a proven record of success, and we know how to handle the most complex and intricate cases. Even something that appears run-of-the-mill like Mr. Doe’s case can spiral into a myriad of obscure legal principles.

At our Law Office, we know how to handle legal development in a personal injury case. If you have been injured by someone else’s negligence, make them pay. Call our personal injury lawyers for a free consultation as soon as possible.

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The Importance of a Solvent Defendant in Your Personal Injury Case
Getting the compensation you deserve after an injury requires more than just proving fault. This article explores why a defendant’s financial ability to pay (solvency) is crucial in a personal injury case.

Why Solvency Matters:

Compensation: A lawsuit aims to recover financial losses from the at-fault party. If the defendant lacks funds, a judgment may be uncollectible.
Example: A driver avoids a jaywalker but crashes into you. While the jaywalker caused the swerve, they likely have no money to compensate you.
Challenges of Identifying Solvent Defendants:

Hiding Assets: Defendants may try to appear insolvent by moving money or using offshore accounts.
False Insurance Claims: Fearing a higher premium, some defendants may falsely claim they lack insurance.
How a Lawyer Helps:

Asset Investigations: An experienced lawyer can uncover hidden assets to ensure you receive fair compensation.
Experience with Tactics: They understand how defendants try to hide solvency and know how to counter these tactics.
The Benefits of an Experienced Attorney:

Securing Evidence: Your lawyer can gather the necessary evidence to prove both liability and the defendant’s financial situation.
Negotiating Settlements: They can negotiate a fair settlement that reflects the full extent of your damages.
Fighting for You in Court: If necessary, your lawyer can present your case effectively in court.
Don’t Go It Alone:

Personal injury cases are complex. An experienced attorney can help you navigate the legal system and maximize your chances of a successful outcome.

Call Us Today for a Free Consultation

We understand the challenges you face after an injury. Contact our firm today to discuss your case and get the legal guidance you deserve.
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Your Duty to Mitigate Damages
Attorney Discusses A Victim’s Legal Duty to Mitigate Damages

Duty to mitigate damages may be a foreign phrase to you, but it’s an important concept to understand if you’ve been injured as a result of the negligent behavior of another person. When broken down into its parts, the phrase is easily understood. Duty means that a victim has a responsibility. Mitigate means to lessen. Damages, in the legal realm, refer to the financial losses that accompany an injury, such as medical bills or lost wages.

Together, a duty to mitigate damages means that an injured victim has a responsibility to lessen the amount of financial losses they sustain as a result of an injury. Such responsibility means that the victim must seek out proper medical attention within a reasonable amount of time after suffering an injury.

As an example of a victim failing to mitigate damages, consider Craig’s plight. Craig’s construction site co-worker accidentally cut Craig’s hand with a saw while the two were working to erect a new building. Craig did not think the injury to be serious, so he continued working. After a week, the injury had become noticeably worse, but Craig didn’t want to take time off from work. Another week passes and the hand has become discolored. Craig is in immense pain, so he finally sees a doctor, only to learn that the injury has become infected and he must endure an amputation. In such a dire instance, Craig would not be able to pursue legal action against a liable party for the full extent of his injuries since he did not take reasonable measures to seek medical help. In other words, he failed at his duty to mitigate damages.

The Notion of Reasonable Care in Regard to Mitigating Damages
Texas personal injury law does not require that a victim take unreasonable steps in the aftermath of sustaining an injury. For example, Craig would not have been required to seal himself off in a sterile room until his injury was healed as that would be considered an unreasonable effort. However, the law does state that reasonable steps must be taken by an injured victim in order to minimize the extent of their sustained injury.

Working to ensure that your injuries do not worsen is vitally important for two reasons: your health and your possible personal injury case. If you’ve been in any type of accident that may have resulted in an injury, it’s in your best interests to be checked out by a medical professional as soon as possible after the accident. Some injuries may not be readily apparent at an accident site, or even in the hours after an accident has occurred. Furthermore, some injuries can take weeks or months to develop. By getting checked out by a medical professional as soon as possible, you can work to ensure that a more serious condition does not develop in the future. Your health, after all, should never be risked by simply choosing not to seek proper medical attention.

