San Antonio Personal Injury Attorney

San Antonio, Texas Injury Attorney Michael Grossman Explains What You Will Face When Filing a Personal Injury Claim

Being hurt in an accident can be a harrowing experience, and victims are often left wondering what to do.

They have to seek medical attention, deal with the complicated process of filing an insurance claim, and in some cases, they may even consider filing a personal injury lawsuit to secure the compensation they need. Many people feel that they can successfully represent themselves in a trial and be successful. Unfortunately, this is rarely the cast. Simply knowing the laws is only a small part of being able to win a lawsuit. But San Antonio personal injury attorney Michael Grossman is here to answer your questions, and explain to you just what you are up against.

What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

In most situations, a person who is injured due to another person’s negligence is entitled to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for those injuries. But there are a number of conditions that must be met in order for a victim to have a legitimate personal injury lawsuit. Primarily, the defendant in the lawsuit must be the proximate cause for the victim’s injuries. The proximate cause is the sine qua non, or the factor without which the victim would not have been hurt. As an example, consider a person hurt by a drunk driver. The drunk driver is (most likely) a proximate cause to the victim’s injuries, i.e. the victim would not have been hurt if not for the negligent actions of the drunk driver.

However, there can be more than one proximate cause in an accident. In the above drunk driving example, the bar that served the driver to the point of intoxication may be held liable as well. Texas law can hold bars and other establishments responsible for damages caused by a drunk person if that establishment served the drunk person to the point of intoxication. This is called a dram shop cause of action, and it is just one of many different ways in which a personal injury lawsuit can include multiple different defendants.

What Elements Make up a Strong Personal Injury Lawsuit?

In order to have a personal injury lawsuit worth pursuing, three elements must be present:

• Solvent defendants: one or more of the proximate causes of your injuries must have money or some other asset which he or she can use to compensation you for your damages
• Damages: you must have suffered some damages (physical, financial, etc.) worthy of compensation. These can include medical expenses, property damage, lost income, or mental/emotional turmoil and pain and suffering
• Violation of duty of care

A duty of care is an obligation (either explicit or implicit) to take another person’s safety into consideration. For example, a doctor has a duty of care towards his patient, to act in the patient’s best interest, based on the information available, and to make sure to take adequate steps to secure all relevant information. More implicitly, drivers on the road have a duty of care towards other drivers, to make sure that they are not driving recklessly and putting other motorists, pedestrians, and other individuals in danger.

How can Grossman Law Offices Assist me?

Our firm can make sure that the three elements necessary for a strong case are present. Whenever my firm takes a case, we immediately begin a thorough investigation of the accident scene, your injuries, and the other individuals or parties involved in the accident. We do a thorough asset check on each defendant in order to prove that they are solvent. Some individuals or unscrupulous insurance adjusters will attempt to hide a defendant’s assets in order to keep you from seeking the full amount of compensation you deserve. Our attorneys know every trick in the book that these people use to hide their assets, and we will do everything we can to dig up buried assets and make sure that those responsible for your injuries cannot get off the hook by claiming to be insolvent.

In addition, we will make sure that all of your damages are well documented and presented. In some cases, a victim may have trouble proving the extent of his or her damages. Proving up damages must be done in a specific way, and a victim who does not follow the proper procedure will likely not receive the full amount of compensation that he or she deserves. We will make sure that the full extent of your injuries is known, including compensation for wages lost due to time spent away from work, and compensation for the mental and emotional pain of being the victim of a serious accident. Whenever our firm submits a demand packet, we include expert witness testimony, medical records, and other documents that prove how seriously you were injured. We supplement this with reference to case precedents, legal statutes, and other lawsuits our firm has handled. This serves to illustrate that other people in positions similar to yours received substantial compensation, and when insurance adjusters are reminded of the settlements that we often secure for victims, they may be much more willing to cooperate with our demands.

Furthermore, we will extensively investigate the scene of your accident in order to identify every possible defendant. We will file unique, specialized claims against every liable party in order to make sure that you receive the highest amount of compensation possible. We will fight hard to make sure that all parties responsible for your injuries are brought to justice.

Can’t I Avoid Attorney Fees if I Represent Myself?

While it is theoretically possible for an individual to avoid paying attorney fees if he or she successfully represents himself or herself, in the twenty years that my firm has been representing victims in personal injury lawsuits, we have never seen a non-attorney successfully present a personal injury lawsuit. The truth is that knowing the law is not enough. Filing a lawsuit is an incredibly technical endeavor. Do you know how to properly document your case, your injuries, and present these documents to the correct parties at the correct time? Do you know how to respond to a list of admissions from a defense counsel? Do you know how to build a strong demand packet? Do you know how to prove up damages? If you cannot answer yes to all of those questions, you probably need a professional to represent your case in court.

Consider this example of a man who tried to represent himself in a personal injury case. Our firm recently spoke to a man who had suffered approximately $70,000 in damages in a traffic accident. He had a fairly strong case, and our firm could have probably secured him a large settlement. But he was worried about paying legal fees, so he decided to represent himself instead. He spent a few months negotiating with insurance adjusters, and he was ultimately offered a $3,000 settlement. At this point, he contacted our firm and said he was considering hiring an attorney, but after considering it for awhile, he decided he was confident that he could earn more by representing himself and avoiding legal fees. He decided to threaten a lawsuit, thinking that this would scare the insurance company into offering him a reasonable settlement.

But here is the truth: insurance adjusters are not scared of people without legal experience. They have a team of defense attorneys and insurance adjusters on retainer who deny claims just like yours every day. In this example, the insurance company gladly went to court. The insurance company’s defense attorneys sent the man a list of admissions. The man had no idea what to do with this list, and thought it was just for informational purposes. When the man failed to respond to the list of admissions, the defense counsel filed a summary judgment motion. Since the man did not respond to list of admissions, the judge dismissed the case. The man walked away with nothing.

Ultimately, the courts do not hold your hand if you are representing yourself. They treat everyone the same, whether you are an attorney with twenty years of experience or a layman just trying to secure fair compensation. Our firm can make sure that your rights are protected. Do not let those responsible for your injuries escape liability out of fear of paying legal fees. Our firm offers free consultations, and if you hire us to represent you, you do not pay us one cent unless we can secure a settlement for you. So what do you have to lose? For twenty years, we have been investigating and resolving hundreds of personal injury cases in all kinds of accident areas. We have faced every major insurance carrier in the country. Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys are aware of our successful track record, and they will often fully cooperate with our demands for fear of facing our lawyers in court. In other words, we are dedicated to getting you the compensation you need and getting you back on your feet as quickly as possible. So if you or someone in your family has been hurt in an accident, contact San Antonio personal injury attorney Michael Grossman today, and make sure you get the justice you deserve.