Houston Personal Injury Attorneys

Have You Been Seriously Hurt in Houston? Call Our Personal Injury Law Firm

You are most probably entitled to seek compensation for any financial losses that you suffered if you have been injured in an accident caused by someone else's negligence.

This lawsuit would seek to compensate you for such damages, or financial losses, as medical bills, lost wages due to hospitalization, loss of future earning potential, as well as pain and suffering. Winning this type of case, however, can be a complicated procedure and can most certainly be difficult without the assistance of an experienced Houston personal injury lawyer. Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices has had over 20 years of experience successfully litigating thousands of personal injury cases here in Texas and is ready to assist you now.

What Exactly Is Personal Injury?

Caused by the negligence of another person or entity, a personal injury may be physical, mental or emotional. Although on-the-job accidents and automobile accidents are two very common causes of personal injuries, there are many other types of accidents that occur daily that cause injuries because of negligence. By law, a victim may seek financial compensation by filing a personal in jury lawsuit against the negligent party or parties. The point of the lawsuit is so the victim may be compensated for these financial losses, also called damages. By law, the defendant does not owe anything to the victim unless that victim can prove that the defendant was the proximate cause of the accident that injured the victim and lead directly to the damages suffered by the victim.

Do I Have a Strong Personal Injury Case?

As stated above, a victim may initiate a personal injury lawsuit if that victim has suffered damages resulting from injuries received in an accident caused by someone else's negligence. As an example, lets look at automobile accidents. These generally occur due to the negligent driving of one of the drivers; in this case, that driver is said to have violated his or her legal duty to the victim in regards to public safety; that negligent driver may be held liable.

To win your case you must be able to prove that the defendant owed you a legal duty and then violated that legal duty. Proving a legal duty can be often challenging, since the legal duty may vary from case to case depending on circumstances. As an example, let's look at the differing scenarios involving a surgeon. In the operating room it is accepted that the surgeon will make an incision on his patient. If that surgeon approached the same person but only now at a restaurant and cut that person, this behavior is unacceptable. Same two people, same type of incision, but since different types of duty of care prevail, then in the later case that duty of care was indeed violated. Determining this violation of duty of care is the province of a skilled Houston personal injury attorney such as Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices.

In addition, personal injury cases may quickly become even more complicated. In this example, let's look at a construction worker injured on the job at a construction site. Generally, the construction employer would be responsible for providing for the workers safety and could be found liable if this were not done adequately. Sometimes, however, the construction company owner will try to say that the injured worker was not a regular employee but rather a contract, or temporary, worker; in that case the owner would be absolved of any responsibility for that worker's injuries.

The Elements of a Strong Case

All winning lawsuits have three specific aspects that must be proved in order to be successful: liability, damages and solvency. If any one of these elements is not able to be proved in court, then you will definitely lose your case.

Liability in Personal Injury Cases

The defendant is liable when that person violates a legal duty owed to a plaintiff and consequently causes that plaintiff to suffer injuries that also incur financial losses. In simpler terms, liability means who is at fault in an accident that causes injuries. There may be but one liable party or there may well be multiple parties sharing liability. In most cases this violation of legal duty occurs because of carelessness, a form of standard negligence. This carelessness may have resulted from inattention and that inattention lead to an accident. In a car accident, perhaps the driver was trying to send a text and became distracted and crashed into the victim's car.

A higher level of negligence occurs in cases involving gross negligence. In these cases the defendant is aware that his or her behavior may cause injury to another person. For example, drunk driving is generally a form of gross negligence. At an even higher level are cases involving an intentional or deliberate tort which may occur when a defendant intends to cause injury or harm, such as assault. A skilled Houston personal injury attorney can show how the defendant's negligence caused the accident that injured you.

Assessing Damages in Personal Injury Cases

After proving liability, you must next prove that damages resulted directly because of the accident to the victim. Damages and injuries are different terms; injuries are the actual physical things that happened to you in an accident such as a broken leg in a car crash. Damages is the amount of financial losses that you suffered because of these injuries. If that broken leg cost you $1000 in medical bills, then that $1000 would be your related damages. There are two types of damages for which you may seek compensation: General Damages and Special Damages.

General damages are quite subjective, and thus are difficult to quantify. They may include such things as disfigurement, loss of consortium, physical impairment, pain and suffering or any combination of these. General damages are difficult to prove since they vary from case to case significantly. As an example, let's look at case involving a firefighter and a child both similarly injured during a fire. It probably could be argued that the child deserved more in emotional pain and suffering compensation than did the firefighter since that was an inherent part and possible risk of the fire fighters job. The skilled Houston personal injury lawyers at Grossman Law Offices can accurately calculate these intangible types of damages and then present that to even the most skeptical jury to win your case.

Special damages are more easily quantifiable and thus are generally easier to prove. These types of damages may include medical bill, property damage repair costs, lost income because of necessary hospitalization, loss of future potential income, etc. Sometimes, however, special damages are not as straightforward as these examples. How, for example, can you accurately calculate the loss of future potential income for a 25 year old with outstanding career prospects? It is not enough to merely multiply the current annual salary by the expected number of years left in the workforce. This would not include such significant things as anticipated raises based upon merit, bonuses received from educational advances, the value of medical or dental or retirement programs, or the cost of money or the effects of inflation. Michael Grossman or another of the skilled Houston personal injury attorneys at Grossman Law Offices can accurately calculate these types of complex damages and then fully substantiate them for presentation to a jury.

Sometimes both general as well as special damages may be sought in a personal injury case. The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices will then organize a demand packet itemizing all damages sought to ensure that you are fairly and fully compensated for all your financial losses, both present and future.

Solvency in Personal Injury Cases

A defendant must be solvent in order for you to win your case. In other words, the defendant must have the financial resources to pay your claim should you win you case.

The issue of solvency may become complicated if an unscrupulous defendant or even defense attorney decides to attempt to hide assets in order to appear insolvent and thus escape fiscal responsibility. The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices, however, will always conduct a full asset check into the defendant; if assets are indeed being hidden, we will find them or ensure that that defendant is fully accountable.

Contact Grossman Law Offices

It is almost always a very poor idea for a non-lawyer to attempt to represent him or herself in a Texas personal injury lawsuit. Many people think that if they have a basic grasp of legal knowledge particularly as it pertains to their own case that they should be able to attempt self-representation. In reality, knowing the law is only a small part of winning a case. Knowing how to apply the law, knowing all the procedures involved in contemporary courtroom law are all skills that depend upon advanced schooling plus years and years of hands-on experience to master.

In addition, there is the very important issue of the reputation of the law firm who represents you in your claim. The attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have been successfully litigating personal injury cases for over 20 years. Over this period of time we have won millions and millions of dollars for thousands of Texas clients from the big insurers nationally. The huge insurance companies are only too familiar with our outstanding track record and today often will seek to settle out of court rather than face our tenacious attorneys in front of a jury. This of course can be beneficial to you, allowing you to spend less time involved in the whole legal process and to often receive your settlement check faster. This in turn will allow you to return more rapidly to your regular day to day life.

If you or a family member has suffered a personal injury due to negligence then contact Grossman Law Offices today at 1-855-392-0000 (toll-free). We are available 24 hours a day and are pleased to offer a complimentary consultation. Michael Grossman and his team of attorneys are looking forward to discussing your case with you and to answering all your specific questions about your case.