Houston Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’ve been hurt because of another’s negligence, intentional misconduct or illegal act, you likely have a right under Texas law to receive financial compensation for the harm done by the responsible party. So, why do you need an attorney? There are actually many reasons. If you are dealing with the other party’s insurance company, they will take advantage of your lack of knowledge and experience in personal injury law to offer you far less than you are entitled to. If they claim that you are not really hurt like you say you are or that their insured is not the one at fault, the burden falls on you to prove every element of your claim by a preponderance of the evidence. How will you know how much your case is actually worth, and how will you prove the other party’s liability to you? This is where an experienced Houston personal injury lawyer proves invaluable. After a Houston car, truck or motorcycle accident, slip and fall, maritime accident, assault or some other personal injury, the dedicated and successful lawyers at Livingston & Flowers will utilize their knowledge and skills to achieve an excellent result on your behalf.
- Assault & Negligent Security
- ATV Accidents
- Boat Accidents
- Brain Injury
- Burn Injury
- Bus Accidents
- Car Accidents
- Child Injury
- Construction Accidents
- Dog Bites
- Drowning Accidents
- Drunk Driver Accidents
- Maritime Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Offshore Rig Injury
- Oilfield Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Prescription Drug Injury
- Uber & Lyft Accidents
- Slip & Fall
- Spine Injury
- Train Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Workplace Injury
- Wrongful Death
What can I recover in a personal injury claim?
The legal term for the compensation you recover in a personal injury case is “damages.” These damages come in several different categories. First, there are “economic damages,” which compensate you for the actual costs you incurred or will incur because of the injury. Economic damages can include:
- Hospital and doctor bills
- Rehabilitation
- Future surgeries, prescription medications, prosthetics and medical supplies
- Lost income while you were out of work due to the injury
- Diminished earning capacity or disability for the future
The next category of damages is called “noneconomic damages.” These damages are meant to compensate you for other types of harm done to you, even if you cannot easily assign an exact dollar value to the harm. Jurors will assign a dollar figure to these damages after hearing your attorney’s evidence and arguments. Noneconomic damages can include losses such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Lost or diminished quality of life
- Loss of spousal relations (loss of consortium)
- Loss of family relations or services
Finally, in some instances punitive or exemplary damages may be appropriate. As their name implies, these damages are intended to punish the defendant for particularly egregious conduct and serve as an example to others of the type of conduct society will not tolerate. Juries decide the amount of exemplary damages depending on the wealth of the defendant and the nature of the conduct. Types of conduct that may warrant exemplary damages include extremely reckless or drunken driving, willful failure to repair a dangerous condition on the premises, or a sexual assault.
What if the insurance company says the accident was my fault?
This is a favorite tactic of insurance companies to avoid liability, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if they try this strategy on you. Under the doctrine of “comparative negligence,” every percentage of blame for the accident they can shift to you represents a proportional reduction in the amount of damages they will have to pay. Under Texas law, if you are considered to be more at fault than the other party (more than 50% to blame), then you won’t be able to recover any compensation at all. At Livingston & Flowers, we don’t accept the insurance company’s word for it that you were at fault. We’ll conduct a thorough investigation and argue strenuously against any unfair allegations that you were to blame. If necessary, we’ll take the case to court and let a jury decide. The insurance company may want to minimize their payout to you, but our goal is to see you get every dollar you deserve.
Get the Help You Need from Experienced and Successful Houston Personal Injury Lawyers
If you’ve been injured because of another’s negligence or misconduct, call the Houston personal injury lawyers Livingston & Flowers at 713-489-4400 for a free consultation. We’ve recovered millions of dollars for people in situations like yours, and we want to help you too.