Lawsuit attorney
Furthermore, should you desire to seek compensation for your injury from the parties responsible for causing it, you will have a legal duty to mitigate damages. If your injuries are allowed to progress to a poor state due to failure to seek medical attention, the amount of compensation you could receive from a liable party could be drastically reduced. If a jury is able to assess you with more than 50% liability for your injury, recovery of fair compensation may be completely denied. In these instances, a defense attorney is tasked with the burden of proof. In other words, this affirmative defense means that the defendant’s legal representation must be able to prove that you failed at your duty to mitigate damages. By seeking proper medical attention after an accident, such a claim cannot then be brought against you.

If you’ve suffered an injury due to the negligent behavior of another person or entity, be sure to seek medical help within a reasonable amount of time. Often, seeking medical attention as soon as possible is in your best interests. Should you have questions regarding your duty to mitigate damages so that your right to seek compensation is preserved, contact the attorneys at our Law Office today.

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Texas Statute of Limitations
What Is the Statute of Limitations in Texas?

In the State of Texas, there is a relatively small period of time following an incident whereby the plaintiff may file a suit or pursue other legal action against the defendant. The amount of time available is dependent on the type of case as well as several secondary factors. The deadline whereby the plaintiff loses the right to pursue legal action is known as the statute of limitations.

Generally speaking, the statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the incident. The statute of limitations applies to the following cases accordingly:

General Personal Injuries – 2 years from the date of injury;
Car Accidents — 2 years from the date of injury;
Work Accidents where Workers’ Comp is not present – 2 years from the date of injury;
Wrongful Death – 2 years from the date of death;
Product Liability Cases – 2 years;

An exception to the Statute of Limitations – Minor Child
The most common exception to the conventional statute of limitations is that of an injury sustained by a minor. Since minors are seen are not of age to make important legal decisions, The State of Texas extends the statute of limitations, regardless of the child’s age at the time of the accident, until 2 years from the date of the child’s 18th birthday. In other words, the countdown does not begin until the child becomes an adult.

For example, if a five-year-old child is injured in a car accident, they would not lose the right to pursue legal action until the date of their 20th birthday.

The same extension of the statute applies to the wrongful death benefits or claim that a child is entitled to following the death of a parent. For example, if a construction worker is killed on the job and he has a 19-year-old child and a 15-year-old child, the eldest has two years from the date of the incident to file a claim, while the younger of the two would have approximately five years to file a similar claim.

Other Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations
Lack of Common Knowledge
In some cases, the statute is said to begin on the date that a reasonable person would have become aware of the injury. A perfect example of this would be an asbestos exposure/ mesothelioma case. In most of these types of cases, the victim was exposed to asbestos years or decades prior to the discovery that such exposure results in the deadly disease mesothelioma. Most victims of mesothelioma would go many years before they were diagnosed as having this disease. The law provides a special exception and the statute is extended and starts to run, on the date that the victim is diagnosed with the disease, even though the actual exposure happened many years before.

Extenuating Circumstances
If there is some compelling force that renders the plaintiff incapable of pursuing legal action, the statute of limitations may be extended. For example, if the victim is in a coma for the normal period of the statute of limitations, they may be granted an extension because they were incapable of filing a lawsuit while they were unconscious.

Establishing a Reasonable Standard
The term “reasonable” is often used in the legal world. If there are extenuating circumstances that would keep a reasonable person from starting a legal case, the statute can be extended. In the example above, the mesothelioma victim was given a drastically extended statute of limitations because it is perfectly reasonable to assume that they were unaware they were infected. Had that person been diagnosed with mesothelioma and then waited for 3 years to contact an attorney, it would not be likely that the statute of limitations would be extended because it is not reasonable for a person to wait that long.

