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Any time you are injured, you should seek medical attention. After seeking medical help, you may want to consider seeking legal help as well. The high cost of medical bills and the intense amount of pain and suffering that you could experience from serious injuries might mean that you are short on funds after getting your injuries treated. Serious injuries might also keep you from work and prevent you from being able to support your family.
Luckily, when your injuries are caused by someone else’s negligent or intentional acts, that person can be held responsible for your injuries. That means that you might be able to go after the responsible parties and have them pay for your injuries by filing a personal injury lawsuit against them. If you are in the Houston area and you are looking for an experienced Houston personal injury attorney to help you with your injury claim, contact the Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797.
Types of Accidents and Injuries for Civil Lawsuits in Houston
Personal injury attorneys deal with a wide variety of cases, with a wide variety of defendants. Depending on how the accident happened and what your relationship with the at-fault party was, the case might turn out differently. In many injury cases, the circumstances allow you to sue not only the individual who directly caused the accident, but also their employer or the owner of the property where the accident happened.
Car Accidents
Injuries from car accidents are some of the most common injuries in the country. These kinds of accidents could even be deadly for drivers and passengers. Personal injury attorneys often take on car accident cases for victims whose insurance does not do enough to help them.
If the at-fault driver who hit you was violating traffic laws when the accident happened, you can likely hold them accountable for any injuries they caused. Car accidents from drunk driving, distracted driving, and tired driving are some of the most common serious accident cases our attorneys handle.
If you were injured in an accident involving a commercial driver, such as a taxi driver, an Uber or Lyft driver, a large truck driver, or a commercial delivery driver, you might be able to sue their employer. For taxis, buses, and trucks, the driver is usually hired by some company who could share liability as the driver’s employer. In Uber and Lyft cases, those rideshare companies might provide insurance that covers the damages in your accident case.
Slip and Fall
Cases where people are injured due to the negligence of store owners and homeowners who leave dangerous spills, uneven sidewalks, or patches of ice are common cases for personal injury attorneys. These kinds of accidents are some of the most common accidents out there, and victims could be injured in stores, at work, at the mall, or even walking through their neighbor’s yard.
Although people might think of a fall as something that is not that serious, slip and fall or trip and fall victims can actually face incredibly severe injuries. Falling on your back could cause serious back injuries that could cause lingering, long-lasting discomfort. Falling and hitting your head could even leave you with permanent injuries that affect your ability to talk, walk, think, and care for yourself.
Products Liability
Defective products can be extremely dangerous or even kill users. Whether an injury is caused by an unsafe product design or problems with how the specific product was manufactured, our Houston personal injury lawyer might be able to help with your case. Product manufacturers are often in the best place to test their products and check for quality control, so releasing an unsafe product onto the market is often held against the manufacturer.
Dangerous products that cause serious injuries could include household appliances like immersion blenders and kitchen mandolins, power tools like saws and drills, or even electronics and personal items like cell phones and children’s toys. Some auto parts, lithium-ion batteries, and other items also have had unsafe designs that led to personal injury cases for users.
Workplace Injuries
It is extremely frustrating to go to work every day trying to get paid and instead suffer an injury that keeps you from going back to work and making a living wage. That injury is especially frustrating if it happened through no fault of your own. Personal injury attorneys can help you not only get reimbursed for medical bills, but also continue getting you wages while you recover from work-related injuries.
Texas’ workers’ compensation system is optional, and workers who opt out of this system preserve their right to sue their employer for injuries and illnesses acquired at work. This helps victims get full compensation, including damages for pain and suffering, which workers’ comp. might not pay.
Wrongful Death
No amount of money can replace a lost loved one. Even so, personal injury attorneys can help those who have lost a parent, spouse, child, or other close family member to an accident. A wrongful death lawsuit can help cover funeral and burial expenses, lost income, lost household services, lost companionship, and other damages.
Especially where a lost loved one was the primary provider for a family, having an attorney on your side can help keep your family going after the loss. It can be difficult to move forward after a loss, but seeking justice and financial compensation can help enable your family to keep going.
Oil Worker Injuries
Workers on oil rigs, crew on oil ships and oil barges, and workers at on-shore oil drilling sites, oil pipelines, and oil refineries could face serious injuries at work. Victims of workplace injuries can often sue in Texas, and victims of offshore injuries in the oil industry are often able to sue for injuries under maritime law.
