San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyers | The Edwards Law Firm

Personal injury is a legal term that refers to an injury to the body, mind, or emotions due to someone else’s wrongful action or neglect. It is about personal harm as opposed to property damage, although many personal injury cases also involve property damage. A personal injury claim is a legal action taken to seek damages resulting from the personal injury or death of a person. Personal injury law is based on proving intentional, negligent, or reckless behavior by the at-fault party, which requires careful collection and evaluation of evidence and handling of sensitive information. Texas law allows victims or their loved ones to pursue liability for lost wages, medical expenses, and other losses.

Personal injury lawyers are essential advocates for personal injury victims or their loved ones who wish to pursue a claim for fair compensation. If you or your loved one have a potential personal injury claim in San Antonio TX, it is best to immediately receive answers to your questions and have a case review. Contact our San Antonio personal injury attorneys at The Edwards Law Firm for a free consultation to put your mind at ease.

What are common types of personal injury cases?

There are several types of personal injury. You can expect to hear about the following in San Antonio TX:

Car accidents: 

US Highways 90 and 281 and Interstates 10 and 40 are high-risk roads in the San Antonio TX area. Speeding during rush hour and distracted driving are the top causes of auto accidents in the city. In the case of truck accidents, a trucking company may be at-fault.

Bicycle accidents: 

Most bike accidents occur at or near a road, with failing to yield and right-of-way being the most common causes in San Antonio TX.

Motorcycle accidents: 

San Antonio TX is one of the worst cities for fatal motorcycle accidents.

Pedestrian accidents: 

These types of accidents can happen on roads, in parking lots, and even in driveways. Due to the lack of physical protection pedestrians have and direct collisions with other vehicles and the pavement, pedestrian accident victims sustain more serious injuries than victims in other types of traffic or motor vehicle accidents.

Product liability: 

This type of personal injury involves negligence in the design or manufacture of or a lack of information that is provided regarding a consumer product that results in injury to the user and any bystanders. It includes dangerous and defective products.

Slip and fall accidents: 

According to the CDC, one in four people age 65 and older fall annually, but children are also impacted. In San Antonio TX, common locations for slips and falls are bars and restaurants, retail stores, hotels and resorts, sidewalks and parking lots, office buildings, construction sites, and public parks and outdoor recreation areas.

Workplace accidents: 

Slips and falls, burns, broken bones, crushing injuries, overexertion injuries, electrocutions, and toxic chemicals are some examples of workplace accidents. While filing a worker’s compensation claim can cover some damages, there are limits, and it may be necessary to additionally file a personal injury claim. In the event of a wrongful death, worker’s compensation would also be insufficient to properly address economic and noneconomic damages.

Construction accidents: 

Falls, collisions with cranes, and other injuries to workers on-site as well as collisions from drivers passing through construction zones are common construction accidents in the San Antonio area.

Medical malpractice: 

When a medical professional causes injury or death of a patient by a negligent act or omission, it is known as medical malpractice. Wrongful birth, in which a doctor failed to warn a couple of their risk in conceiving or birthing a child with a serious genetic or congenital abnormality, falls under medical practice.

Dog bites: 

Unleashed, unsocialized dogs can cause serious injury with dog bites, especially to children and the elderly.

Boating accidents: 

Many Texans enjoy boating on lakes and rivers; unfortunately, tragic boating accidents occur in San Antonio TX often due to operator inattention, lack of boating experience, alcohol usage, and speeding.

Train accidents: 

Train accidents tend to involve a collision with one or more vehicles. Derailment due to improperly installed tracks, faulty equipment, and operators failing to give warning or otherwise being at-fault are common causes in the city.

Aviation accidents: 

Pilot error is the number one cause of aviation accidents.

Assault, battery, and other intentional torts:

 A wrongful act that infringes upon the safety, health, or freedom of someone else is a tort, and in an intentional tort, intent will need to be proven depending on the alleged tort.

