Texas Injury Law Blog : Dallas Accident Lawyer & Attorney : Fears Nachawati Law Firm : Personal Injury, Wrongful Death : Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Texas

Clients often wonder how courts calculate pain and suffering. With damages such as medical expenses, you have bills to show how much you have lost as a result of your injury. With pain and suffering, on the other hand, the court will have to take into account a variety of factors to place a dollar value on your losses.

The court starts by examining your injuries. It will consider issues such as how serious the injury is, how long it will take you to fully recover and what was involved in the treatment process. For example, you will receive more money if your recovery takes years rather than months or if you had to undergo a particularly painful treatment.

Next the court will consider how the injury has affected your life. Are you able to perform normal day-to-day activities such as dressing yourself, preparing meals and cleaning your house? The court will also consider the extent to which you injury has affected your ability to enjoy your life. For instance, can you participate in your favorite hobbies? Are you able to have relations with your spouse?

Then the court will consider the emotional aspects of your injury. Are you suffering mentally or emotionally as a result of the accident? For example, are you experiencing anxiety or depression because of the accident?

Last the court looks to the future and considers if and how the injury will continue to affect you for the rest of your life. For instance, do you have a permanent disability or a disfigurement? Will you continue to have to undergo medical treatment or rehabilitation?

There is no simple mathematical formula that courts use to calculate pain and suffering. As you can see, placing a dollar value on pain and suffering is a highly individualized process that takes into account many factors that are unique to you and your situation.

A qualified Texas personal injury attorney will be able to draw on their professional knowledge and experience with similar cases to estimate the likely amount you will receive for pain and suffering.

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If you have been injured in an accident, you need an experienced and qualified personal injury attorney on your side.Your personal injury attorney will act as your advocate, ensuring that you are treated fairly and that your best interests are represented at all times.

Here are some of the ways that a Texas personal injury lawyer can help you in processing your accident claim:

1. Evaluate your injuries and claim to ensure that you are getting a fair settlement.
2. Investigate the accident to determine exactly who was at fault.
3. Negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf.
4. Recommend physicians for treatment for your injuries.
5. Complete all of the paperwork and forms associated with your claim.
6. Represent you during the deposition.
7. Represent you in courtroom proceedings if the case goes to trial.
8. Interview witnesses.
9. Provide expert witnesses.
10. Take the burden off of your shoulders so you can focus on healing and getting back to your normal daily routine.

Contact Fears | Nachawati today for free legal advice and to learn more about the ways a Texas personal injury attorney can help you.

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If you have been injured in an accident, you need a Texas personal injury lawyer who will give your case personal time and attention, ensuring that you receive the maximum compensation available to you through vigorous representation.

Unfortunately, many injured people in Texas are receiving just the opposite of that – they have unknowingly placed their case in the hands of a high-volume settlement mill attorney.

What is a settlement mill? Settlement mills are law practices that aggressively advertise their services and do nothing more than mass produce settlements of claims. There is virtually no client interaction, and cases are never taken to trial. A typical settlement mill will process tens of thousands of claims each year, while a legitimate Texas personal injury law firm handles only a fraction of that number of cases annually.

A settlement mill attorney usually takes the first offer which is made by the insurance company, an amount which is typically far lower than what the claim is worth. No attempt at real negotiations is made. Settlement mill attorneys have no leverage because insurance companies know that they never take cases to trial.

Settlement mills treat personal injury claims in a “cookie cutter” fashion. No special attention is paid to the individual facts or circumstances of the case. Rather, the goal of a settlement mill attorney is to move the claim in and out as quickly as possible. Settlement mills are focused on volume, not quality.

Another characteristic of a settlement mill is the lack of interaction with an actual attorney. In a high-volume settlement mill, most tasks are assigned to non-lawyers, and clients have little to no contact with the attorney who is supposedly representing their case.

Don’t be taken in by flashy advertisements. You need a Texas personal injury attorney who cares about you and your case, an attorney who will fight to ensure that you get full and fair compensation for your injuries.

To receive free legal assistance from a qualified and experienced Texas personal injury lawyer, contact Fears | Nachawati today. Simply email us or phone us toll free at 1.866.705.7584 to speak directly with a personal injury attorney.

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The Texas Tort Claims Act is the set of laws that determine when a governmental entity may be held legally liable for tortious conduct under state law. 

Before the Texas Tort Claims Act was adopted by the legislature, an individual could not recover damages from a state or local governmental unit for injured they suffered as a result of the actions of a government employee in an employee’s performance of a governmental function. 

This concept is known as sovereign immunity, and it exists to protect the government’s time and resources from litigation and to encourage swift action by government officials.

