Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions

A personal injury claim is a legal action filed by someone who has been physically or emotionally harmed due to another party's negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. These claims seek financial compensation, known as damages, for losses such as medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and reduced quality of life. Personal injury claims can arise from a wide variety of incidents, including car accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, medical malpractice, defective products, workplace injuries, and dog bites. The vast majority of personal injury claims are resolved through insurance negotiations and out-of-court settlements, though some proceed to trial when the parties cannot reach an agreement. In Texas, the legal framework for personal injury cases is governed by tort law, which establishes the rules for determining fault, measuring damages, and setting deadlines for filing suit.

To have a valid personal injury case, you generally need to establish four key elements. First, the other party owed you a duty of care, meaning they had a legal obligation to act in a reasonably safe manner. For example, all drivers have a duty to follow traffic laws and drive attentively. Second, the other party breached that duty through some act of negligence or wrongdoing, such as running a red light or texting while driving. Third, that breach directly caused your injuries, meaning there is a clear link between the other party's actions and the harm you suffered. Fourth, you sustained actual damages, which can include medical bills, lost income, property damage, and non-economic losses like pain and suffering. If all four elements are present, you likely have grounds for a claim. However, the strength of your case also depends on the quality of your evidence, including police reports, medical records, witness statements, and photographs from the scene. Consulting with a personal injury attorney is the most reliable way to evaluate whether your specific situation warrants legal action.

The statute of limitations is the legal deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit. In most states, this deadline ranges from one to six years from the date of the injury. If you fail to file your lawsuit within this window, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case, and you will lose your right to seek compensation entirely. The specific time limit varies depending on the state where the injury occurred and the type of claim you are pursuing. For example, medical malpractice claims sometimes have shorter deadlines, while cases involving minors may have extended filing periods. There are also limited exceptions that can pause or toll the statute of limitations, such as when the injured person was mentally incapacitated, when the defendant left the state, or when the injury was not immediately discoverable. Because these deadlines are strict and the consequences of missing them are severe, it is critical to consult with an attorney as soon as possible after an injury to ensure your legal rights are preserved.

Negligence is the legal concept at the heart of most personal injury claims. It refers to a failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonably prudent person would use in similar circumstances. Proving negligence requires demonstrating four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. The defendant must have had a legal duty to act with reasonable care, they must have breached that duty through their actions or inaction, that breach must have been the direct and proximate cause of your injuries, and you must have suffered actual measurable harm as a result. Negligence can take many forms in everyday life. A distracted driver who rear-ends your vehicle at a stoplight, a property owner who fails to repair a broken staircase, or a doctor who misreads a diagnostic test are all examples of potentially negligent behavior. In some states, courts apply a comparative negligence standard, which means your compensation may be reduced if you were partially at fault for your own injuries. Understanding how negligence applies to your situation is essential for building a strong personal injury case.

Personal injury damages fall into three main categories: economic damages, non-economic damages, and in rare cases, punitive damages. Economic damages cover your measurable financial losses, including past and future medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, property damage, and out-of-pocket costs related to your injury such as transportation to medical appointments or home modifications. Non-economic damages compensate you for subjective losses that are harder to quantify, such as physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, and loss of consortium, which refers to the impact on your relationship with your spouse. Punitive damages are awarded only in cases involving especially egregious or malicious conduct, and they are intended to punish the defendant and deter similar behavior in the future. Texas law caps punitive damages at the greater of $200,000 or two times the amount of economic damages plus an amount equal to non-economic damages up to $750,000. The total value of your claim depends on the severity of your injuries, the clarity of fault, the available insurance coverage, and the strength of your evidence.

Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule under Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, often referred to as the 51 percent bar rule. Under this system, you can recover compensation in a personal injury case as long as you are not more than 50 percent responsible for the accident. If you are found to be 51 percent or more at fault, you are completely barred from recovering any damages. When you are partially at fault but below the 51 percent threshold, your total compensation is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. For example, if a jury determines your total damages are $100,000 but you were 20 percent at fault for the accident, your award would be reduced to $80,000. This rule makes the question of fault percentages critically important in Texas personal injury cases. Insurance adjusters frequently try to assign a higher share of blame to injured parties in order to reduce the value of their claims or deny them entirely. Having thorough documentation of the accident, including police reports, witness statements, and physical evidence, can help protect you against unfair fault allocation.

In Texas, the statute of limitations for most personal injury cases is two years from the date of the injury, as established under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. This means you have exactly two years to file a lawsuit in court, or you permanently lose your right to pursue legal action for that injury. The two-year deadline applies to car accident claims, slip-and-fall injuries, assault cases, and most other types of personal injury. There are some narrow exceptions that can extend or modify this deadline. If the injured person is a minor, the statute of limitations is typically tolled until they turn 18, at which point the two-year clock begins. If the defendant leaves Texas after the cause of action accrues, the time they are absent from the state may not count toward the two-year limit. Medical malpractice claims in Texas must generally be filed within two years of the act or omission, but the discovery rule may apply if the injury was not immediately apparent. Regardless of potential exceptions, it is always best to begin the legal process as early as possible to preserve evidence, secure witness testimony, and avoid any risk of missing the deadline.