Furthermore, ignorance is not an excuse. For example, if an accident victim did not know that he or she could file a lawsuit, that would not be considered reasonable in the eyes of the law.

There’s Always a Catch
With most things that sound appealing in life, there is always a catch. The legal world is not immune from this phenomenon. Although you technically have two years before the statute of limitations expires, waiting until the end of that two-year period CAN RUIN YOUR CASE! The earlier a personal injury attorney gets involved in your case, the better the chances are of securing the maximum possible recovery. The longer you wait before you hire an attorney, the fewer options available to the attorney will become fewer and fewer and it will likely hurt the value of your case.

So why is that exactly?

Contrary to popular belief, a trial is usually a last resort. A trial is generally considered as the “silver bullet” to be used if other measures fail to result in a fair settlement. Ideally, your attorney will have plenty of time to fully investigate your claim and gain a thorough understanding of all of the facts and circumstances involved which they can use to determine the best course of action. When the attorney has such an abundance of time, they are able to build a strong case in your favor and they can use the threat of taking your case to trial against the defendant while attempting to use alternative methods of resolution. With any trial, there is a substantial amount of risk for both sides since the outcome is in the hands of the jury who are perfectly capable of making an irrational decision. To recap, the attorney will best be able to serve you if they have plenty of time to try alternative methods of resolution while using the threat of taking the case to trial as a motivator to keep the defendants interested in resolving the case.

By waiting until the end of the statute of limitations, you are putting the attorney in a position where they have no choice but to file a lawsuit and proceed toward a trial. It’s a bit like waiting until the last few minutes of the game to send in your star player.

What’s Happening While You Wait to Speak to an Attorney?

While you may be waiting to make a decision, the defense side is already forming a case against you. This is simply a normal operating procedure in the world of legal defense. Any time there is a potential for a lawsuit to be brought against them, an insurance company, or another defendant will start preemptively building a case against the plaintiff, even if the plaintiff has not indicated that they are going to file a claim or lawsuit.

In many instances, you will not be able to find an attorney that is interested in your case once too much time has passed. It is always a good idea to at least talk to an attorney and get a no-obligation consultation just to hear all of your options and make an educated decision prior to letting your statute run its course.

You’ve got nothing to lose by getting some free advice, and everything to lose by not doing so.

You are Probably Damaging Your Own Case
Additionally, most plaintiffs unknowingly say things to damage their case any time they speak with the defendants or their insurance adjusters or attorneys. The sooner you get an attorney involved, the sooner you will be insulated from the tricks and deceptive practices used by the defendants and their insurance adjusters.

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The Thin Skull Rule & Eggshell Skull Rule

The thin skull rule is invoked in personal injury cases in Texas when a person with a previously existing medical condition suffers an injury that results in greater harm to that person than if they had not had a preexisting condition. The thin skull rule, also known as the eggshell skull rule, holds that the liable party for such an injury is still liable for the full extent of a plaintiff’s injury, regardless of the defendant’s knowledge of the plaintiff’s preexisting condition. The simple phrase often used to convey the essence of the thin skull rule is “take them as they find them,” which means that a defendant must take a plaintiff as they find them.

The unique legal phrase for this rule comes from the notion that a person with a thin skull would suffer more severe injury than a person with a normal skull. It’s likely that a person causing injury to the victim would not be aware that the person had a thin skull. However, the eggshell skull rule exists so that a person’s previously existing medical condition cannot be used by a defendant in order to skirt any or all liability for the extent of the injury incurred by the victim.

