Car accidents happen every day in Austin, TX. Indeed, a car accident is probably occurring somewhere, even as you read these words. Many of these accidents result in serious injuries. In some cases, the person who suffers the injury is not the person who caused the accident. It is situations like these that trigger personal injury claims.
Money cannot undo what has already been done. If you or your loved one has suffered a serious injury in a car accident in Austin, Texas, you have our deepest sympathies. What can be done, however, is to ensure that you receive fair compensation for your suffering. Our Austin car accident attorneys are here to do just that.
Contact George Salinas Injury Lawyers at (210) 225-0909 to schedule a free consultation with our Austin car accident lawyers today.
How Our Austin Car Accident Attorneys Can Help You Receive Fair Compensation
Winning a car accident claim can take time, energy, resources, and specialized legal knowledge. At George Salinas Injury Lawyers, our Austin car accident attorneys apply over a century of combined experience to resolve our clients’ car accident claims. All told we have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients.
Our Austin personal injury lawyers can perform the following actions:
- Investigate the scene of the accident. We can revisit the accident scene to gather evidence, take photographs, and speak with witnesses.
- Review the police report. We can scrutinize the police report for inaccuracies or omissions that might affect your claim.
- Pursue a dram shop claim. In a DUI accident case, we can file a claim against a bar or nightclub that overserved the defendant prior to the accident.
- Access surveillance footage. Witnesses or nearby businesses or traffic cameras might have filmed the accident.
- Hire accident reconstruction specialists. This helps form a clearer picture of exactly how the accident happened.
- Negotiate with insurance companies. We can fight for fair compensation on your behalf.
- Examine your medical records. This allows us to understand the long-term impact of your injuries.
- Assess vehicle damage. We can assess vehicle damage to determine the severity of the collision.
- File an uninsured motorist claim. If the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured, or if the driver fled the accident scene.
- Elicit expert testimony. We can bring in medical, economic, and automotive experts to provide testimony that supports your claim.
Our Austin car accident attorneys can devise an effective case strategy to help you recover the compensation you deserve after an Austin, TX collision.
Do I Need a Lawyer for My Car Accident Claim?
A car accident lawyer can help if you are injured or if your claim is sizable. If you’re not sure whether your claim is complex or large enough to benefit from the services of a lawyer, schedule a free initial consultation with us to find out. Hiring a car accident lawyer can help make this process easier for you and your family.
Will My Lawyer Charge Me By the Hour?
No. Personal injury lawyers don’t charge by the hour; they charge on a contingency basis. That means your lawyer will take a certain percentage of your settlement as legal fees (30% to 40% is typical). If you lose your case, you will not be required to pay the attorney’s fees. Your lawyer may also pay all case expenses and deduct them from your settlement if you win.
How Does Texas Car Accident Insurance Work?
Texas requires all motorists registered in-state to carry at least the following amount of auto insurance:
- $30,000 per victim for physical injury;
- $60,000 per accident for physical injury; and
- $25,000 per accident for property damage.
Fewer than one in ten Texas drivers are uninsured–one of the lowest rates in the nation.
Does Texas Apply Comparative Negligence?
Yes, Texas applies modified comparative negligence. In Texas, you can recover compensation if you were also partially at fault for the accident. However, if you are 50% or less at fault for an accident, you will lose that exact percentage of your damages. If you are more than 50% at fault, however, you will lose all of your damages.
What are the Elements of Negligence, and How Do They Apply to Car Accident Claims?
You can break down a negligence claim into the following five different elements:
- Duty of care: A driver owes everyone else on the road a duty of ordinary care. A driver must obey traffic laws, for example, and not follow other cars too closely, etc.
- Breach of duty: To breach a duty of care means to fail to meet its demands. A driver might breach their duty of care by running a red light, for example, or by weaving out of their traffic lane.
- Cause-in-fact: The defendant’s negligence caused your damages. You might prove, for example, that you would not have broken your leg if the defendant had not run a red light.
- Proximate cause: Given the defendant’s negligence, your injuries were foreseeable to a reasonable person. Proximate cause is not present if your injuries were the result of a freak accident that no reasonable person could have foreseen.
- Damages: You must prove that you suffered harm. You can also seek damages for property damage, emotional harm, physical injuries, and more.
You must prove every element to establish negligence and win a car accident claim.
Do I Need to Prove Liability “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt”?
No. “Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” is the standard that criminal courts use. The prosecution needs to meet that standard, for example, to convict someone of DUI. To win a personal injury claim, all you need to prove is liability by a “preponderance of the evidence.” This is enough evidence to convince a reasonable person that it’s more likely than not that the defendant is liable.
Can I Seek Damages for Emotional Distress?
Yes, you can seek damages for emotional distress. You can also seek damages for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and many other non-economic damages. Non-economic damages typically add up to well more than half of the total value of a personal injury claim.
Can I Seek Punitive Damages?
You can seek punitive damages in Texas if (and only if) you can prove by “clear and convincing evidence” that the defendant acted with gross negligence, malice, or fraud. Clear and convincing evidence” is a standard that is more difficult to meet than “a preponderance of the evidence” but easier to meet than “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
What Kind of Evidence Should I Be Seeking?
The following are the kinds of evidence that could help you prove your Austin car accident case:
- Police reports
- Witness statements
- Medical records
- Photographs of the accident scene
- Surveillance or CCTV footage
- Cell phone records (to prove texting while driving, for example).
- Event data recorder (EDR) data from the at-fault driver’s vehicle to gather Information on speed, braking, and other information
- Expert testimony from accident reconstruction experts or medical professionals
- Vehicle damage reports
- Weather and road condition reports
- Traffic citations or violations from the at-fault driver
- Your employment and wage records to prove lost earnings
- Your personal journal that describes the impact of the accident on your daily life.
- Dashcam footage
- Social media posts by other parties
Even evidence that might be inadmissible in court (a police report, for example) might be helpful in settlement negotiations.
What Should I Do if Someone Died in a Car Accident?
If someone dies from a personal injury, the surviving spouse, children, and parents can file a wrongful death claim. If they don’t do so within three months of the victim’s death, the victim’s estate executor can file the claim.
Schedule a Free Initial Case Consultation With Our Austin Car Accident Attorneys
You might be uncertain about the true value of your Austin, TX, car accident claim or your chances of winning. Many personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This means we don’t get paid unless we win compensation for you. Therefore, if a personal injury lawyer offers to take your case on a contingency fee basis, your claim is believed to be strong.
Please contact our Austin car accident attorneys at George Salinas Injury Lawyers for a free case review.