Texas law requires all drivers to carry minimum liability insurance coverage, commonly referred to as 30/60/25 coverage. This breaks down as follows: $30,000 in bodily injury liability per person, $60,000 in bodily injury liability per accident involving multiple injured parties, and $25,000 in property damage liability per accident. These amounts represent the minimum the at-fault driver's insurance will pay toward your injuries and vehicle damage. It is important to understand that these minimums are often insufficient to cover the full cost of serious injuries. A single emergency room visit, surgery, or extended hospital stay can easily exceed $30,000, leaving you responsible for the difference unless you have your own underinsured motorist coverage. Texas does not require drivers to carry collision, comprehensive, or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, though these optional coverages can provide valuable protection. Approximately one in seven Texas drivers is uninsured despite the legal requirement, making uninsured motorist coverage particularly important. If you are injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver, your own policy's UM/UIM coverage may be your primary source of compensation.

Yes, Texas is one of the states that offers Personal Injury Protection, commonly known as PIP coverage. Under Texas law, auto insurance companies are required to include PIP coverage in every policy they issue, though policyholders have the right to reject it in writing. PIP is a no-fault coverage, meaning it pays out regardless of who caused the accident. It covers medical expenses and, in some cases, lost income for you and your passengers after a car accident. The minimum PIP coverage in Texas is $2,500, though higher limits are available. PIP benefits are especially valuable in the early stages after an accident because they are paid quickly without the need to determine fault or negotiate with the other driver's insurance company. This can help cover immediate medical bills while your personal injury claim is being processed. PIP coverage in Texas can also cover funeral expenses in the event of a fatal accident. If you previously rejected PIP coverage, you can typically add it back to your policy at any time by contacting your insurance provider. Given that it is relatively inexpensive and provides immediate benefits, most personal injury attorneys recommend carrying PIP coverage.

The timeline for settling a personal injury case varies significantly depending on the complexity of the case, the severity of your injuries, and whether the parties can agree on a fair amount. Simple cases involving minor injuries, clear liability, and cooperative insurance companies may settle in as little as three to six months. More complex cases involving serious injuries, disputed fault, multiple defendants, or high-value claims can take one to three years or even longer. One of the most important factors affecting your timeline is reaching maximum medical improvement, or MMI. This is the point at which your doctors determine that your condition has stabilized and is unlikely to improve significantly with further treatment. Settling before you reach MMI is risky because you may not yet know the full extent of your medical expenses and long-term care needs. Once you have a complete picture of your damages, your attorney can submit a demand package to the insurance company, which typically has 30 to 45 days to respond. From there, negotiations may go back and forth for weeks or months. If negotiations fail, filing a lawsuit and proceeding through litigation can add another year or more to the process, though many cases still settle before trial.

Personal injury settlement values are calculated by considering several categories of damages and factors specific to your case. The foundation of any settlement calculation is your economic damages, which include all of your documented financial losses: medical bills both past and projected future costs, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, property damage, and any other out-of-pocket expenses caused by the injury. Non-economic damages are then evaluated, covering pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and similar intangible harms. Insurance companies and attorneys use various methods to estimate non-economic damages, including the multiplier method, which multiplies your economic damages by a factor typically between 1.5 and 5 depending on injury severity, and the per diem method, which assigns a daily dollar value to your suffering. Beyond these calculations, several practical factors influence the final settlement amount. The strength of your evidence, the clarity of the other party's liability, the amount of available insurance coverage, your own share of fault under comparative negligence rules, and the jurisdiction where the case would be tried all play significant roles. An experienced attorney can analyze these factors and help you understand the realistic range of value for your specific case.

You should generally avoid accepting a settlement offer until you have reached maximum medical improvement and have a clear understanding of all your current and future damages. Insurance companies often make early settlement offers shortly after an accident, sometimes within days or weeks. These initial offers are almost always significantly lower than the true value of your claim because the insurer is hoping to close the case quickly before you fully understand the extent of your injuries and losses. Before accepting any offer, make sure you have accounted for all of your medical expenses including anticipated future treatment, your total lost income, any reduction in your future earning capacity, and your non-economic damages like pain and suffering. You should also consider whether you have fully recovered or whether you will need ongoing medical care such as physical therapy, medication, or follow-up surgeries. Once you sign a settlement release, you permanently give up your right to seek additional compensation for that injury, even if unexpected complications arise later. An experienced personal injury attorney can evaluate whether a settlement offer is fair by comparing it to verdicts and settlements in similar cases and by calculating the full scope of your damages.

