San Antonio Accident Lawyer

Michael Grossman, Auto Accident Attorney in San Antonio TX, Explains The Benefits of Having and Attorney Help You With Your Car Accident Case

People who are injured in car accidents often have a number of questions, but perhaps the most common is “Do I need an attorney?” In most cases, if a victim is wondering whether or not they need legal help, they probably do.

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In other words, if you’re reading this article, you likely will need the help of a legal professional in order to seek compensation for your injury. However, you may still be unsure about the necessity of seeking such help, or the possible costs involved, or the challenges that might arise in the course of taking legal action against a negligent party. San Antonio accident lawyer Michal Grossman offers the following article to help answer some of those questions.


The Three Aspects of Every Personal Injury Accident Case

When a person is injured in a car accident, they may have merit in bringing a personal injury lawsuit against a negligent party or parties. Broadly speaking, personal injury cases must have the following three aspects to be considered legitimate:

  1. The victim, also known as the plaintiff, must have suffered an injury. In car accident cases, this is likely readily apparent if some sort of physical injury has occurred. However, personal injury cases also involve emotional or mental injury as well. Assessing a physical injury is rather easy due to its visible nature, but assessing emotional or mental trauma can be much more difficult. By contacting San Antonio truck accident lawyer Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices, we can help you assess whether or not you’ve sustained such an injury, or help you seek proper medical help that can fully assess the extent of your injury.
  2. The negligent party must have owed the victim a legal duty and must have violated that legal duty in some way. In a vast majority of car accident cases, the legal duty is that of public safety. When a driver drives recklessly and causes an accident resulting in a person’s injury, that legal duty has been violated. While there can be varying degrees of negligence, from simple recklessness to intoxicated driving, it is the act of negligence that causes the accident that must be atoned for in a personal injury lawsuit through the defendant awarding the plaintiff compensation.
  3. The victim must have incurred damages as a result of the violation. Damages are a financial amount that is attached to a sustained injury, such as the medical bill associated with a broken leg. Damages can include many items, such as medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, disfigurement, property damage, etc. The compensation sought by an injured plaintiff is equal to the total amount of damages they’ve incurred. In other words, an injured plaintiff is seeking to be reimbursed by the negligent party or parties for the past, present, and future financial losses they’ve accrued or will accrue due to the accident.

If these three aspects have occurred in your accident, you likely have merit in pursuing legal action against a negligent party so that you can stand to receive compensation for your injury. However, there are other reasons to take into consideration when pursuing a personal injury lawsuit as a result of a car accident. San Antonio accident attorney Michael Grossman recommends that the following issues also be taken into account if you’re still wondering whether or not you need legal help to pursue compensation.

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Further Reasons to Enlist the Help of an Experienced San Antonio Accident Lawyer

Car accident cases can be very complex. Victims must seek proper medical treatment, make sure that any medical costs and repair expenses are documented, file insurance paperwork, and, in some cases, fight to defend their rights in court. Some common signs that you might need to hire an attorney include:

  • The other driver in the accident is not cooperating with you, either in the immediate aftermath of the wreck or at anytime thereafter.
  • Insurance companies are bombarding you with questions. This is an especially telling sign for the legal help of a San Antonio accident lawyer if the insurance company wishes to record your answers. They are likely trying to get you to admit to some or all of the blame for the accident. With our help, you can be sure not to be taken advantage of in this way.
  • Insurance companies have offered you a settlement in exchange for not filing a lawsuit. While this may seem like an easier route towards compensation, the settlement is often far less than what could reasonable be expected if legal action was sought against the liable party or parties. An out-of-court settlement initiated by an insurance company is often done so that the insurance company can be done with the claim in as little time as possible with as little expense made to themselves.
  • You cannot afford the expenses associated with your accident, such as repair bills, medical costs, etc.
  • The insurance claim you are being offered does not fully cover your expenses, including lost income from time spent away from work.
  • The other driver has no insurance or is covered by an insurance company that you have never heard of.
  • You simply do not have a good feeling after the accident. In other words, your gut reaction to the situation may be telling you that outside help may be necessary in order for you to be treated fairly and to be properly compensated for your injury.

