Personal Injury Lawyer FAQs

If you are a victim of personal injury, it’s natural to have questions because you’ve likely never been in a situation like this before. To support San Antonio residents through a difficult time, Carabin Shaw promises to give clear, practical guidance about personal injury cases and answer personal injury lawyer FAQs. We also encourage you to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our San Antonio accident attorneys, who can tailor advice to your circumstances.

Here are some of the common questions about personal injury cases that clients ask our lawyers:

Personal injury claims are lawsuits related to an injury—physical, emotional, or mental—to a person’s body. They occur when the injured party asserts that the person or entity that is at fault owes them something, like money, to help cover medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other quality of life concerns. These payments are often called “damages.”

Damages include:

• Special damages cover financial losses that are easy to calculate, such as medical expenses and lost wages
• General damages relate to losses that are more difficult to quantify, such as mental anguish or pain and suffering
• Punitive damages are typically added by the court and are meant to punish someone who intentionally or recklessly injured another person

The most common types of personal injury claims are:

• Assault and battery
• Product defect or liability accidents
• Traffic accidents (bicycle, car, motorcycle, pedestrian, scooter, truck)
• Tripping or slip and fall accidents
• Work accidents

No two personal injury claims are alike, and it is possible for one incident to relate to multiple claims. For example, if a person is filing a personal injury claim for assault, an intentional crime, he or she might also file a personal injury claim for psychological damage depending on the severity, frequency, and lasting emotional impact of the assault.

While some personal injury claims, such as assault, are intentional, the majority of these claims relate to negligence. The law defines negligence as a failure to exercise appropriate care for the circumstances.

To prove negligence, an attorney must demonstrate four criteria: duty, breach, causation, and damages.

For example, all drivers in San Antonio have a duty to follow traffic laws and drive responsibly. If a driver fails to exercise caution, he or she is in breach of that duty to other people on the road. If this careless driver hits a pedestrian, who then requires a cast and other medical care as a result of these accident-related injuries, all four of the above criteria are met.

Yes, though how you and your attorney incorporate stress into your claim may vary. Stress can be incorporated as part of your general damages (e.g., pain and suffering). In severe cases, stress is also a medically documented condition (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder) that might have more quantifiable damages associated with its treatment and management.

Unfortunately, this question has no clear answer because personal injury is such a broad field within the law. Our San Antonio accident attorneys believe that the settlement amount should be commensurate with the injuries and damages related to your case, and we can provide you with a complete estimate as soon as we know what happened to you and how it affected you.

While over 95% of personal injury claims are settled out of court, there are some cases where a settlement isn’t possible. The best thing you can do to prepare for this possibility is to ask yourself, “Where is the best personal injury lawyer near me?” The top attorneys will know how to approach your case to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.

If you live in San Antonio and want to know more about these personal injury lawyer FAQs, call us at 210-222-2288 or toll-free at 1-800-862.1260. You don’t need to ask yourself how to find a “personal injury lawyer near me with a free consultation.” We are here and waiting for your call.