Is It Worth Suing for Personal Injury? Key Factors to Consider Before Taking Legal Action in Dallas
What’s Covered on This Page
- Considering a Personal Injury Lawsuit? Essential Elements to Evaluate Before Filing a Claim in Dallas
- Elements of a Compelling Personal Injury Case
- Is it worth filing a personal injury lawsuit if I was partly at fault for the accident in Dallas?
- What is the biggest mistake people make after a personal injury accident in Dallas?
- What do I need to prove to have a valid personal injury claim?
- Does a minor injury mean my personal injury case is not worth filing?
- What if the person who hurt me in Dallas does not have money to pay?
- How does Dallas County handle pain and suffering damages in personal injury cases?
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Considering a Personal Injury Lawsuit? Essential Elements to Evaluate Before Filing a Claim in Dallas
Elements of a Compelling Personal Injury Case
Unfortunately, the unfortunate truth is that not all injuries translate into viable personal injury claims. This is why it is to determine whether your situation actually fits the criteria for a lawsuit, so we’ll address what is and isn’t required to file one. In Dallas, we see hundreds of individuals every single month who are not sure if their injuries fall within the purview of personal injury law.
First and foremost, you must establish that the other party was negligent., you must prove that your injuries were the direct result of that negligence. Third, you must also demonstrate that you have sustained actual financial damages that are tied specifically to those injuries.
Is it really this simple?
To be quite honest, proving negligence and liability for injuries in Texas is relatively simple. First, Texas follows the modified comparative fault rule. Under this rule, you may still obtain compensation even if you were in any way partially to blame. Your damages simply get reduced by the percentage of fault the jury finds for you. The only time you get zero compensation is if you are judged to be more than 50 percent at fault. You can find this rule spelled out in Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. To begin with, consider whether you have enough proof to establish that the other party was mostly at fault.
Let’s consider an example. Assume you are involved in a car crash on I-35E in front of the Oak Lawn Avenue exit. Assume that the other driver ran a red light or was distracted by a cell phone, which you can confirm through a police accident report. You were in no way negligent; you were at fault 0 percent of the time. Or, let’s also suppose that you were 5 MPH over the speed limit. That doesn’t kill your case, it just means that the other side will argue you share some blame.
The fact is, many people assume that they can’t file a claim if their actions were in any way to blame for the accident. However, this simply isn’t the case.
Necessary Medical Evidence Supporting Your Injuries
Most personal injury claims hinge on medical evidence. In other words, if you didn’t see a physician in immediate response to the accident that caused your injuries, the other side may try to use that fact to show that you weren’t really hurt at all. They’ll argue that something else caused your injury. Go to the emergency room. If you’re not able to access the ER, see an urgent care doctor. Otherwise, visit your regular physician. See your physician right after the accident.
Medical records are the basis of any personal injury claim. The medical record should be able to trace your injuries back to the accident or incident that caused them. Whether it is an X-ray, an MRI report, a doctor’s written note, a referral to physical therapy or other medical records, the more you’re able to produce to demonstrate your injuries, the stronger your claim will be. It will be more difficult for the insurance company to downplay the severity of your injuries.
Another point that people often forget is that subsequent medical visits are just as critical as the first one that you make. If your doctor tells you to return for a follow-up in two weeks and you skip that, that can actually be used as an indication that you were not harmed at the time of the injury. The adjuster would point to that gap and say you must have been feeling fine.
A Lake Highlands area woman walked into our offices after a slip and fall at a grocery store. She went to the ER that night. She got checked out. Then she did nothing for three months until she saw anyone else. By then, the insurance company for the store was saying her back pain had nothing to do with her injury and that it came from some different injury entirely. We definitely still had a viable case, but that gap in treatment made our job that much tougher.
Measurable Losses You Can Put a Dollar Amount on
Injuries alone do not get you a lawsuit. You need damages. Damages is the legal term for the losses that you have suffered due to another party’s conduct.
Damages come in several forms:
- Past Medical Expenses You Have Incurred
- Future Medical Needs You Have or Will Have
- Lost Wages for Work You Missed
- Future Lost Earning Potential if Your Job Is No Longer Available
- Pain and Suffering
Most of these are pretty easy to add up: receipts and pay stubs. Pain and suffering is much more nebulous. There is real money in your pain and suffering damages but it is much harder to pin down. Dallas county courts weigh the injuries you have sustained, the time it takes to recover, and the extent to which your life has changed to determine a dollar amount for your pain and suffering.
So the general rule of thumb to determine if your claim has financial merit: The higher the medical expenses and the longer your recovery, the more the claim is worth. A broken arm that heals in six weeks looks different than a herniated disc that may require surgery and months of rehabilitation and physical therapy.
This is where people often get stuck. “I hurt myself but I didn’t need any medical care so my case is not worth filing.” Often this is true. However, a “minor injury” can sometimes lead to $15,000 to $20,000 in medical bills. That isn’t a minor injury in the grand scheme of things.
Able Party to Pay
This is another factor that people do not think about very often. You may have a very strong case with a clear case of liability and substantial medical expenses. However, it the tortfeasor (a person who is held responsible for committing a tort) doesn’t have any money, you probably are not going to get paid.
The vast majority of Dallas personal injury lawsuits involve money paid by an insurance company. Either a car insurance policy, a homeowner’s insurance policy, or a business liability policy. Insurance coverage is the limit to how much you can expect to recover in many types of lawsuits.