In general, insurance companies are supposed to offer you adequate compensation to pay for all the expenses associated with an accident. Unfortunately, this is rarely how it works. Insurance companies will try to get away with offering you the bare minimum, hoping that you will not be aware of what options are available to you. This is why having an experienced San Antonio accident attorney like Michael Grossman on your team is so important. An attorney with a successful track record can convince an insurance company to take your case seriously, since they’d likely rather not want to have to a face an aggressive personal injury attorney in the courtroom.

In fact, since we’ve been litigating personal injury cases for twenty years, our reputation for our clients’ success often precedes us. In many cases, this can often mean that our clients are offered a fair settlement out-of-court, which results in our clients being able to get back to living their lives in a much shorter amount of time than a full court case would take. However, it should also be known that San Antonio accident attorney Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices is always prepared to go to trial if the case requires it. With our decades of practice we’re fully capable of aggressively defending your rights so that you stand the greatest opportunity to receive compensation for your injury as a result of an accident.

If you or a loved one has been in an accident causing injury, it’s recommended that you contact an experienced personal injury accident attorney as soon as possible after the accident. First, our law offices will be able to let you know whether or not you have a legitimate personal injury claim to make in regards to the details of your accident. This is accomplished through a free consultation. In other words, you have nothing to lose simply by contacting us to see whether or not your case has merit, and whether or not you can stand to receive compensation. Since compensation can be used to cover costs like medical bills and lost wages due to time off from work because of the accident, calling us to see if you have an actual case could prove to be very beneficial towards you getting back on your feet after your accident.


Contact San Antonio Accident Lawyer Michael Grossman Today To Help You Seek Fair Compensation For Your Injury

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Our attorneys have spent twenty years working on all kinds of car accident cases, from reckless driving accidents, or injuries caused by drunk drivers, to accidents with uninsured or under-insured motorists. Our attorneys will do everything in their power to get you back on your feet as quickly as possible after an accident. If you have been hurt in a car accident, contact San Antonio accident lawyer Michael Grossman of Grossman Law Offices today, and make sure you receive the compensation you need and the justice you deserve. We offer free consultations at 1-855-393-0000 (Toll Free) where you can ask questions, get answers, and be provided with possible legal options that can help you seek compensation for your injury.


Some of Our Most Recent Successful Cases
$210,000.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Neck Injury Requiring Surgery)
Our client was injured in a motor vehicle accident when an employer driving a company vehicle failed to yield the right of way and collided with the plaintiff's vehicle. The defendant's employer was sued for negligence soon thereafter. The defendants alleged that the company should not be held liable for the actions of the employee.

They claimed that the employee was not in the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident. Through discovery, our attorneys learned that the defendants had a policy, both written and implied, whereby employees of the company were allowed to drive work vehicles after hours.

Furthermore, our attorneys argued case law that expanded the definition of course and scope which showed that the defendant was indeed "on the clock" when the accident occurred.

As a result, the defendants conceded liability and turned their defenses toward the alleged damages. They claimed that our client had a preexisting condition that was responsible for her current state.

We deposed the emergency room physician who assessed the client and recommended surgery regarding the medical necessity of the surgical procedure and the proximate cause of the plaintiff's condition. He testimony unequivocally defeated these arguments. The case was satisfactorily resolved through litigation.
Total Recovery:
$210,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$70,110.00
Litigation Expenses:
$3,787.00
$71,197.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Soft-Tissue Neck Injury)
(policy limits + UIM claim) Recovery for client who sustained soft tissue injuries to neck which required steroid injections and chiropractic treatment.
Total Recovery:
$71,197.00
Attorney Fees:
$23,852.00
Litigation Expenses:
$125.00
$100,000.00 Recovery - Motorcycle Accident (Broken Femur)
(policy limits) Recovery for victim who sustained a broken femur in a motorcycle accident.
Total Recovery:
$100,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$33,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$0.00
$50,000.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Whiplash)
Recovery for client who sustained whiplash after being rear-ended in a car accident.
Total Recovery:
$50,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$20,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$5,334.00
$40,000.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Soft-Tissue Neck Injuries)
Recovery for client who suffered soft tissue neck injuries in a car accident.
Total Recovery:
$40,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$13,333.00
Litigation Expenses:
$50.00
$350,000.00 Recovery - Wrongful Death / First Party Dram Shop
Our firm was hired by the minor child and parents of a young man who was killed in a motorcycle accident after being over served alcohol at a South Padre Island bar. The plaintiffs hired our firm to investigate the claim on the basis that the decedent was over the legal limit at the time of his death. In initial attempts to settle the case out of court, the defendants denied liability. Suit was filed soon thereafter.