Many people injured in car wrecks or through workplace accidents have contacted my office in the past, fearful that they have few legal rights to seek compensation for their injury because they’re aware of their susceptibility to injury due to a preexisting medical condition. However, the existence of the thin skull rule allows such individuals, who often experience a much greater amount of pain due to their existing medical condition compounding their injury, an avenue for legal recourse. Should you have sustained an injury due to another person’s or entity’s negligent behavior, which may have resulted in more severe injuries than normal due to a previously existing medical condition, consider contacting our personal injury lawyers. With twenty years of experience in helping injured victims just like you see fair compensation, the team at our Law Office will work with those responsible for your previous medical care so that we can show how an injury was exacerbated by your medical condition.

As you’ve likely incurred a greater amount of damages due to an injury compounded by your previous medical condition or susceptibility to injury, seeking compensation for such an injury is an important step to take in order to start the recovery process. In addition to seeking compensation for your injury, you will also be working to hold the negligent parties accountable for their behavior so that a similar accident does not have to befall another person.

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Vicarious Liability
The Texas Lawyers at our Law Office Explain the Concept of Vicarious Liability

While surprising to some, in certain instances a party can be held responsible for the negligence of others – a principle known as vicarious liability. The principle often comes into play in personal injury lawsuits.

Consider a traffic accident in which a delivery truck rams into a car, injuring the driver of the car. If the driver of the truck was at fault, not only can the trucker be held liable, but also the company that employed the trucker as well.

Most typically, vicarious liability affects traffic accidents involving commercial vehicles, but this principle can be brought into play in other types of accidents. For example, John Jones has been drinking heavily, and he asks to borrow his buddy Steve Smith’s car for the afternoon to run errands. Mr. Smith gives Mr. Jones the keys to his car despite the fact that Mr. Smith knows Mr. Jones may be legally drunk. Mr. Jones then gets into a drunken-driving accident and injures another party. Mr. Smith would be liable for giving his car keys to a drunken driver and subject to a lawsuit for vicarious liability called negligent entrustment.

Dealing with a case involving vicarious liability is an intricate undertaking that requires the expertise of a knowledgeable attorney. Separate claims must be filed for each defendant, and it takes experience to know how much damages should be assessed to each party responsible based upon their contributory negligence.

At our Law Office, our attorneys have 20 years of experience handling personal injury cases all over Texas, and our seasoned lawyers know how to handle cases involving more than one defendant. We will make sure that you and your family receive equitable restitution for the injury you have suffered. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, and you think vicarious liability might be involved, call our Law Offices today for a free consultation.

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Texas Law Firms
Searching for Texas Law Firms? Our Law Office Can Help You

Our Law Office helps injury victims, survivors of family members killed in an accident, and families of people who have incurred serious personal injuries. Our firm can help you wade through the legal process so that you can focus your energy on recovering from the accident and getting your life back on track.

With two decades of experience in handling personal injury cases, the lawyers with our Law Office have a reputation for successfully fighting for the rights of their clients and winning thousands of cases involving personal injury. There is a good chance we can help you as well.

Personal Injury Definition
The term “personal injury” means any kind of physical injury and the suffering that results, including mental trauma, that occurs because of the actions or inactions of another entity or person. The law in Texas states that the person who experiences a personal injury, otherwise known as the “plaintiff,” is eligible to try and obtain restitution from the party responsible for causing the injury, otherwise known as the “defendant.”

The Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code is the basis of Texas personal injury laws. However, it is imperative to note that, according to Texas personal injury law, defendants do not owe anything to plaintiffs. Plaintiffs are allowed, under the law, to seek fair restitution from the defendant in order to make the plaintiff whole after a personal injury has taken place. Personal injury laws in Texas do not require defendants to pay anything to plaintiffs; rather, plaintiffs have to initiate litigation, prove defendants were responsible, and prove the monetary amount of their damages in order to obtain compensation from the court. Typically, defendants are liable only for the damages they directly caused, and only to the extent the plaintiff suffered. Therefore, it is vital that the plaintiff prepare a case focused on proving not simply liability, but also damages and cause.