Defamation, libel, and slander: 

Defamation is any type of communication that damages someone’s good reputation, with the written version being libel and the verbal version being slander.

Nursing home abuse:

 Elderly people in nursing homes are in a vulnerable position and susceptible to abuse and neglect by nursing home staff and/or other residents. Understaffing, improper training, and staff burnout are frequent factors in nursing home abuse prevalence.

Wrongful death: 

A personal injury claim is brought by the victim, whereas a wrongful death claim is brought by the victim’s family or estate. A wrongful death occurs when a death is caused by a negligent, willful, or wrongful act by someone else.

Personal Injury Law in Texas: How to Know If You Have a Case

Like in other states, personal injury law in Texas adheres to civil rather than criminal law in most cases. This means that if you have a personal injury lawsuit, you would normally file it in a district court, also known as a state trial court. These cases are governed by the Civil Practices and Remedies Code which helps determine negligence, duties of care, and other types of liability.

But how do you know if you have a case? According to Texas law, you must be able to identify an at-fault party, file your personal injury claim within the statute of limitations, and prove the defendant is at-fault for your personal injuries. Then, you can pursue financial compensation.

Why choose the Edwards Law Firm to handle my San Antonio personal injury case?

For over 50 years, our law firm has provided legal representation in personal injury cases. Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in personal injury trial law, our attorneys work with integrity and efficiency to prioritize personal injury clients’ needs and interests. We thoroughly assess our clients’ damages and seek maximum compensation for catastrophic injuries due to someone else’s negligence according to Texas law.

Why should I hire a San Antonio personal injury attorney after an accident?

Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there is no cost if the legal representation they provide does not help you win your case. It is also easy to obtain information regarding the facts of your personal injury case as well as begin to build trust with a potential lawyer with the no-obligation free consultations most offer. When you hire a personal injury attorney from the San Antonio area, it is most convenient for you to have legal representation in your locale. Our San Antonio personal injury attorneys are available to discuss our services and review your case.

Benefits of a Free Consultation from Our Law Firm

We’re not just any law firm. Our San Antonio personal injury lawyers are compassionate, knowledgeable, honest, and ethical in our approach to to cases and offer the following:

  • Free consultations
  • Contingency fee basis
  • Experienced personal injury attorneys
  • Legal counsel
  • Aggressive legal representation

If you’re unsure about your rights and responsibilities in your personal injury case or wonder if you have a personal injury lawsuit or a wrongful death lawsuit, a free consultation from The Edwards Law Firm can greatly inform and empower you.

Do you need a personal injury attorney in San Antonio TX?

It is important to remember that hiring a personal injury attorney, especially an experienced attorney, can greatly increase your chances of winning your case. An experienced personal injury lawyer can also increase your chances of receiving maximum compensation for lost wages, medical bills, medical expenses, medical care, mental anguish, or other damages you or your loved one suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence.

Types of Cases We Handle In San Antonio, Texas

If you have injuries sustained due to someone else’s neglect, or the death of your loved one was caused by someone else’s wrongful act, you can benefit from our legal counsel.

  • Car accidents including drunk driving, dangerous highway, rideshare, and uninsured/underinsured motorist accidents.
  • Truck accidents including commercial truck liability according to Texas law, shifting or dropped cargo, driver fatigue, and speeding or aggressive driving accidents.
  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Maritime injuries
  • Pedestrian and motorcycle accidents
  • School bus, city bus, and public transportation accidents
  • Product liability including common motor vehicle defects, defective airbags, defective brakes, defective tires, and baby products and children’s toys.
  • Premises liability including slip, trip and fall accidents, negligent security, dog bites, injuries at a store, shopping center, or restaurant, and swimming pool accidents.
  • Workplace injuries including worker’s compensation, non-subscriber work injuries, and oil field accidents.
  • Catastrophic injuries
  • Wrongful death
  • Stopping unethical attorneys

Some personal injury cases require litigation in trial to obtain a settlement. Thanks to our knowledge of personal injury trial law, we also handle personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits in the San Antonio area, in case your claim needs to go to trial.