Our attorneys represent victims of oil refinery explosions, pipeline explosions, platform fires, and other injuries that occur in their industry. Many of these accidents are catastrophic and cause multiple fatalities, but others involve common workplace injuries from lifting, falling from heights, or being injured by machinery. Talk to a lawyer about getting compensation for your loved one injured or killed while working in the oil industry.
Medical Malpractice
Patients expect that their doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals will help diagnose and treat their condition with expert skill. When doctors fail to diagnose conditions or commit mistakes during surgery, victims can face worsened conditions, a lost chance at recovery, and additional injuries.
Our attorneys represent victims of these kinds of medical malpractice claims and fight to get them compensation for their injuries. These cases often lead to sophisticated lawsuits involving expert testimony about what the doctor should have done differently as well as complex medical issues. Our attorneys are prepared to handle these kinds of complex cases for our clients, fighting to get them compensation for their injuries and worsened conditions.
Damages for a Personal Injury Case in Houston, TX
Whenever you have been injured by the negligence or intentional actions of another, you should be able to recover financially for any harm that they caused. That means not only for the pain and suffering of your injuries, but also for medical bills and lost wages from missed work.
Damages for pain and suffering can compensate you for the physical pain and discomfort you face as well as the mental anguish and distress the injury caused you. The damages you can seek for medical bills can cover the cost of any treatment you needed to deal with your physical injuries including ongoing physical therapy or rehabilitation. You can also seek compensation for mental health treatment in many cases involving depression or post-traumatic stress symptoms after an injury. Damages for lost wages can also be essential to helping you move forward, and they are sometimes necessary to cover ongoing lost wages or reduced earning capacity after permanent injuries.
There are also rare circumstances where especially bad actions can be punished by awarding victims extra “punitive” damages. These damages are common in cases where a company or other wealthy entity was responsible for especially negligent conduct or a pattern of negligence that led to serious injuries.
In Texas, unless the case is filed against a doctor or hospital, there is usually no limit to how much money can be awarded for damages. That means that a jury is able to award whatever amount they see fair, without any legal caps. Your attorney will be able to put forth your claim with their calculation of the damages you deserve, and then the jury will reflect on the facts presented at trial before coming to a final award value.
Settlements and Awards for Damages in Houston Personal Injury Cases
Most personal injury lawsuits throughout the country are ultimately settled before going in front of a jury. This means that there is often an agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant where the defendant agrees to pay certain damages in exchange for having the case against them dropped. This can save both sides the time and expense of going to trial and help get the victim’s needs paid for more quickly.
It is vital to always discuss a settlement offer with your attorney before accepting any money. Once you accept a settlement, it usually ends the case and makes you unable to go back to court and seek additional damages. This means that if you accept a low settlement from the defendant, you might be stuck with that amount. A lawyer can represent you through negotiations with the at-fault party and work to protect you from any offers that are too low or fail to cover your needs.
Large companies and businesses will usually try to offer low settlements to end cases against them quickly rather than giving them the time and attention the case deserves. Insurance companies will also do the same, many times looking to protect profits over injury victims. It is vital to remember that, even if you are dealing with your own insurance company, the attorneys and representatives from these companies might not represent your best interests. Your lawyer, on the other hand, has an ethical obligation to look after your best interests and help protect you and your rights.
If a fair settlement cannot be reached, you can still choose to fight your case at trial. Your attorney can help you with important decisions like this, but it is ultimately your choice whether to accept a settlement or press the case in court. We can help explain the options and give you the tools you need to decide how to proceed with your personal injury case.
Call Our Houston Personal Injury Attorney for a Free Case Consultation
If you or a loved one has been injured by someone else’s negligence or bad actions, we may be able to help. Our Houston personal injury lawyers represent victims and their families, and we work tirelessly to help you get the compensation you need from the at-fault parties. Whether you were injured in a car crash, a slip and fall, a workplace accident, or some other type of accident, our attorneys might be able to help you get compensation for your injuries. If you are looking for a personal injury lawyer in the Houston, Texas area, contact the Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797 to set up a free legal consultation with our lawyers.