PERSONAL INJURY - WEST COLUMBIA, TX

Suffering from any type of injury can have a significant impact on your ability to perform meaningful work, earn a living, enjoy your life, and more. When someone else causes an accident that leads to your injuries, you may be able to seek compensation for a range of these impacts, known as damages, in order to ensure that you do not take on the financial impacts of someone else’s negligent or irresponsible behavior.

Often, an at-fault party may be protected from personal liability with an insurance policy, the nature of which will vary depending on the circumstances of your accident. The most common types of insurance include automobile insurance, homeowner’s insurance, medical malpractice insurance, or business insurance, but many other types of insurance may apply. 

Filing an insurance claim is a straightforward process, and if you follow the insurance adjuster’s lead through the personal injury claim, it can be resolved without much stress. The problem with taking this path is that insurance companies are focused on settling claims for as little as possible, not getting claimants the money, they deserve.

Getting the Money You Deserve

If you want to get fair compensation, you will need to approach this process aggressively and take proactive measures, including calculating your damages, negotiating for a settlement, and choosing whether or not to move forward with a lawsuit in order to get the money you are rightfully owed. 

Insurance companies know that personal injury victims have a lot on their minds when they file a claim and will often make an initial offer for far less than the victim deserves in the hopes that they accept this quick settlement to apply towards their medical bills and alleviate the financial pressures associated with lost wages. This settlement comes with a waiver that absolves the insurer and their client from any additional legal action pertaining to the accident, regardless of whether additional information emerged later.

Contact a West Columbia Personal Injury Attorney Before Accepting Any Settlement Offers

Before resolving a personal injury claim, it is essential that you are confident in the amount you are receiving as a victim.

Contact West & West to Connect with a Personal Injury Attorney in West Columbia

Working with an experienced personal injury attorney is one of the best ways to ensure that you are taking all of the necessary steps towards a comprehensive settlement, but too often, victims choose to initiate personal injury claims on their own and may mistakenly believe that they will only need a West Columbia personal injury lawyer if they plan to file a lawsuit. This could not be further from the truth. 

Partnering with an attorney before initiating an insurance claim is one of the best ways to work towards the financial compensation you rightfully deserve without having to take on the stress and emotional burden that this process can cause. 

Contact the highly experienced team at West & West to get the support you deserve after an accident someone else caused.

Schedule a Free Consultation Today

Contacting West & West is one of the best ways to find a personal injury attorney who is ready to support you through your claims process, and beyond to ensure that you receive a fair settlement. The compensation you deserve goes well beyond your medical expenses and extends to things like emotional distress, physical pain and suffering, and more. Trying to calculate these damages on your own can be intimidating, especially as you struggle to recover and get your life back on track. Stress can significantly impact your recovery process, so by outsourcing your claims process, you are prioritizing your health and increasing your chances of getting the money you deserve. 

Read more about personal injury cases below. Contact our law firm as soon as possible to connect with a West Columbia personal injury lawyer who is ready to take on the insurance companies on your behalf.

Common Personal Injury Cases in Texas

The following are meant to give you a few general examples of the many different types of accidents that can lead to personal injury claims. Whether or not you see your situation mentioned below, simply contact us as soon as possible to learn about how a West Columbia personal injury attorney can help you fight for fair compensation.

Car Accidents

In 2020, there were 205,498 people injured in car accidents in Texas. This means that, on average, there are 563 people injured car accidents each day in Texas. 

While many of us make it safely to and from our destinations each day, these statistics show many people do not. 

Car accidents are caused by various factors, including, but not limited to, speed, alcohol, inexperience, road rage, weather, and mechanical failures. 

Regardless of the cause of your auto accident, it is important that the at-fault driver is held accountable for their actions (or inactions) and that you are fairly compensated for the damages you have suffered.

Motorcycle Accidents

A motorcycle accident typically causes far worse injuries than an auto accident between two passenger vehicles at the same speed, simply because there is virtually no structural protection afforded by a motorcycle. A rider’s only protective measures are the clothes and equipment they are wearing. 

Even at low speeds, a motorcycle rider is commonly thrown from the vehicle, meaning that there is an additional secondary impact when they hit the ground after first being struck by the car. 

Florida: Dangerous for Motorcycles?

Texas is routinely shown to be one of the most dangerous states for fatal motorcycle accidents, which may be attributed to the lax helmet laws in our state, as well as the warm weather that allows riders to operate motorcycles year-round. Regardless of why this is true, it is important to recognize the risks associated with riding a motorcycle before taking to Texas roads. 

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice comes in many forms, including a doctor’s failure to accurately diagnose an illness, prescription errors, surgical mistakes, inappropriate courses of treatment, and more. 

Medical professionals cannot guarantee positive medical outcomes but are legally required to provide medical care based on existing best practices and a prudent focus on avoiding undue harm to their patients. 

Texas’ Damage Caps

Texas caps non-economic damages at $250,000 per plaintiff for malpractice cases that only involve a single health care provider or health care institution and $500,000.00 per plaintiff caps for malpractice cases that involve more than one health care institution, with no single institution being held liable for more than $250,000 in non-economic damages per plaintiff. 

Working with a personal injury attorney that focuses on medical malpractice cases is one of the best ways to ensure that you are taking the right steps towards getting the money you deserve for this avoidable tragedy.

Premises Liability Injuries

Each time we visit someone else’s property, whether a private residence, commercial location, government building, or other areas, we have a legal right to expect that the property owner or manager has taken all necessary precautions to ensure that our visit is free from accidents caused by on-site hazards. 

Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents are the most common premises liability cases, typically from wet floors, uneven flooring, or dangerous staircases. 

If you or a loved one has been hurt in a slip, trip, and fall accident on someone else’s property, you deserve compensation for the damages you have suffered. Working with a personal injury attorney will give you a clear understanding of how to best move forward with your case while you focus on getting the medical care you need to make a successful recovery. 

Product Liability Cases

Many consumer protections in the United States require companies to disclose all potential hazards that come with normal use of their product, bar a company from engaging in false advertising, and hold businesses accountable for injuries stemming from defects in the product or marketing. 

It can be extremely frustrating for someone to suffer catastrophic injuries only to realize that their injuries could have been avoided if the company had more rigorous quality checks or had been truthful in their advertising.

You Deserve Experienced Representation

Taking on a massive company can be extremely intimidating for a single victim, which is why partnering with a West Columbia personal injury attorney right from the start is one of the best ways to get immediate legal advice and a clear path towards resolving your case. 

Personal injury law is complicated in any situation, but trying to navigate a successful claim while dealing directly with a company’s team of defense attorneys can be difficult for anyone, especially a victim who is trying to recover from severe injuries at the same time.

Pedestrian Accidents

Walking in West Columbia can be a pleasant experience, but there is a continuous risk of being involved in an auto accident while on foot. Staying on sidewalks, using crosswalks correctly, and waiting for crossing lights are all great ways to help stay safe. Still, the reality is that a pedestrian relies on the drivers around them to engage in safe and responsible behavior to avoid a severe accident. 

In an accident between a pedestrian and a motor vehicle, the pedestrian is nearly always suffering from far worse injuries.

Work With a West Columbia Attorney to Build a Strong Pedestrian Injury Case

After a pedestrian accident, a West Columbia personal injury lawyer can help prove fault and liability. Once fault has been established, your attorney can then help you fight to get a fair settlement for the many damages you have endured. 

Car insurance companies will work aggressively to settle West Columbia personal injury claims against their clients as quickly and affordably as possible and may engage in some unsavory practices to achieve this goal. Fortunately, your West Columbia personal injury lawyer will combat these tactics to get you the money you deserve.

Bicycle Collisions

As with traveling on foot, riding a bicycle in West Columbia can be an enjoyable way to get fresh air, enjoy the sights, and get some exercise, all while getting to and from your destinations. That said, there are significant risks that cyclists face each time they take to the roads, and no matter what additional protections and laws that West Columbia puts into place to protect cyclists, there will always be a risk of an accident. 

As Bicycle Fatalities Decline, Riders Still Need Legal Support

Many cities are focusing on reducing and ultimately eliminating cyclist deaths, but until this is a reality, cyclists across the country will need to work with personal injury law professionals to get the money they deserve after accidents. 

Wrongful Death

Wrongful death is an overarching personal injury area that covers any fatal injury that another person caused through negligence, recklessness, or criminal behavior. In these cases, a West Columbia personal injury attorney will work to calculate the financial impact that the survivors will experience due to things like the loss of support from the deceased, retirement contributions, medical costs, funerary expenses, and more. 

Identify the Long-Term Impacts of This Tragic Loss

Calculating the long-term impacts of wrongful death can be very difficult, especially as survivors try to work through the grief of this unexpected loss, so partnering with an attorney through these types of personal injury claims is important. 

Frequently Asked Questions About West Columbia Personal Injuries

The following are a few of the many different questions that a personal injury attorney commonly answers during initial consultations with potential clients. Remember that the answers provided below are not intended as legal advice and should simply be used to give you an idea of how a lawyer may answer your questions. Many of these questions can’t be answered simply, and more details will likely emerge over the weeks and months that you work with your personal injury lawyer to build a strong case.

How much is my personal injury case worth?

The answer to the question of settlement amounts requires ongoing calculations and close attention to detail. Typically, calculations start with major costs like medical expenses and lost wages, and then work to identify a wide range of additional possible impacts such as the actual pain and suffering a victim must deal with after suffering serious injuries.

Will I need to go to trial to get the money I deserve?

There is no guarantee one way or the other that you will be able to settle a case or that you will need to file a lawsuit with the Texas courts, but government studies estimate that 95% of all personal injury claims are resolved before making it to trial, and roughly 50% of claims are settled before a lawsuit is filed at all. Of course, these statistics have no bearing on your unique situation. Working with an attorney will give you the best idea of what to expect moving forward.

Am I entitled to punitive damages for my personal injury accident?

A judge or jury awards punitive damages at the end of a trial in cases where the defendant acted in a particularly egregious or reckless manner and showed significant disregard for the safety of others. Your attorney will not include these potential damages in settlement negotiations, but they may decide to push for a trial if they suspect that your case may warrant these additional damages.

Can I seek compensation if I am partially responsible for my personal injury accident?

It is important to note that Texas is a proportionate responsibility state regarding negligence. Sometimes more than one person is at fault for an accident that led to injuries and damages, and sometimes the injured party is partially at fault for the accident that caused the injuries or partially at fault for the extent and severity of the injuries. A common personal injury defense is that the plaintiff’s conduct caused or contributed to his or her own injuries and damages.

In these types of cases, the percentage of fault will be assigned to parties during trial, and the. For example, if a pedestrian was sending a text message while crossing the street in a crosswalk and was struck by an automobile, the defendant driver might allege that the pedestrian was partially at fault for being distracted while crossing the street. So long as the pedestrian is found to be less than 50% at fault, then the pedestrian retains the right to recovery.