San Antonio Law Firms

Michael Grossman, Head of One of the Leading San Antonio Law Firms, Discusses Your Options After You’ve Been Injured

If you have been injured in some way and it was caused by another person or entity, you are likely to want to seek compensation for financial losses suffered as a result. You should talk to experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices.

Through the legal process, you can be compensated for medical expenses, lost wages due to missing work, pain and suffering or other damages that you've incurred. But the search for such compensation can be a challenge for a non-lawyer or for inexperienced San Antonio law firms since an injury claim is complex and the defensive team often encountered in these types of cases can be aggressive in defending their clients' assets . As such, experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices can help you to claim compensation for your injury. With 20 years experience in personal injury law, experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices are ready to assist you in your injury claim.

What Constitutes A Personal Injury?

A personal injury can be physical, mental or emotional and may have been caused by the negligence of another party. Road accidents in Texas are a common cause of injuries, as are those that occur on the job. But there are many other types of accidents that occur every day San Antonio, causing a victim to suffer an injury. In Texas, an injured person seeks legal action for their damages against the defaulting party or parties through an injury claim. Such action is undertaken so that the injured victim may be compensated for damages, including economic losses they suffered as a result of the injury. It should be noted that defendants in such cases owes nothing to an injured victim, unless a lawsuit was brought by the victim to force negligent entity to provide such compensation. In other words, the aggrieved victim must seek legal action to obtain compensation for their injuries and can not wait for the compensation to come.

Do I Have A Personal Injury Claim?

If some person or parties have violated their legal obligation to the victim by a form of negligence, resulting in the victim suffering an injury or some form of economic loss, a personal injury claim may be brought against the negligent party. For example, most automobile accidents injury resulting from the negligent driving by one person. In such cases, the responsible driver is said to have breached their legal duty to the injured victim in relation to public safety. As such, the driver may be liable for any injury to the victim.

However, to obtain compensation for such action requires the legal representative of the victim to be able to prove that the defendant had a legal obligation and that he violated this legal obligation. In other words, the burden of proof in a personal injury case rests on the shoulders of the plaintiff, not the defendant. As such, the plaintiff is well served by experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices, who have 20 years experience in personal injury claims and litigation. Demonstrating a legal obligation can sometimes be difficult depending on the details of the accident, and a legal duty or violated may vary depending on the particular circumstances of the injury and the relationship of those involved in the accident. For example, a boxing instructor may not hit you in the face when you walk down the street, but he can if you have signed up for a boxing class and you are sparring with him voluntarily.

In addition to personal injury cases can often be very complex, depending on the specific characteristics caused the accident. For example, if a construction worker is injured at a San Antonio construction site, the employer may incur liability for failing to provide for the safety of workers. However, if a construction worker is a contractor the employer is not liable, because the contractor is responsible for their own safety while on site, which means that the employer, then, probably, can not be held liable for the damages incurred by the contractor. In order to accurately assess the context of personal injury, it is important to have experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices at your side to help you understand what possible legal options so that you can be fully and fairly compensated for your injury.

Personal Injury Cases Must Meet Three Criteria

In all cases of injury claims, three special elements must be part of the case: liability, damages and solvency. Like a three-legged stool, if one of these aspects is missing, the case will not be able to stand in a courtroom.

Liability And Damages In A Case Of Personal Injury Accident Claims

Where the defendant has violated a legal duty to the plaintiff and the plaintiff has suffered a financial loss, ie damage caused by that violation, the defendant claimed to be responsible for injury to the victim. Responsibility is just who is to blame for an accident causing injury. Sometimes it's just one party, while other times there may be many parties that may have contributed in one form or another of the accident. In the majority of injuries a breach of any legal duty owed is often the result of negligence or recklessness standard. In other words, the defendant had a moment of inattention, and it quickly led to the accident. For example, the standard negligence occurs when a driver is momentarily distracted, perhaps by texting, and causes a wreck.

The accused may also constitute a breach of statutory duty owed by gross negligence. This means that the defendant engaged in conduct which they knew would probably lead to an accident causing injury. Drivers who choose to drink and drive and cause an accident in San Antonio are guilty of drunk driving and guilty of gross negligence because they are aware that their actions have the potential to cause an accident. In addition, deliberate actions such as assault with a deadly weapon is another way that the defendant might violate their legal duty to a plaintiff. In a San Antonio personal injury case, responsibility should be established, and it means that legal representation must be able to show how the defendant's negligence caused your injury.

Two Ways To Win

In the real world, trial is not the only way to make your claim so that you can recover from your injuries. Yes, you can go to trial, which is usually not as dramatic as what you see on TV and there isn’t a lot of yelling, or you can agree on a settlement with the insurer or the defendant’s attorney. Below we'll explain a bit more about these two ways to win your case and why you need experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices.