If you receive a settlement offer that does not adequately compensate you for your injuries and losses, you have several options. First, you can submit a formal counteroffer with a detailed demand letter that outlines all of your damages supported by documentation such as medical records, bills, pay stubs, and expert opinions. Clearly explaining why the initial offer is insufficient and providing evidence for your requested amount can lead to a higher offer during negotiations. Second, if direct negotiation is not productive, you can request mediation, which involves a neutral third party who helps both sides work toward a mutually acceptable settlement. Mediation is less expensive and time-consuming than going to trial and has a high success rate in personal injury cases. Third, you can file a lawsuit and proceed with litigation. Filing a lawsuit does not necessarily mean you will go to trial. In fact, the vast majority of personal injury lawsuits still settle before reaching a courtroom, but having a case filed demonstrates to the insurance company that you are serious about pursuing full compensation. Insurance companies are often more willing to negotiate reasonably once a lawsuit is on file because they know that a jury could potentially award even more than you are requesting. Throughout this process, having an attorney handle negotiations on your behalf typically results in higher settlement amounts, as studies have consistently shown that represented claimants receive significantly more than those who negotiate on their own.

You should consider hiring a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after an accident, ideally within the first few days or weeks. Early involvement allows your attorney to preserve critical evidence, communicate with insurance companies on your behalf, and protect you from making statements that could harm your case. While not every minor injury requires legal representation, there are several situations where hiring an attorney is especially important. You should strongly consider hiring an attorney if your injuries are serious or require ongoing medical treatment, if the insurance company is denying or disputing your claim, if fault for the accident is being contested, if multiple parties are involved, if the insurance company is pressuring you to accept a quick settlement, or if you are unsure about the full value of your claim. An attorney can handle all communication with the insurance company, investigate the accident, gather evidence, consult with medical and financial experts, and negotiate for a settlement that reflects the true value of your damages. Most personal injury attorneys offer free initial consultations, so there is no financial risk in getting a professional evaluation of your case.

Choosing the right personal injury attorney is one of the most important decisions you will make during the claims process, and it can significantly affect the outcome of your case. Start by looking for an attorney who focuses specifically on personal injury law rather than a general practitioner who handles a wide variety of legal matters. Experience with your specific type of case, whether it involves a car accident, truck accident, motorcycle collision, or premises liability, is also valuable. Research the attorney's track record, including their history of settlements and verdicts. Ask about their trial experience, because an attorney who has a reputation for taking cases to trial when necessary often achieves better settlement results, as insurance companies know they cannot rely on a low-ball offer being accepted. During your initial consultation, pay attention to how the attorney communicates. Do they listen carefully to your situation, explain the legal process clearly, and give you realistic expectations about your case's potential value and timeline? You want an attorney who is responsive, transparent about their fees and processes, and genuinely invested in your outcome. Finally, check online reviews, ask for references from past clients, and verify their standing with the state bar association. Tools like Verdictly's attorney directory can help you compare attorneys based on case results and client feedback.

The personal injury claims process generally follows several predictable stages, though timelines and specifics vary based on the complexity of your case. In the initial phase, your attorney will conduct a thorough investigation of your accident, gathering police reports, medical records, photographs, witness statements, and any other relevant evidence. They will also communicate with the insurance company to put them on notice of your claim and prevent them from contacting you directly. During the treatment phase, your primary focus should be on following your doctors' recommendations and completing your prescribed medical treatment. Your attorney will monitor your progress and collect all medical documentation as it becomes available. This phase continues until you reach maximum medical improvement. Once your treatment is complete or you have reached MMI, your attorney will compile a comprehensive demand package that includes all of your medical records and bills, documentation of lost wages, evidence of pain and suffering, expert reports if needed, and a detailed calculation of your total damages. This package is sent to the insurance company with a specific dollar amount being demanded. The negotiation phase follows, during which the insurance company reviews your demand and typically responds with a counteroffer. Your attorney will negotiate back and forth to reach a fair settlement. If negotiations fail, your attorney may file a lawsuit, which initiates the litigation phase involving discovery, depositions, and potentially trial. Throughout the entire process, your attorney should keep you informed of all developments and involve you in every major decision.

The vast majority of personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no upfront costs and no hourly fees. Instead, the attorney's payment comes as a percentage of the compensation they recover for you. If they do not win your case or secure a settlement, you owe them nothing in attorney fees. The standard contingency fee percentage in Texas typically ranges from 33 percent to 40 percent of the total recovery, depending on the stage at which the case is resolved. Many attorneys charge 33 percent, or one-third, if the case settles before a lawsuit is filed, and 40 percent if the case requires filing a lawsuit and proceeding through litigation. Some attorneys use a sliding scale that increases if the case goes to trial or appeal. In addition to the contingency fee, there are usually case expenses that your attorney advances on your behalf during the claims process. These can include court filing fees, costs of obtaining medical records, expert witness fees, deposition costs, and postage and copying charges. These expenses are typically deducted from your settlement or verdict in addition to the contingency fee. Before hiring an attorney, make sure you receive a clear written fee agreement that specifies the contingency percentage, how expenses are handled, and whether the fee is calculated before or after expenses are deducted from the total recovery. A reputable attorney will explain all of this during your initial consultation and answer any questions you have about their billing structure.