After a serious injury, you likely have many questions about your rights and what to do next. A personal injury lawyer can help you navigate the legal process and hold the at-fault party accountable. Contact a law office for a free case evaluation to discuss the details of your case and any questions you may have.
Here are answers to common questions about personal injury cases in Dallas.
What Is a Personal Injury?
A personal injury is a type of tort, a wrongful act that causes harm to someone else. Personal injuries usually happen when someone is hurt because of another person’s wrongdoing or carelessness. Under Texas personal injury law, someone can be held liable for damages they cause to someone else.
What Are the Most Common Types of Personal Injury Cases?
In Texas, there are three broad types of personal injury cases.
Negligent Tort
This means the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care and caused injury through careless or reckless behavior.
Common examples of negligence-based cases include:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Truck accidents
- Premises liability, such as slip and fall accidents
- Nursing home neglect
- Medical malpractice
Most personal injury claims are based on negligence.
Intentional Tort
This means the defendant intentionally acted to cause harm. Common examples are assault, battery, sexual assault, and false imprisonment.
Strict Liability Tort
Strict liability means someone can be held responsible for damages even if they were not negligent or intentionally causing harm.
Product liability is the main type of strict liability case. Manufacturers can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by product defects. Failure to warn, defective design, and defective manufacture are three types of defects that may give rise to a claim. Examples of product liability cases include dangerous drugs, defective tires, defective airbags, and defective children’s toys.
What Does It Cost To Hire a Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer?
Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. While the specific fee structure varies, a contingency fee agreement means you get legal representation without paying upfront attorneys’ fees.
Your lawyer is only paid if they win your case and recover money through a settlement or verdict. The attorney’s fee is taken out of your recovery as an agreed-upon percentage after medical liens and other expenses.
What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Do?
A personal injury lawyer helps you recover fair compensation by:
- Investigating your accident
- Gathering evidence to prove negligence and liability
- Negotiating with insurance companies
- Calculating your damages
- Working with experts
- Protecting your legal rights
- Defending you against tactics to undervalue your claim or shift the blame
- Providing legal guidance and helping you make informed decisions about your case
- Handling all communications and paperwork
- Taking your case before a jury if needed
Your attorney ensures your claim is valued fairly, advises you at every step, and fights for the full compensation you are owed.
How Long Do I Have To File a Personal Injury Lawsuit In Texas?
In Texas, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. There are a few exceptions to this statute of limitations, which is a hard deadline to pursue your right to financial compensation. If your case is not filed on time, it will be dismissed, and you will not be entitled to money from the at-fault party.
In some cases, the discovery rule may give you longer to file a claim if your injury is not immediately apparent. This often applies to medical malpractice claims.
Do not make assumptions about the deadline to pursue your case. It’s important to speak with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to protect your claim.
What Is Negligence?
Negligence means failing to act with reasonable care, which leads to harm.
To prove someone was negligent, you must prove all four elements:
- The other party owed you a duty of care,
- They breached that duty,
- The breach was the actual cause and proximate cause of your accident, and
- You suffered injuries
A personal injury lawyer can help gather and analyze evidence to help you establish that negligence occurred.
What Is Comparative Fault?
In Texas, a modified comparative fault rule is used in negligence-based tort claims. While you can still recover money if you share some fault in your accident, your damages are reduced accordingly.
However, this rule has a 51% bar. Injured plaintiffs may only recover money if they are assigned less than 51% of the fault. If you are found 51% or more at fault, you cannot recover any damages.
What Types Of Damages Can I Recover In a Dallas Personal Injury Case?
If someone else was responsible for your injuries, you are entitled to be made as whole as possible. You may be entitled to recover two broad types of damages in your case.
Economic damages are the financial losses you suffered, such as:
- Medical bills
- Future medical expenses you will incur
- Lost wages during your recovery
- Future lost earnings if you are disabled
- Property damage
- Reasonable and necessary out-of-pocket expenses
Non-economic damages are the personal and subjective losses related to your injuries without intrinsic economic value and may include:
- Physical pain
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Reduced quality of life
- Disfigurement
Spouses, and sometimes children, may be entitled to loss of consortium damages. These damages compensate for the loss of affection, companionship, support, assistance, and intimate relations after a loved one’s injury.
If your case goes before a jury, you may qualify for exemplary or punitive damages in rare cases. These damages are awarded to punish a defendant’s gross negligence, fraud, or malice.
How Much Is My Dallas Personal Injury Case Worth?
Every case is unique. How much you may recover depends on the unique circumstances of your case.
Important factors include:
- The type of injuries you sustained
- The severity of the injuries
- How your injuries affect your daily life and ability to work
- Whether you can return to your job or other type of employment
- The strength of evidence proving liability
- The circumstances of your accident and the defendant’s behavior
- Whether you contributed to your accident
- Insurance policy limits
If you suffered serious injuries, specialists may be necessary to calculate the value of diminished earning capacity and long-term medical needs.
Will I Need To Go To Court To Recover Compensation?
Your lawyer will make every effort to reach a fair settlement agreement outside of court. However, if the insurance company won’t offer a fair settlement, your lawyer may recommend going to court.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer
At Benton Accident & Injury Lawyers, we prepare every case as if it will go to trial to seek the best possible results.
If you or a loved one have been injured in Dallas and believe someone else was to blame, you may have a personal injury case. Benton Accident & Injury Lawyers is here to help you explore your legal options and take the next steps. Contact us at (214) 556-8321 for a free consultation with a Dallas personal injury lawyer to discuss your case and what we can do to help you.