Demanding A Settlement Offer

In a settlement, the plaintiff and the defendant get to avoid the need for a trial through negotiation and agreement without employing the help of a judge or jury. In a typical settlement agreement, the defendant voluntarily agrees to pay the plaintiff a sum of money. In exchange for compensation, the plaintiff agrees not to sue the defendant in the future more money for damage caused by the accident. The acceptance of a settlement offer is good for the victim. By asking for and taking a fair settlement offer, you can usually get your money much faster than if it would have went to court. Moreover, by accepting a fair offer to avoid the uncertainty that is always present when you entrust the future of a trial before a panel of jurors selected at random and who may not always judge things properly.

To solicit and receive a good settlement offer by a defendant is usually not easy and usually requires the support of experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices. Defendants know that they have no obligation to pay anything unless you win your case in court. For this reason, they are rarely motivated to voluntarily pay money into a settlement, unless they are nervous, they lose if they undergo a trial. The best way to make a defendant is willing to pay to have solid evidence and a lawyer with an excellent reputation on the page. Experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices will ensure that in your case, you have both. We were the claims handling accident and injury litigation for twenty years and we have won favorable settlements and judgments against almost all major insurers in the country. Insurance companies know our reputation and often prefer to settle for our customers to meet experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices in the courtroom.

If you have not hired an attorney, the defendant in your case you can try to convince him to accept a settlement offer that is bad. Although a good settlement can be a benefit to victims, bad settlements permanently deprive victims of their rights, requiring that you lose your ability to prosecute the accused so that his case is really worth. The defendants know that accident victims often face large bills and lost income. They hope to get you to accept small amounts of fast money that hang in front of you instead of fulfilling their obligations. They will assert that their low-ball offer is all that you are entitled to, or that there will be no better settlement forthcoming whether in trial or through negotiation. They will tell you their offer is the best you can expect. Do not believe their lies. If the defendant in you case offers a settlement and you have not hired an attorney, chances are he is trying to fool you. Experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices can tell you how much money your case is worth and they help you assess whether the defendant's offer is truly fair.

Going To A Jury Trial

Many times and for various reasons, claims can not be resolved out of court. If the disagreement persists, we should take your claim to court. Between the plaintiff and the defendant, the task of the plaintiff is always more difficult in trial. This is due to the fact that the plaintiff has the burden of proof in such proceedings. They have to prove the defendant is liable for the injuries you incurred. If the burden of proof has not been adequately met, the defendant will win.

Given this heavy burden on his shoulders, it is rarely a good idea to represent yourself in court proceedings. This is particularly true in complex cases such as accident lawsuits. Meeting the burden of proof generally requires a solid legal strategy, convincing evidence and of course qualified, experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices. You need a sound strategy that shows the four elements of accident and personal injury claims convincingly. These four elements are duty, breach, causation and damages. Below we explain each of these four elements to get a better idea of how you can win a trial and get your just compensation settlement offer.

Duty is the initial part of the personal injury case. Proof of duty is showing that the defendant in your case has a duty of care, which means he has a duty not to cause you harm. The obligation to ensure that people need to protect each other is one of the basic requirements of law but the degree to which it exists depends largely on the circumstances of each situation and the special nature of the relationship between the parties.

In most cases it is not difficult to prove that defendants in a personal injury accident had a duty as they are expected to act towards others as a reasonable person would to avoid causing harm. It is likely that this "reasonable person" applies to activities of the defendant in your case.

The next part of an injury claim that experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices must prove is breach. Once you have demonstrated both the duty and the breach of which have shown that the accused is guilty of negligence. This is an important step to prove the liability of the defendant. Most personal injury accidents involve breaches of duty of care towards the victim if it is shown that this is something that a reasonable person would or would not have taken the necessary precautions to ensure safety. To establish breach, you must provide evidence of the defendant’s actions to the court; it will simply will not do to just assert it. Then the jurors will see that these actions were a serious breach of duty of care.

After you have proven that the defendant acted negligently, the tertiary element you must prove is causation. You have to prove the defendant's negligence was the cause of your injuries. We have seen how several parties could have a role in the personal injury accident you suffered, and how many people can be held liable at the time an accident occurs. In many cases, the defendant tries to blame other parties, or even you, saying they are not the reason that the accident happened. If you do not have enough evidence to prove that the defendants you named in your claim caused the accident, you will not win your case. This is yet another reason why you need experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices.

Finally, after we’re done establishing the defendant's liability, experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices will prove your damages. The term "damages" means the money that defendants must pay you if you win your case. You can collect damages for injuries such as pain and suffering, medical bills, repair bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity and other losses you may incur due to your accident. We will explain the two types of damages below, but first we want to explain how and why you have to “prove” your damages.