Our law firm works to maximize your case value

There is no limit to the amount of financial compensation you may be entitled to, according to Texas law. However, personal injury cases involving government or public entities, such as medical malpractice or injury claims against a municipality, have caps that limit the amount of financial compensation.

If you call for a free consultation from a San Antonio personal injury attorney from our law firm, we will explain how we work to obtain maximum compensation on your behalf. We know that no two cases are alike, and we offer aggressive legal representation for all accident victims.

What is negligence in Texas personal injury cases?

Most Texas personal injury cases have the goal of proving someone else’s negligence. Every party is held to a reasonable standard of care to avoid injury, death, or property damage to other parties. When an act or omission results in harm to someone else, it is negligence, because the at-fault party failed to exercise their duty of care. Each type of public or private environment has rules regarding what constitutes a reasonable duty of care for the health and safety of others.

Higher Average Settlement When Represented by a Personal Injury Attorney

Obtaining financial compensation with inadequate limits or a lack of insurance coverage is a difficult challenge, as is dealing with an insurance company offering a quick settlement with a low amount. It is also necessary for accident victims to focus on their recovery. That is why it is important to have legal counsel with the knowledge of specific requirements for any type of personal injury case and the ability to seek maximum compensation according to each client’s unique circumstances.

In any type of personal injury case, it is the best course of action to hire a lawyer as soon as possible after you have vetted them to your satisfaction. When you have powerful legal representation from an experienced attorney who is very familiar with Texas law regarding rules of civic procedure, you are likely to receive a higher-than-average settlement, and your case can be resolved sooner than without.

Check Out Our Winning Case Results

Following are just a few examples of total recovery amounts from our case results:

  • Premises negligence, head injury: $10,750,000
  • 18-wheeler, death: $9,660,000
  • Premises liability, rape: $7,810,000
  • Products/medical malpractice, paraplegic: $5,629,000
  • Rehab hospital, head injury/coma: $4,150,000
  • Vehicle accident/employer, back injuries: $3,000,000

As you can see, every personal injury case is unique in its circumstances and the injuries the victim sustained, and a client may also have expenses. To aid in your recovery and resume your life, make sure to consult a qualified personal injury lawyer, such as from our law firm.

Questions to Ask a Personal Injury Lawyer

Following are some of the most common questions accident victims or their loved ones have regarding their personal injury case or wrongful death case:

  • Can you handle my case?
  • How long will my case take?
  • What do you charge?
  • What is my case worth?
  • When will my lawsuit be filed?
  • What is your trial experience?
  • Have you handled similar cases before?
  • How long have you been practicing?
  • Who will cover my medical expenses?
  • How can an attorney help?

It is good practice to ask a San Antonio personal injury lawyer these questions whenever you get a free consultation. Think of it as if you are interviewing the injury lawyer because you can then decide whether to hire them or not. Not only do you obtain information regarding your legal options, rights, and responsibilities and how a particular injury attorney will approach your case, but information regarding the attorney’s experience with personal injury trial law, which is essential in case you need to go to trial. At the Edwards Law Firm, we can answer these questions and more.

Also, it is best to have a board-certified injury lawyer on your side, especially if your case is difficult. In the state of Texas, there are 1,296 board-certified personal injury trial lawyers according to the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Less than 10 percent are board-certified out of the more than 100,000 attorneys licensed to practice. The San Antonio personal injury attorneys at our law firm are among them.

Let Us Deal with the Insurance Company for You

You may also deal with coverage limits from the at-fault party’s insurance company. For example, Texas law requires vehicle drivers to have auto insurance with a minimum of 30/60/25 coverage, or at least $30,000 for injuries per person, up to $60,000 per car accident, and $25,000 for property damage. Your case may also involve the at-fault party being  uninsured or underinsured for the coverage you need for your medical expenses and medical bills.