Can You File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Any person can sue any other person. In order for your case to have a chance to succeed, you have to prove four elements: Duty, Breach, Cause, and Damages. You must first prove that the defendant owed to you a legal duty of care. Then, you have to prove the defendant breached that duty – for example, by performing a certain action or failing to perform an action. Then you must prove the defendant’s breach of duty resulted in harm befalling you. Finally, you have to prove you were damaged – you must quantify those damages in a specific dollar amount.

The definition of “duty of care” that one person owes another person can vary depending on the situation. Drivers, for instance, are charged with the duty to drive their vehicles in such a fashion so that they do not cause an accident to occur. Careless or reckless driving that results in harm to another person is a breach of that duty not to harm another driver. The level of care varies according to the parties involved. Your doctor, for example, owes you a higher level of care than does your neighbor.

The Three Elements of Successful Personal Injury Litigation
There are three elements to a successful personal injury case: liability, damages, and a solvent defendant. The following is an explanation of these elements.

Liability
If a defendant violates a legal duty that is owed to the plaintiff, the defendant is said to be liable to that plaintiff, and therefore, the defendant is also liable for the damages incurred by the plaintiff. Typically, a defendant violates that duty through the commission of some negligent act. The term “negligence” is defined as conduct that is careless or reckless, and which leads to some kind of accident. A common form of negligence is inattention; however, defendants can also be guilty of committing an act of “gross negligence.” The standard of proof for gross negligence is significantly higher than standard negligence and usually means the defendant did something with the full knowledge that doing so will probably lead to some kind of harm. For instance, the act of driving while intoxicated is a grossly negligent act. There are other instances where a defendant will commit an intentional or willful act that will lead to liability. Both of these kinds of acts mean the deliberate infliction of harm on another person, e.g. assault. No matter what the level of the defendant’s conduct may be, however, the plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant acted negligently in some form or fashion in a manner that holds them liable for the injury suffered by the victim.

Damages
The term “damages” in the legal realm means the monetary amount of a loss suffered by the plaintiff as the result of the defendant’s gross negligence, negligence, or willful or intentional act. Damages have to be differentiated from injury. For example, if the defendant is guilty of breaking your arm, and you have to spend $5,000 at a hospital for treatment, the “injury” is the broken arm and the “damages” are $5,000.

However, it is often difficult to place a specific “price tag,” so to speak, on your personal injury damages. Therefore, damages are split into two categories: general damages and special damages. General damages are non-monetary in nature and are difficult to prove because they are subjective. Examples include loss of consortium, disfigurement, mental trauma, pain and suffering, and impairment. Because general damages are subjective, it is important you enlist the services of an experienced law firm to help you determine them. The attorneys with our Law Office have 20 years of experience identifying and proving general damages in a court of law. Legal laypeople or inexperienced law firms can have a very difficult time proving non-monetary damages. Our attorneys know how to gather proof, ask the right questions, and present the case to a judge or jury to present our clients in the best light possible. All situations are different, of course, but a seasoned and skilled lawyer can help a plaintiff formulate a proper, well-thought-out demand for general damages.

On the other hand, special (or economic) damages are typically verifiable and objective. Financial losses that occur as the result of a personal injury can be quite easy to determine. However, if an accident victim does not recover quickly from his or her injury, proving special damages, as well as calculating them, can be difficult. Should a plaintiff become partially disabled as a result of the injury, the calculation of lost wages can’t be done by simply multiplying the victim’s present income by the number of years he or she could have been expected to stay in the workforce. There are several other factors that have to be considered, such as probable raises in pay, the value of money over time, educational achievements, and inflation. Also, benefits such as retirement, dental, and medical have to be assigned a specific monetary value.

All damages have to be analyzed, developed, and accounted for in order for a personal injury lawsuit to be successful. Plaintiffs who choose to represent themselves in this kind of litigation often shortchange themselves, and as a result, defendants are able to get away with paying less than they should. Plaintiffs often fail to properly account for all components of their damages and demand payment for them. The personal injury attorneys at our law firm are very familiar with developing our clients’ cases so they can prove not just their tangible damages, but their subjective damages as well. Those damages include those that are incurred before the settlement and also those that will continue on an ongoing basis.