While Texas requires drivers to carry auto liability insurance limits of at a minimum $30,000 for injury per person, the Texas Department of Insurance reports that one in five Texas drivers may be uninsured. If your injuries were caused by an uninsured motorist, your own policy could contain uninsured motorist coverage which would allow you to collect compensation from your own auto insurance company.
This is why we always suggest people take a look at the coverages in their own insurance policies. Your insurance may be more relevant than you think to your recovery. When injuries happen at an organization like a restaurant in Deep Ellum or at a park in White Rock, such as a fall or a dog bite, the business owner or property owner’s insurance policy is most relevant. A larger enterprise is likely to carry a larger insurance policy than a smaller one and, when your damages are high, this is important.
The Texas Statute of Limitations
There is a time limit. The statute of limitations for many personal injury cases in Texas is two years from the date of the incident and, if you miss this time, you are barred from pursuing your claim with few exceptions. Two years may seem like plenty of time, but it isn’t enough. Time moves on; evidence is lost, witnesses’ memories fade, and security cameras recordings are wiped. The sooner you start gathering your evidence the better. We’ve had clients who have contacted us at 23 months after the accident when they thought they’d be okay but they weren’t that close. And, some deadlines for filing claims are even shorter. If a government organization in Dallas has to be involved, such as in a car accident with a city bus or if you are injured because of a pothole in the sidewalk or road, there may be a notice of claim that has to be filed within six months and the time can sneak up on you.
What about emotional injuries?
Most of the emphasis is placed on injuries you’ve received to your body, but if you’ve suffered emotional injuries that can be considered in a personal injury claim. For example, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and sleep disorders are all considered compensable damages. However, if you have no underlying physical injuries from a traumatic event, your emotional suffering can be harder to prove and, in Texas, there are generally requirements that you also have some type of physical injuries along with emotional ones in order to win your claim. To document your emotional injuries, you will want medical records and/or a record of being prescribed medication for anxiety or sleep problems. If, for example, you were rear-ended at a slow speed on a road like I-35E in Uptown and you were not injured physically, but developed anxiety so severe you’re no longer able to get in your car and drive to work every day, it may be worth pursuing a claim as a serious loss of earnings and quality of life.
How do you determine if you have a case?
In general, you will know if you can make a good case for compensation by considering the following criteria. Was someone else responsible for your injury? Is there medical documentation of your injuries? Did you suffer a loss, such as lost wages, due to your injury? Can compensation be found from insurance coverage or assets of the liable party? Are you within the statute of limitations? If you’re answering “yes” to most of these questions, you probably have a case worth investigating. However, even “probably” doesn’t mean “definitely.” Each case is unique and there are always circumstances that can affect the value and viability of your claim and your legal strategy. The strength of the evidence and the severity of the injury are only two examples of factors that can affect the strength of your claim. Establishing the other driver’s level of fault is an important factor. This is exactly why speaking with someone in Dallas about your case before making any decisions makes sense. Not after a full year has passed. Not after you’ve already been presented a very low offer by an insurance company. Before any of this has occurred.
We consistently give this advice to everyone. Getting a consultation with a professional doesn’t require a fee, but it could save you from leaving thousands of dollars on the table. If you aren’t sure if your situation is qualifying, the team at our personal injury law practice can go over the details with you, and assist you in gauging your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about is it worth suing for personal injury? key factors to consider before taking legal action services in Dallas
Is it worth filing a personal injury lawsuit if I was partly at fault for the accident in Dallas?
Yes, you may still recover money even if you were partly at fault. Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule under Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Your payout is reduced by your percentage of fault. You only get nothing if you are found more than 50 percent responsible. So if you were speeding slightly on I-35E but the other driver ran a red light, you likely still have a case worth pursuing.
What is the biggest mistake people make after a personal injury accident in Dallas?
The biggest mistake is waiting too long to see a doctor — or skipping follow-up visits. Insurance adjusters use gaps in treatment to argue your injuries came from something else. A Lake Highlands area woman had a solid slip-and-fall case, but a three-month gap in treatment gave the store’s insurer reason to dispute her back injury. See a doctor right away and keep every appointment your doctor schedules.
What do I need to prove to have a valid personal injury claim?
You need to prove three things: the other party was negligent, their negligence directly caused your injuries, and you suffered real financial losses because of those injuries. Medical records, police reports, and pay stubs all help build that proof. The stronger your documentation, the harder it is for an insurance company to downplay your injuries. Our parent page on personal injury lawsuits in Dallas walks through how these elements work together.
Does a minor injury mean my personal injury case is not worth filing?
Not always. What feels like a minor injury can sometimes lead to medical bills of fifteen thousand to twenty thousand dollars. A broken arm that heals in six weeks is very different from a herniated disc needing surgery and months of physical therapy. The size of your medical expenses and the length of your recovery are the two biggest factors in deciding if a claim has real financial value.
What if the person who hurt me in Dallas does not have money to pay?
Most Dallas personal injury cases are paid by insurance companies, not the individual person. Car insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and business liability policies are the most common sources of payment. If the at-fault party has no insurance and no assets, collecting a judgment becomes very difficult. This is why identifying available insurance coverage early is one of the first steps in deciding whether a lawsuit makes sense.
How does Dallas County handle pain and suffering damages in personal injury cases?
Dallas County courts look at the type of injury you suffered, how long your recovery takes, and how much your daily life has changed. There is no fixed formula. The more serious and long-lasting your injury, the higher a pain and suffering award tends to be. Unlike medical bills, pain and suffering damages are harder to calculate, but they can make up a large part of your total recovery in a personal injury case.
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