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Villarreal & Begum Last Updated Date: June 3rd, 2021

Understanding Personal Injury Claims

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Being the victim of an accident resulting in personal injuries can cause devastating consequences for you and your family.  You may become overwhelmed with the emotional life-altering challenges of hospitalization. This coupled with the cost of medical bills can be devastating and not being able to work resulting in loss of income. Recovering from an unforeseen traumatic experience involving personal injuries can be a strenuous process, and you may be entitled to compensation. Although an injury caused by someone else’s negligence is something no one should endure; understanding the legal process can be helpful to provide you and your family some ease during the difficult recovery period.  Each case differs, and while the following steps are quite standard, they are not absolute.

First Things First

First and foremost, it is essential that you seek treatment from a doctor, or hospital, to treat your injuries.  Your health and well-being should always be a priority. Be sure to tell the doctors and nurses the location and intensity of your pain for documentation.  If you do not seek medical treatment after an accident, there will be no record of your injuries and the pain you are feeling, and the insurance adjusters will assume you were not hurt at all or not hurt enough to seek immediate treatment.  Also, attorneys who work for the insurance companies are not your friends.  Insurance adjusters and lawyers will try whatever they can to prove you were not hurt and did not endure pain or suffering.  Without proper documentation of the injuries, the legal case will not advance past the summary judgment stage.

Hiring a Lawyer

It is not uncommon for victims of accidents to settle their injury claims themselves. However, seeking the professional opinion of a Texas Personal Injury Lawyer could make a significant difference in the amount of compensation you receive for your pain and suffering. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters and insurance hired attorneys do not work with the injured persons best interest at heart. Their loyalty is to the insurance company. Usually, a victim of an accident is forced to stay home to rest and heal, travel to and from doctor’s appointments for treatment, tests,or physical therapy, it forces the victim and even their spouses to be out-of-work for an unpredicted amount of time.

Those medical bills can very quickly calculate to a few thousand dollars and not being able to work to generate income will become straining.  For these reasons, it is highly recommended to consult with a Texas Personal Injury Lawyer, especially with one, who has the means to ensure you receive all the help you need.

Once you have decided that you need a Personal Injury Attorney, you should choose one that you believe has your best interest at heart. Additionally, seek an attorney that has the experience and support staff that will take time to process your claim, investigate the accident, make sure you are getting the proper medical treatment and accurately review all documentation, including medical records.  You will need to provide your lawyer with all the information you know about the accident. The lawyer will need to know of any communication you have with the other party; especially if they admitted fault or wrongdoing.

First Things First

First and foremost, it is essential that you seek treatment from a doctor, or hospital, to treat your injuries.  Your health and well-being should always be a priority. Be sure to tell the doctors and nurses the location and intensity of your pain for documentation.  If you do not seek medical treatment after an accident, there will be no record of your injuries and the pain you are feeling, and the insurance adjusters will assume you were not hurt at all or not hurt enough to seek immediate treatment.  Also, attorneys who work for the insurance companies are not your friends.  Insurance adjusters and lawyers will try whatever they can to prove you were not hurt and did not endure pain or suffering.  Without proper documentation of the injuries, the legal case will not advance past the summary judgment stage.

Hiring a Lawyer

It is not uncommon for victims of accidents to settle their injury claims themselves. However, seeking the professional opinion of a Texas Personal Injury Lawyer could make a significant difference in the amount of compensation you receive for your pain and suffering. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters and attorneys do not work with the client’s best interest at heart. Their loyalty is to the insurance company. Usually, a victim of an accident is forced to stay home to rest and heal, travel to and from doctor’s appointments for treatment, tests, or physical therapy, it forces the victim and even their spouses to be out of work for an unpredicted amount of time.

Those medical bills can very quickly calculate to a few thousand dollars and not being able to work to generate income will become straining.  For these reasons, it is highly recommended to consult with a Texas Personal Injury Lawyer, especially with one, who has the means to ensure you receive all the help you need.

Once you have decided that you need a Personal Injury Attorney, you should choose one that has you believe has your best interest at heart. Additionally, seek an attorney that has the experience and support staff that will take time to process your claim, investigate the accident, make sure you are getting the proper medical treatment and accurately review all documentation, including medical records.  You will need to provide your lawyer with all the information you know about the accident. The lawyer will need to know of any communication you have with the other party; especially if they admitted fault or wrongdoing.

Documentation

Pertinent documents will be collected and reviewed by the lawyer and the legal staff to determine the possibility to pursue a successful claim. Meanwhile, your medical treatment must continue, so that your doctors can document your treatment and level of pain. At the same time, the lawyer will keep reviewing documents in hopes of a successful claim. However, there are a few cases where the attorney determines that there is no viable case, and the law firm cannot successfully pursue the claim. If this is the case, the lawyer will inform you immediately and will explain the reasoning supporting the decision.

Below you can find a few reasons for a case rejection.

  • Lack of medical treatment
  • Conflict of interest
  • Lack of evidence of negligence
  • The time to file a claim has expired (statute of limitations)
  • Lack of insurance on behalf of the at-fault driver or negligent party

Liability

Establishing liability will help the lawyer strategize a plan for your case. The recovery process after an accident can be long and strenuous, however, continuing medical treatment should be the top priority. It might seem that your medical treatment is stalling your legal process. However, this is all necessary to reach maximum medical improvement before filing a lawsuit. Reaching MMI will allow the lawyer to determine the monetary worth of your case. The Statute of Limitations means that you have a certain amount of time to file a lawsuit that starts running at the time of the accident. For example, a Texas personal injury attorney has only two years to file a lawsuit from the date of the incident.

The lawyer will file the lawsuit, and the case will become a case in litigation. This initiates the discovery process. All of the evidentiary documents will be produced to the Court and presented to the Judge. During this process, you will participate in a deposition, where you will detail your pain and suffering life following the accident. The next step is for your lawyer to set your case for a settlement conference, which is also referred to as mediation. The attorney will attempt to reach a settlement that is agreeable and fair. Otherwise, the attorney will continue to prepare your case for a jury trial. During the trial, your Texas Lawyer will present your evidence and do everything in their power to represent you professionally and thoroughly.

The Texas Law Guns.

Have you or a loved one been in a serious car crash and suffered injuries? If so, you should contact an experienced Personal Injury attorney. Villarreal and Begum is a local San Antonio firm that will fight to get you the compensation that you deserve. We serve clients all across Texas with offices in San Antonio, McAllen, and Laredo. We are available day and night to take your calls. Call or contact us via our website. The Law Guns will fight for you.