Personal Injury Lawyers in Pearland Helping Injured Clients Protect Their Rights to Fair Compensation

In Texas, individuals who are injured or sustain damages due to someone else’s negligent actions may be entitled to compensation for their losses. However, it is up to the injured party to prove that their losses occurred as a result of another party’s breach of duty of care. Learn how personal injury cases work in Texas and see why a personal injury lawyer can positively impact the outcome of your case.

What Constitutes a Personal Injury Case in Texas?

A personal injury can happen when one party is hurt and sustains damages as a result of another party’s reckless or negligent actions. Negligence is a key component in any personal injury case, as it is understood to be the main cause of an accident or hazardous situation that could have (or should have) been prevented if the responsible party had not breached their duty of care to the injured party.

There are a wide variety of situations that can be classified as personal injury. Car accidents and other motor vehicle accidents, dog bites, slip-and-fall accidents, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle accidents are just a few examples of personal injury case types. When a personal injury victim can successfully prove they were hurt due to someone else’s negligence, they may be entitled to compensation.

What Is a Breach of Duty of Care?

A key component of negligence-based cases is a factor called a ‘breach of duty of care.’ In certain situations, such as driving on a public roadway, visiting a place of business, or being a guest at a private residence, those in control of their vehicle (or their properties) are expected to act in a sensible, reasonable manner to protect themselves and others from harm.

For example, a driver of a motor vehicle has a duty of care to their passengers as well as to other drivers and roadway users. If a driver engages in reckless behavior, such as speeding or violating traffic laws, and their recklessness results in an accident with injuries to others, that driver may have breached their duty of care and thus may be held liable for the other party’s injuries and damages.

What Type of Damages Can a Personal Injury Victim Recover?

Once a personal injury victim successfully proves that the other party is at fault for their injuries, the at-fault party may be financially liable for the victim’s damages. The victim (or plaintiff) may seek reimbursement for monetary damages as well as pain and suffering.

Monetary or economic damages are the financial losses and bills resulting from the accident, injury, and recovery process. Medical bills lost wages, and property damage (including the cost of repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle, for example) are some of the most common examples of economic damage.

However, we know that an injury caused by someone else often leaves more than just financial losses. For that reason, most personal injury victims may also seek compensation for non-economic damages, which are sometimes referred to as pain and suffering. The pain of the injury as well as the emotional scars, mental anguish, and trauma resulting from the accident, are all examples of non-economic damages.

Can a Personal Injury Case Be a Criminal Case?

Civil tort law addresses personal injury cases, which means they are dealt with in a civil court. A civil court cannot prosecute defendants or sentence them to prison time. Instead, the goal of a civil case is to hold the defendant financially responsible for the damages they may have caused to the victim (the plaintiff) and allow the plaintiff to receive compensation for their losses. Another key difference is that a criminal case is initiated by a prosecutor, and it is up to the state to provide the evidence needed for a conviction. In a civil case, the burden of evidence falls on the plaintiff.

It is possible for a personal injury case to take place at the same time as a criminal case. For example, if someone lost a loved one because of an accident caused by a drunk driver, that driver may be facing criminal charges, but even if that person is sentenced, the surviving relatives of the decedent will not typically receive any type of payment to cover final expenses and other losses. For that reason, the decedent’s family may initiate a wrongful death case in a civil court.

In some cases, a civil court may punish a defendant for gross negligence by ordering that defendant to pay punitive damages in addition to standard damages. Punitive damages are a civil court’s way to penalize the defendant for their behavior and discourage similar behavior from happening again. Not every case qualifies for punitive damages, so it is best to speak to an attorney to discuss what types of damages are applicable to your case.

Why Should I Work With a Personal Injury Lawyer?

When you are hurt due to someone else’s negligence, your world may seem like it has turned upside down, and it may be hard to know what steps to take or how to get compensation for your losses. To make things worse, sometimes you may be dealing with an insurance company that will do all it can to pay you as little as possible. When you let the Kahn Law Firm, P.C. handle your case for you, you can rest assured we will protect your rights and fight for maximum compensation. Contact our office in Pearland, Texas, at 713-999-6549 to see how we can help.