When looking for compensation, it is not enough to ask for it or demand it. You must prove you are entitled to it. This requires the calculation of the total amount of your losses and the evidence of your claims must be shown to support the calculations. In most cases, the amount of personal injury and accident claims is a controversial subject. The defendant in your case is likely to have calculated what he thinks of the loss if he loses the trial. If the number is even greater than $1, it is much smaller than your own calculations. It is likely that he will say your estimation of the damages has been exaggerated, and the sum is equivalent to looking for easy money. Calculation of damage is often not an easy task for those who are not lawyers, and even inexperienced San Antonio law firms don’t do it well. If medical treatment is continuous, for instance, it may take some work to estimate the amount of your last medical bill, one, especially if you do not know the extent of your treatment will be and how long it will take to recover. In addition, it is often difficult for non-lawyers to put a price on ambiguous intangible losses such as pain and suffering.

Calculation of loss of earning capacity can be another obstacle for some San Antonio law firms. Damages for loss of earning capacity are designed to compensate the claimant for the salary he or she will not be able to earn in the future due to the inability to resume work after an accident. Calculation of loss of earning capacity is not as simple as taking the latest victim of the accident annual salary, multiplied by life expectancy. You should consider factors such as cost of money and promotions and raises, which would have been a victim, if he could continue working. Experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices will take into account all the losses and calculate all the damages properly. We also know what evidence is needed to prove these damages.

Thus, the damage are assessed. There are two types of compensation, to which damages can be applied: general damages and special damages.

Special damages, on the other side is often more difficult to estimate, because a specific amount financial often already exist. For example, specific damages sought for medical expenses, past and future legal fees, property damage, repair or rehab costs, loss of earnings or lost earning capacity. Seeking special damages is important in a case of personal injury claims because damages may be utilized to pay the bills that an injured person may have already received. But not all special damages as simple as medical bills. For example, loss of future earnings are for the current salary of an injured worker, multiplied by the number of years that he could reasonably have continued to work had a debilitating injury prevented them from doing so. However, such a basis of calculation does not take into account likely raises or promotions, which experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices can figure out in a way that a jury understands and accepts them.

General damages may include physical pain and suffering, loss of consortium, disfigurement, mental anguish, or a combination of the above, depending on the specific types of damages. General damages are often highly subjective, which means you'll probably need the experience of experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices in order to accurately calculate general damages. General damages are subjective because of the unique circumstances of each case of injury. For example, a firefighter rescuing a child from a burning building, and two of them may suffer the same amount of burns. However, we can say that the firefighter suffered minor emotional distress compared to the child, as a firefighter was prepared to suffer an injury in the course of his work. In other words, the injured child is likely to receive more overall general damages due to an increased amount of emotional distress.

Both general damages and special damages may be sought in an injury claim in a San Antonio claim. When experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices take on a personal injury case, we will formulate a detailed list of your damages and make a request packet to send to the defendant or his insurer, so they are aware of the extent of the compensation we are asking in your name. Ensuring that all your damages are faithfully calculated, we work to see that you get fair compensation for your injuries so you can return to your life without incurring additional financial stress.

Proof Of Solvency In A Personal Injury Accident

If the defendant is not solvent, then suing for compensation is pointless because the defendant will be unable to pay. For example, filing a personal injury claim against someone who is homeless would be fruitless, because it is more than likely that person will have no economic means to compensate you for your damages. Even if a homeless person is completely responsible for the accident and the victim suffered injuries resulting in a kind of real economic damages, there’s no way to get blood from a stone.

However, unscrupulous attorneys can use solvency (or rather insolvency) as a means of helping their clients to escape responsibility for an accident causing injury. For example, a defense attorney or the defendant may choose to hide their financial assets and claim to be insolvent, and therefore not able to compensate the victim. When San Antonio personal injury attorney Michael Grossman handles a personal injury case in which a defendant may be claiming bankruptcy, we will work to verify their claim, either by an investigation or other means. In other words, we will ensure that the person is not able to lie about their solvency, so they can be held responsible for their injuries.

If You Have Been Injured In An Accident In San Antonio, Contact Grossman Law Offices

Do not assume that you may be able to represent you in a personal injury case in Texas. Many who have tried to do ended up with the demands that were denied or cases that were dismissed because they were not aware of key information or certain processes that must be undertaken in a court proceeding. Knowing the law is but a single aspect of the process; be able to apply law and is more important.

Injury claims that are not based on evidence but speculation will lose, and a non-lawyer often doesn’t have the means of investigation or the professional know-how of experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices. Additionally, the reputation of a lawyer often goes a long way to help a client, as a prominent lawyer who has built a reputation over the years will motivate the defendant to offer you a better settlement. For example, many insurance companies and defense lawyers familiar with experienced San Antonio law firms like Grossman Law Offices often provide our clients out-of-court settlements instead of meeting our lawyers in court.

Call toll free to 1-855-393-0000 and we can give you free legal advice. Two decades of experience in personal injury claims in Texas means that Michael Grossman and his team lawyers are willing and able to help you obtain compensation for injuries from all responsible parties. Contact one of the leading San Antonio law firms, Grossman Law Offices and get on the road to recovery.