Guide to Finding Texas Accident Lawyer

What is a Texas Accident Lawyer?

A Texas accident lawyer is qualified to provide legal advice for most if not all types of personal injuries. Personal injury law falls into tort law, and there are two very important categories within tort law: negligence and liability. The compensation received by a victim is dependent upon the degree of negligence of a second party. Additionally, the degree of liability determines how much compensation a victim can receive in the state of TX as well. There are various forms of negligence, multiple types of liability, and many types of person injury.

If you believe you are entitled to compensation for any type of personal injury, it is important you hire a Texas accident lawyer immediately. The state of Texas has specific laws that apply to personal injury, and these types of cases are not always easily won. A TX accident lawyer has the ability to influence a judge to award compensation no matter what type of injury you sustain.

TX Accident Lawyer : What can a resident of Texas receive compensation for?

A resident of Texas can receive compensation for virtually any type of accident. Additionally, a person in TX can receive compensation for various types of injuries and expenses tangibly and intangibly associated with the specific type of injury. An individual may receive compensation for the following expenses:

• medical expenses

• court costs

• attorney fees

• property damage

• lost wages

• emotional distress after the initial injury

• permanent disability and/or disfigurement

In addition to the types of compensation listed above, a plaintiff can receive additional compensation if the injury was sustained through a malicious and intentional act of violence. The victim of such a crime can receive compensation for the injuries as well as punitive damages which punish the defendant and deter them from initiating similar actions in the future.

TX Accident Lawyer : What is negligence under Texas Law?

There are several types of negligence under TX law. The first type of negligence was slightly mentioned above. If a person is completely negligent toward the safety of another person and intentional hurts them, the defendant can be charged with an intentional tort. Other types of intentional torts include false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, and trespassing.

Apart from intentional negligence, the other type of negligence under Texas law results in a defendant failing to take proper action in stopping a dangerous situation or injury. In order for a plaintiff to prove negligence, they must prove the following conditions:

1) Duty and Breach- this means that a person or employer has a moral duty to act carefully and provide proper safety. This moral duty is often referred to as the “reasonable person standard,” and the standard applies differently to people of different ages and professions. In order to prove negligence, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant acted carelessly and disregarded the plaintiff’s safety.

2) Proximate Cause- this condition means that a person’s action caused the plaintiff’s injury in a direct fashion and not indirectly. If a plaintiff cannot prove the defendant’s actions directly caused injuries, it is often hard to prove negligence.

3) Damages- In order for a plaintiff to win a personal injury case because of negligence, they must prove that they need compensation for the damages they have received. If the plaintiff is entitled to punitive damages as well, the state of Texas puts limits on these types of compensation. A plaintiff cannot receive compensation for punitive damages that exceeds twice the amount received for economic damages and noneconomic damages up to $750,000.

TX Accident Lawyer : Can liability affect a personal injury lawsuit?

The state of TX contains laws that address several different types of liability. Depending on the type of case, an employer or other defendant may only be held partly liable for a particular action or be held completely liable—even if the action wasn’t directly their fault. Within the state of Texas, the following types of liability may affect a case:

1) Comparative Liability- if a plaintiff is partly responsible for their injury, they can still receive compensation in the state of Texas. If the plaintiff is 50% or less responsible for the injury, they are still entitled to compensation. The plaintiff will receive full compensation minus the percentage of their own responsibility.

2) Strict Liability- Under strict liability, a plaintiff can still receive full compensation even if they were partly responsible for the accident. Traditionally, strict liability was only applied to injuries sustained by dangerous animals or hazardous activities like crop dusting and the manufacturing of explosives. However, strict liability has evolved to encase liability around defective products. In order to prove strict liability for defective products, a plaintiff must prove the following:

• the seller was engaged in selling the product to the plaintiff

• the productive was defective upon the point of sale

• the product was very dangerous to the plaintiff

• the product reached the home or similar location in the same condition in which it was sold

• the product caused the plaintiff personal injury or property damage

• the product was not in proper condition for its intended use when it left the manufacturer

3) Vicarious Liability- this type of liability occurs when a person is held liable for the actions of another person. The most common occurrence of vicarious liability is in truck accidents. If the truck driver is driving a truck off of company time, the individual truck driver may be held responsible apart from the company. Another common occurrence of vicarious liability in the state of Texas involves drunk driving. A bar that serves alcohol to a person obviously intoxicated can be held responsible for letting that person get in their car and drive away.

Texas Accident Lawyer : Common Types of Accident Lawsuits in Texas

Many Texas accident lawyers advertise the types of cases they represent in the state of TX. The same Texas accident lawyers will often advertise the amount of compensation they won for a client as well. The list below contains some of the more common accidents in the state of Texas:

• Truck accidents

• Car accidents

• Workplace accidents

• Medical Malpractice

• Dangerous animals

• Products liability

• Slip and fall accidents