Get The Help You Need in San Antonio TX – Request Your Free Consultation Now

The Edwards Law Firm is available to offer ethical legal counsel and aggressive legal representation if you or a loved one has suffered catastrophic injuries in San Antonio TX. We serve the San Antonio area while our office is located in Corpus Christi TX.

Why file a personal injury claim?

Personal injury lawsuits are intended to protect the rights and financial hardships faced by accident victims or injury victims. When you file a personal injury claim, you are exercising your legal right to demand compensation as well as your responsibilities in proving your damages. Should it go to trial, then it becomes a personal injury lawsuit. The process of a personal injury claim or lawsuit is as follows:

  • Consultation: A free consultation is available by calling our law firm. Here is your opportunity to discuss the events surrounding your case, understand Texas law that applies, recognize your anticipated next steps, and learn how we work on a contingency fee basis.
  • Case investigation: Medical records, police reports, photographs, financial records, video, and witness testimony are among the potential crucial evidence that are necessary to win your personal injury case. Your injury attorney analyzes the amount of liability from the at-fault parties and the amount of damages you’ve sustained, while your part is to document as many details as you remember. If you haven’t already, seek immediate medical care. Having medical records that prove without a doubt that your personal injuries were caused by the accident and the at-fault party can only be done if you have a medical professional evaluate you as soon as possible.
  • Demand package: The investigation proceeds while medical treatment is underway. Once both are completed, your injury lawyer will present a demand package to the corporation or insurance company. Then, both parties will negotiate the amount to try to reach a settlement agreement.
  • Litigation: Should you not be able to reach a settlement with the at-fault party, the next step is to file a personal injury lawsuit, which demands more personal involvement from you and higher contingency fees. A neutral party will appear in a mediation session to hear your case and attempt to settle it, but if it is unsuccessful, the case will continue to trial. It is not easy to determine whether a personal injury case will go to trial or not, so an injury attorney who is certified in personal injury trial law is important.

Choosing the Best San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer

Unethical behavior from lawyers can take the form of overbilling, client abandonment, dishonesty, breach of trust, concealing evidence, and conflict of interest. To choose from the best personal injury lawyers, ask about the Texas personal injury cases they’ve handled. Free consultations are your best friend in learning how individual lawyers deal with personal injury claims.

What can you do if you can't afford to hire a personal injury lawyer in San Antonio TX?

Fortunately, most personal injury lawyers take cases on a contingency fee basis. For you, this means there is no upfront cost. The focus is on your medical treatment and recovery while your injury lawyer takes care of the filing of your personal injury claim and the documentation of your case.

How do I prove that the defendant is responsible for my injuries?

Perhaps the most important evidence is proving someone else’s negligence. There may also be multiple parties at-fault in some cases. To prove that a defendant is responsible for your personal injuries, you must prove 5 elements:

  • The defendant had a duty of care
  • The defendant breached that duty
  • Their neglect caused your personal injuries
  • Any reasonable actor would have been aware of the risks and taken steps to prevent it
  • You sustained actual damages that can be financially quantified

How Much Does a Personal Injury Attorney Charge in San Antonio?

The rates for contingency fee basis depend on each case  since their circumstances are different. Texas personal injury lawyers typically charge between 33 to 40% of the final settlement amount. Free consultations allow you to learn upfront about their fees and get an idea about what constitutes fair compensation for your personal injuries.

Areas Our Law Firms Serve in Texas

We serve the San Antonio area and several other locations. The office for our law firm is located in Corpus Christi TX.

How Long Do I Have To File a Personal Injury Lawsuit After an Accident in Texas?

According to Texas law, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit.

How Often Do Texas Personal Injury Cases Go to Trial?

Many personal injury cases do not go to trial and become personal injury lawsuits. In Texas,
A personal injury trial in Texas is a legal process that occurs when a settlement cannot be reached between the involved parties. While most personal injury cases are settled out of court, there are situations where a trial becomes necessary to seek a fair resolution.

What compensation am I entitled to after an accident?