However, in 1969, the Texas legislature adopted the Texas Tort Claims Act, waving sovereign immunity for governmental entities under certain circumstances. The relevant portion of the Act (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.021) states that governmental units can be held liable for:

(1) property damage, personal injury, and death proximately caused by the wrongful act or omission or the negligence of an employee acting within his scope of employment if:

(A) the property damage, personal injury, or death arises from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment; and

(B) the employee would be personally liable to the claimant according to Texas law; and

(2) personal injury and death so caused by a condition or use of tangible personal or real property if the governmental unit would, were it a private person, be liable to the claimant according to Texas law.

The Act places a cap on the amount of damages an individual can receive when suing a governmental unit. The maximum amount of damages that can be received by an individual is $250,000. There is also a $500,000 cap for each single occurrence of bodily injury or death. Finally, there is a $100,000 limit on the amount that can be awarded for a single occurrence of injury to or destruction of property.

If you have been injured by the actions of a government employee, contact Fears | Nachawati today to determine whether you may be eligible to receive damages under the Texas Tort Claims Act. You can email us or phone us toll free at 1.866.705.7584.

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In most cases, the statute of limitations on a Texas personal injury lawsuit begins to run as soon as you incur your injury. There are times, however, when the statute of limitations is “tolled.”

When the statute of limitations is tolled, that means there is a delay before the clock starts ticking. The time limit is temporarily suspended, giving the plaintiff more than the usual 2 years within which to file their Texas personal injury lawsuit.

A statute of limitations is only tolled under very specific circumstances. One instance is when a child is injured. In those cases, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the child reaches the age of 18. The statute of limitations may also be tolled in cases where the injured person is mentally impaired or is a member of the military who must leave state.

Fears | Nachawati is a Texas personal injury law firm. To receive free legal advice from a Texas personal injury lawyer, contact us today. Simply email us at info@fnlawfirm.com or call our toll-free number at 1.866.705.7584.

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Texas personal injury lawsuits are often settled without going to trial, and sometimes these cases are settled for a large sum of money. Many people might assume that the next step is for the defendant to write the plaintiff a check for the amount of the settlement and then it’s case closed.

However, it is not always possible, or beneficial, for a settlement to be paid out as a lump sum. Instead, the parties can choose to arrange for the settlement to be paid as a series of smaller installment payments over a set number of years. This is known as a structured settlement.

The parties to the lawsuit have a great deal of freedom and flexibility in how they choose to structure the settlement. They can decide for themselves how big each payment will be and how often the payments will be made.

A structured settlement can be a very beneficial arrangement for all parties involved. For example, if set up a certain way, a structured settlement can greatly reduce the amount of taxes the plaintiff owes on their settlement. In some cases, the payments are tax-free.

There are other reasons why a structured settlement might be the best choice for the plaintiff in a Texas personal injury lawsuit. A guaranteed, long-term source of income is one important benefit. If your injuries, for instance, require ongoing medical care, a structured settlement will ensure that there is a steady flow of money coming in to cover your expenses.

An experienced Texas personal injury lawyer can advise you on whether a structured settlement is the best option for your circumstances. In fact, you should always speak with an attorney before accepting any settlement offer to be certain that you are receiving full and fair compensation for your injuries.

To receive free legal advice from a Texas personal injury lawyer, contact Fears | Nachawati today. You can email us at info@fnlawfirm.com or call us on our toll-free number at 1.866.705.7584.

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A Friday morning car accident ended in the death of a Denton county woman and her 4-year-old son. The accident took place in Frisco at the intersection of U.S. Highway 380 and Dallas Parkway.

The woman was 30-year-old Kavari Gael Gray. Her son was named Klein. A third victim, Gray’s infant daughter, is in critical condition and is being treated at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas.

Gray was traveling east on Highway 380 on Friday morning at around 9am. The accident was caused by Gray turning left in front of a Dodge pickup truck headed west on 380. Jose Hernandez, the driver of the truck, was not injured.

Gray’s Honda SUV flipped over a trailer being pulled behind Hernandez’s truck, eventually landing on its wheels in a nearby ditch. The truck, which was hauling Bobcat heavy equipment, wrapped around a light pole. The equipment fell from the trailer onto the ground upon impact with the pole.

Investigators have determined that the traffic headed in both directions had a green light at the time of the accident. Gray failed to yield to the right of way when she turned out in front of the oncoming truck.

To read more about this Denison country, Texas, car accident, click here for the complete story.

Fears | Nachawati represents victims of car accidents in bringing Texas personal injury lawsuits against the party responsible for their injuries. To receive a no charge, no obligation legal consultation from a Texas personal injury lawyer, email us at info@fnlawfirm.com or call our toll-free helpline at 1.866.705.7584.

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