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Car accident injuries can range from minor and moderate injuries like scrapes and broken bones to severe and life-altering injuries like spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or amputations. Our lawyers can help with all sorts of car accident cases, working to get injury victims damages to cover medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.
If you were hurt in a crash, you could be entitled to compensation from the at-fault driver, and potentially other connected parties. For help determining who you should sue and what damages you are entitled to, you should work with our attorneys.
Call (817) 476-1797 for a free case review with The Queenan Law Firm’s car accident lawyers today.
Determining At-Fault Parties in Car Accident Cases in Temple, TX
Usually, the person you are going to bring your case against is the other driver in your crash. If you were a passenger, then you might have a case against both drivers – and they can often fight among themselves to determine which of them was what percentage at fault. In some cases, however, there may be other third parties our car accident lawyers can sue as well.
Single Driver Fault
When we need to prove that the other driver hit you and the crash was their fault, we can often do so by showing they violated a traffic law. If they were speeding, driving under the influence, texting and driving, tailgating, or otherwise breaking the law, then we can show that that violation caused the crash and makes the crash their fault.
Even without an explicit traffic violation, we can often show that drivers are at fault if their actions were unreasonable in the given situation. Instead of using a traffic law as our objective standard that needs to be followed, we use the standard of what a “reasonable driver of ordinary prudence” would do in that situation. This means keeping your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, etc. Anything unreasonable or outright dangerous that is not explicitly a traffic violation can still violate this standard.
Fault for Multiple Drivers
In crashes involving multiple cars or where you were a passenger instead of a driver, you can often blame multiple drivers for the accident. Texas law allows us to assign partial fault to each driver, based on a percentage of their contribution to causing the crash. Then, we can claim that percentage of damages from each driver.
In some cases, you may be able to blame multiple drivers who collectively caused the crash, and the court can order them to pay you. Then, they can go back and sue each other for “contribution,” meaning that you get paid first and foremost before the court has to bother determining which of them pays which percentage.
The other drivers can also accuse you of partial fault, and this will reduce your overall damages by your percentage of fault. For example, if you were 10% at fault for $100,000 worth of damages, you lose $10,000, but the other drivers still cover the other $90,000. You are, however, blocked from recovery if your fault is over 50%.
Other Responsible Parties
Sometimes other parties come into play in car accident cases, too. In many cases, they will share a portion of the responsibility, but some circumstances might make them at fault instead of other parties.
Mechanics and auto part manufacturers can often be held accountable if their work caused a crash. For example, if a mechanic negligently reassembled part of the car or an auto manufacturer put a defective part in the car, then they would potentially be at fault for causing the crash, not the driver – who might have been totally unaware of this issue.
In cases involving commercial drivers, employers can be held liable in place of the driver under a principle called “respondeat superior” as long as the negligence occurred in the course of the driver’s work duties. Additionally, these transportation companies and trucking companies might own the vehicles and might be responsible for hiring and firing drivers. This could make them liable in their own right if the vehicle had mechanical problems they did not fix, if the driver should never have been hired because of a dangerous driving history, or if the company should have fired a dangerous driver after previous incidents.
What Is My Car Accident Case Worth in Temple, TX?
Putting an accurate value on your case is often difficult without examining the specific facts of your case. However, we can still give you an idea of what your case could be worth based on the list of damages you can often claim in your car accident case:
Medical Expenses
Any bills for medical care, ambulance rides, physical therapy, and even mental health care can be claimed as damages if they were caused by the crash. This means going to the hospital for emergency treatment after a crash should all be covered, as should seeing a psychiatrist for PTSD symptoms or a physiotherapist to recover range of motion after an injury.
Lost Earnings
Any money you miss out on earning because of your crash should be claimed as damages, too. This can include missed work while you went to the hospital and spent a few days recovering at home. It can also include work you will miss going forward if you have a long road to rehabilitation or if you can no longer work at full capacity after your injury. If your wages went down while you were on light-duty work, if you had to take a less demanding job, or if you can never work again, all of these result in damages you can claim going forward.
Other Economic Damages
Any other costs and expenses, such as vehicle repairs or childcare during your treatment, can also be claimed if your crash caused it.
Pain and Suffering
On top of these damages, you face a lot of negative feelings and emotions, mental anguish, and physical pain after serious injuries. You can also claim damages for these harms, even though there is no price tag on these “non-economic damages.”
Call Our Temple, TX Car Accident Lawyers Today
If you were hurt in an accident, call The Queenan Law Firm’s experienced car accident attorneys at (817) 476-1797 for a free case evaluation.