FAQs After a Serious Car Accident in San Antonio, Texas - Personal Injury Attorneys at Carabin Shaw

You have rights after a serious car accident, and hiring a lawyer ensures that you secure those rights. Your auto insurance company may also help you in a claim against another party. Your rights include:

• The right to compensation for your injuries if another party was at fault.
• The right to obtain evidence, including police reports and the at-fault party’s information.
• The right to hire an attorney.
• The right to refuse to speak to the other party’s insurance company.
• The right to fair compensation for ALL your injuries, including pain and suffering.
• The right to reject a settlement offer.

In a car accident lawsuit in San Antonio, Texas, the court will consider the negligence of all parties involved in the wreck. This may include another defendant or the plaintiff. Texas comparative negligence laws assign proportionate responsibility for damages when there is more than one party who contributed to the fault of the accident. If the plaintiff is more than 50% at fault, the court will not award compensation.

Comparative negligence is a positive aspect of the Texas legal system, especially in cases where the plaintiff was partially at fault. The benefit of this law is that the plaintiff still receives compensation despite their partial fault in the accident. An example of a situation where a plaintiff could be partially at fault is if they were speeding when the accident occurred, but the other party failed to maintain his or her lane.

Your car accident lawyer in San Antonio TX will help you to identify your losses, so you can claim damages and receive compensation. Damages the court will consider include:

• Medical expenses
• Repair costs
• Lost income
• Travel costs
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of consortium (loss of relationships)
• Disfigurement
• Disability
• Loss of life enjoyment

The court may also award punitive damages if the at-fault party’s actions were grossly negligent.

Calculating damages is a job for your San Antonio car accident attorney. Using receipts and any evidence of monetary losses are easy methods for computing economic injuries. However, noneconomic injuries, such as pain and suffering, are more difficult to quantify. Your lawyer will use one of several methods for calculating noneconomic losses, such as the multiplier method or per diem method.

Keeping evidence of all the costs you incur after a car accident can help your insurance company and your lawyer maximize your compensation, so you get a settlement or judgment that covers ALL your losses.