The defendants initially argued that the decedent never consumed alcohol on their premises. Through physical evidence and deposition testimony to the contrary, we were able to conclusively prove that the decedent had indeed been drinking at the establishment.

The defendants then asserted allegations that the decedent's minor child was not actually his biological child, which would bar his claim entirely. A DNA test was performed and this argument was defeated.

The defendants then asserted the safe harbor defense. Our attorneys argued that the defendants did not qualify for safe harbor protection due to the fact that their servers were not all licensed providers. However, while this element was being addressed, our attorneys focused their attention on addressing the second element of the safe harbor defense regarding the bar's encouragement of the over service of alcohol. The defendants claimed that they would never serve the double-shot Bacardi cocktails that witnesses claimed the decedent drank several of. We sent private investigators into the bar to order the same drinks that the decedent consumed on the night of his death and the very same bar tenders who over served the decedent, without hesitation, served copious amounts of alcohol to the investigators, all of which was captured on hidden camera.

Once the safe harbor defense was defeated, the defendants argued that the decedent's BAC was low enough at the time of his death (as recorded by the hospital) that he would not have necessarily appeared obviously intoxicated to the servers and therefore the bar should not be held liable even if he had been over served. Eyewitness testimony refuted this.

Additionally, our firm's testifying medical expert reviewed the medical records related to the emergency helicopter flight that transported the decedent to the hospital after his accident. She determined that the EMS technicians administered numerous blood transfusions while in flight. Armed with this newfound data, our medical expert reverse extrapolated and determined conclusively that the decedent's BAC was actually in the range of .19-.21 at the time of the accident, though it was drastically diluted by the time he arrived at the hospital, which accounted for the relatively low BAC found in the hospital's medical records. This testimony proved to be pivotal in the case, resulting in a successful recovery for our clients.
Total Recovery:
$350,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$140,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$40,000.00
$875,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident (Back Injury Requiring Surgery)
Plaintiff suffered a back injury resulting in spinal fusion surgery when her car was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. The defendants argued that the accident was unavoidable, thus denying liability. Litigation commenced and the case was satisfactorily resolved soon thereafter.
Total Recovery:
$875,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$288,750.00
Litigation Expenses:
$2,500.00
$70,000.00 Recovery - Automobile Accident (Soft-Tissue Neck & Back Injury)
(policy limits) Recovered for client who suffered soft-tissue back and neck injuries in a motor-vehicle accident.
Total Recovery:
$70,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$23,333.00
Litigation Expenses:
$656.00
$300,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident / Work Injury (Facial Fractures and Head Trauma)
A loading dock worker suffered serious including numerous facial fractures and minor brain trauma when an 18-wheeler back into him, crushing him against the loading dock. The plaintiff's employer was a subscriber to Texas Workers' Compensation coverage, thus a claim was rightly filed against the third party trucking company whom the truck driver operating the reversing 18-wheeler worked for.

The plaintiffs asserted the position that the trucking company in question was liable on the basis of respondeat superior and negligent retention. The defendants argued that the plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his injuries by virtue of the plaintiff putting himself in harms way. They maintained that the plaintiff simply walked behind the reversing tractor trailer as it pushed back toward the loading dock.

It was later determined through deposition testimony that the truck driver had indeed instructed the plaintiff to stand behind the trailer in order to determine the vehicle's proximity to the dock. Once this fact came to light, the defendants agreed to mediate whereby the case was satisfactorily settled.
Total Recovery:
$300,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$120,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$9,807.00
$75,000.00 Recovery - Commercial Vehicle Accident (Soft-Tissue Back Injuries)
Recovery for client who suffered soft tissue back injuries when he was rear ended by a delivery truck.
Total Recovery:
$75,000.00
Attorney Fees:
$25,000.00
Litigation Expenses:
$100.00

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