The financial compensation you are entitled to for economic and noneconomic damages depends on the harm you sustained as a result of your accident:

  • Lost wages
  • Lost income from diminished or lost earning capacity
  • Medical expenses
  • Medical bills
  • Ongoing or future medical care
  • Mental anguish

Property damage and personal injuries resulting in lost wages, medical bills, future medical care, medical expenses, and lost income due to lost earning capacity from catastrophic injuries are likely to be had in some combination. For accident victims and their loved ones, mental anguish is another noneconomic loss. Punitive damages, which serve as punishment for gross negligence or malicious intent to harm by the defendant, may additionally be awarded.

Should you accept the settlement offered by an insurance company after an accident in San Antonio?

If you did not sustain a serious accident in San Antonio TX and the financial compensation you can potentially receive from the insurance company covers all of your damages, you may decide to accept it. However, to make sure it’s the right decision, it’s best to seek the legal counsel of an experienced accident attorney from our law firm. We are knowledgeable about what constitutes fair compensation for personal injuries. Also, if you did suffer a serious accident, it is typical for an insurance company to offer you the lowest possible settlement amount. In such a case, your best interest is to get a free consultation. Without consulting an experienced personal injury lawyer, you cannot know your case’s unique value.

How is fault determined in injury cases?

Determining liability is done by your injury attorney. Depending on who is at-fault for causing your injuries in your personal injury case, the at-fault party can be a motorist, a manufacturer, a trucking company or other corporation, a property owner or landlord, a dog owner, or several parties at once.

What else should I know about Texas personal injury claims?

Texas is a modified comparative (contributory) negligence state, meaning that you can sue for damages even if you are partly at-fault. The exception is when you are more than 50% liable for the accident.

What is the time limit for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Texas?

Texas law regarding filing a personal injury lawsuit states that you have two years from the date of the accident to do so.

How much does it cost to hire a personal injury lawyer?

If you hire a San Antonio personal injury lawyer that works on a contingency fee basis, such as one from our law firm, there is no cost until you reach a settlement agreement for your case.

Is it worth getting a personal injury lawyer?

For all types of personal injury cases including catastrophic injuries and wrongful death claims, yes, it is worth it to have a personal injury lawyer provide legal counsel and legal representation. You can obtain maximum compensation with an experienced attorney to claim damages for lost wages, lost income, medical bills, medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, injuries sustained from both physical injuries and mental anguish, and wrongful death depending on what you or your loved one have suffered.

What to Do After Being Injured in an Accident in San Antonio

Following are important steps you should take for your health as well as the success of your personal injury claim in San Antonio TX:

  • Never admit fault
  • Do not sign any paperwork without obtaining legal counsel first
  • Do not speak about your claim on social media
  • File a police report
  • Collect information from anyone else who was involved
  • Gather evidence of fault
  • Take pictures of the accident scene
  • Go to the emergency room or hospital; the sooner, the better
  • File a claim with the insurance company
  • Request copies of your police reports and medical records
  • Hire an injury attorney

Your priority after an accident must be your physical and emotional well-being, and the personal injury claim process is stressful and complicated. It requires the calculation of your damages and the type of compensation you deserve as well as filing your claim by the deadline with all of the proper documentation it requires. The Edwards Law Firm is thoroughly qualified to assist you with the claims process regardless of what stage you are in.

Contact Our San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyers Today For a Free Consultation

There are no upfront fees or out-of-pocket expenses for our legal representation. We at the Edwards Law Firm offer you a free consultation so you can learn how our legal counsel can aid in winning the fair compensation you deserve.

Our legal team provides thorough and constant legal counsel and aggressive legal representation for all of our San Antonio clients. With our knowledge of Texas law and personal injury trial law, our experienced personal injury lawyers are qualified to handle even catastrophic injuries and wrongful death cases and demand maximum compensation.

Contact the Edwards Law Firm for a free initial consultation from one of our San Antonio accident attorneys by calling us at 361-320-6752.

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