Solvent Defendant
The old saying, “you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip” is very appropriate when it comes to attempting to obtain compensation from a bankrupt or otherwise financially insolvent defendant. It doesn’t matter how willful or reckless a defendant’s actions may have been; if the defendant does not have the ability to pay, there is no way a plaintiff can get the fair restitution he or she deserves. There are some plaintiffs who will never get just compensation because the defendant will never be solvent.

This is one of the most vital ways in which a seasoned attorney can be of assistance to a personal injury plaintiff. There are some defendants who, in an effort to escape responsibility, will try and hide their assets. Our law firm knows how to uncover hidden assets. In fact, one of the things we do first upon being hired is to trace the defendant’s assets. By doing so, we can find hidden assets and work to keep that defendant from ever being able to hide assets again.

How a Lawyer Can Help You
There are a lot of people who have the mistaken assumption that the State of Texas has laws designed to protect their rights and provide them just restitution should they be hurt by another person or entity. This could not be farther from the truth, unfortunately. As stated before, Texas law, through the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code enables plaintiffs to try and obtain restitution for injuries caused by another. However, they have to prove all elements of their case if they are to win their case. You can’t just prove that you were injured because a defendant breached a duty of care; if you can’t prove the monetary amount of your damages, you will not win your case. On the other hand, if you can prove $5 million in damages, but you cannot prove that the defendant proximately caused those damages, you won’t win anything.

You might think that simply knowing the law as it pertains to your case will be enough for you to represent yourself and win the litigation. This is simply untrue. In order to have a chance at winning your case, you must develop the facts to support each and every one of the above-mentioned elements. You have to correctly follow court procedure. You have to prove causal links in your case. You have to present the facts in the most favorable light to yourself, and in the most negative light in regard to the defendant. You have to do all of this just to have a chance at winning.

There are some plaintiffs who wait too long before hiring a law firm, and as a result, the lawyer hired can’t help them as effectively as he or she may have had the plaintiff hired that lawyer sooner. Just because you’ve been hurt and suffered monetary damage, that doesn’t mean an insurance company and a defendant will, out of their sense of right, sign over a fat check to you. You’d be surprised how many plaintiffs actually believe this. Insurance companies are only concerned with one thing – protecting their bottom line. They are not interested in helping you recover both physically and financially from your accident. Insurance carriers will employ whatever means are possible in order to deny your claim or offer a ridiculous, insulting settlement offer that won’t even come close to covering your economic damages. And when a plaintiff chooses to represent himself or herself, the chances of winning special (or non-economic) damages from a defendant are practically zero.

When a plaintiff enlists the help of a seasoned law firm immediately following a personal injury takes place, he or she benefits greatly. Experienced law firms can take care of every piece of a personal injury case, and fight back any potentially underhanded tactics the defense may try and use. An effective attorney, for instance, can make sure an insurance company doctor conducts a thorough examination of a plaintiff, rather than simply concluding that the plaintiff isn’t injured. That attorney can also help by propounding and responding to discovery. You must get the help of a lawyer before you are faced with legal documents such as interrogatories or requests for admissions. Improper answers to these items can severely damage a plaintiff’s case. Many times, a plaintiff will answer these documents in regular English rather than legalese, and this can also hurt a case. It is imperative as well for a plaintiff to use the tools of discovery against defendants, phrasing requests in such a way as to, basically, force a defendant to answer questions, rather than using sly phrases and words that may sound impressive but fail to adequately answer questions or convey real content. There are several procedural devices such as counterclaims, cross-claims, summary judgments, motions to dismiss, motions to compel, and interlocutory appeals that can completely befuddle self-represented plaintiffs and lead to the case being thrown out.

Your Litigation is Extremely Important to Us

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