Injuries to the neck are common in both sports and slip-and-fall accidents. Muscle strains, nerve damage, and even shattered bones in the neck are all possible outcomes, depending on the force of the hit. You may wind up spending a significant amount of money on your rehabilitation.
If you were injured because of someone else here in Houston, the law lets you take legal action against them. Here, we will discuss how you could work with a Houston neck injury lawyer in getting your expenses covered.
Proving Fault in Neck Injury Actions
Besides proving that the other person or entity is liable for the accident or intentional behavior, you need to prove that you suffer from a neck injury. This means you would have to show proper medical records, such as X-ray, CT scan, or MRI results.
You may also need a qualified medical professional to provide their opinion on how the incident was the most likely cause of your neck injury.
For a free legal consultation with a Neck Injury lawyer serving Houston, call 877-239-4878
What Can You Recover in a Neck Injury Settlement?
If you can successfully settle with the liable party, you can usually recover two types of damages:
- Economic Damages: These pay for your financial losses, such as medical expenses, medications, and rehab costs. If you could not work because of the injury, you could also get compensated for lost wages.
- Non-Economic Damages: Also known as pain and suffering damages, these compensate for abstract losses, such as the trauma and disabilities caused by the injury.
The Houston neck injury lawyer can help compile documents of your accumulated expenses like medical bills to make a more accurate estimate of your total settlement amount.
Houston Neck Injury Lawyer Near Me 877-239-4878
How to Recover Neck Injury Damages
Neck injury victims have two main options for recovering damages from the at-fault party. They can either file an insurance claim or take matters to court. The Houston neck injury lawyer can review your circumstances to help determine which option would work better for you. They can then help gather evidence and serve as your legal representative when facing insurance providers or attending court proceedings.
Liability Insurance Claim
While you could use your health insurance to help shoulder your medical expenses, you could also file a liability insurance claim with the at-fault party’s insurance provider. When a policyholder accidentally harms someone, the liability coverage helps shoulder the injury-related costs accrued by the victim.
For example, if a slip and fall accident in a restaurant caused the injury, you could file the claim with the restaurant’s business insurance company. On the other hand, if you got injured in a T-bone accident, you would have to approach the other driver’s auto insurer.
Neck Injury Lawsuit
However, there are some instances where you cannot recover damages through an insurance claim. One such situation would be if the other party injured your neck during a crime such as a robbery. As insurance companies generally do not cover intentional torts, you would have to get a settlement in another way.
This is where the neck injury lawsuit can come into play. Instead of dealing with insurance providers, the circuit court will review your proof and that of the other party before determining whether you are entitled to damages or not.
The courthouse in charge of the county where you got injured will preside over your lawsuit. Since your neck injury happened here in Houston, that means you must file the case at the Harris County Courthouse, which is coincidentally also located here in Houston.
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Laws to Consider When Taking Legal Action
Several state laws can affect the outcome of your neck injury claim or lawsuit. Let us look into some of these statutes:
Comparative Fault in Neck Injury Damages
Winning the settlement does not guarantee that you can receive the full amount of your damages. Due to the comparative fault rules in Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 33.012, you may only recover a percentage of the damages if you are ever partly liable for your neck injury.
For instance, let us say that a judge finds you 30 percent liable in a slip and fall accident for walking briskly on a wet floor. That means you would only receive 70 percent of the settlement. If the initial amount owed to you is $60,000, you will get $42,000.
However, if a judge or claims adjuster finds you over 50 percent liable, you cannot recover any amount. So you could check first with the Houston neck injury lawyer on whether you have enough proof to support your claims against the other driver, as this can spell the difference between getting a settlement or not.
Time Limits for Filing Houston Neck Injury Cases
Injury cases, including your Houston neck injury suit, must follow the statute of limitations specified in Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003. As such, you typically have two years to bring the suit to the county courthouse. Missing the deadline will bar you from recovering damages through the case, as the court will automatically dismiss it. You could avoid such a situation by building the lawsuit sooner than later.
There are, however, special instances that can move your filing deadline. These are called tolling exceptions, and you can have the Houston neck injury lawyer check if any apply to your case. For example, if the party who injured you left Texas, the statute of limitations would only begin when they return.
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Discuss Your Injury With Us Here
Neck injuries can significantly impact different aspects of your life, from your family life to your career in Houston. If someone other than yourself is to blame for your condition, the law office of Loncar Lyon Jenkins is here to help you recover from your losses. We have a Houston neck injury lawyer who can review your situation and guide you through the steps in seeking compensation.
Since 1988, our firm has worked with thousands of injury clients throughout Texas in practice areas ranging from medical malpractice to auto accidents. For your free case review, you can call the team anytime. You may also send us the details regarding your injury through the form provided here.
Call or text 877-239-4878 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
