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The Truth about all Bus Accidents
Several governmental agencies keep good records of bus accidents. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) tells us that there are 30,000 commercial buses in the United States belonging to over 4,000 motorcoach companies. They average 360 million passengers each year, who travel 28 billion combined passenger miles annually. And NHTSA has been recently accused by the congress of under-reporting the true number of bus accidents, along with the injuries and fatalities arising from them.
However, there are two private research firms that have much more accurate numbers. Between these two organizations – Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) – they have painted an accurate picture of the occasional dangers of riding busses in the U.S. Their statistics tell us that in one year alone, 311 people were killed and 17,307 people were injured in U.S. bus accidents. A few years later, there were:
13,395 bus accidents total for the United States.
FARS reported that 221 of those accidents were fatal and MCMIS reported a total of 231 fatal bus crashes in the U.S.
254 people were killed in these bus accidents throughout the U.S.
15,399 people were injured in bus accidents in the U.S.
These national numbers include school busses, charter, and national bus carriers as well as those which are a part of local transit authorities. NHTSA’s numbers fall woefully short of these numbers. In one year, the Texas Department of Transportation counted 1,239 accidents involving school buses. The great majority of these mishaps were extremely minor. But six of them involved fatalities.
Now, when you compare the number of accidents that involved serious injuries and fatalities with the total number of bus miles traveled on an annual basis – 360 million – that’s an awfully small percentage; which tells you that by-and-large, bus travel is awfully safe. But things still go wrong. Often it involves someone’s negligence. And if the bus company that you trusted to get you safely to your destination was negligent, you deserve the right to be compensated for your injuries, pain and suffering, lost wages while you recover, future lost wages if you are disabled, and – if a family member has been killed in a bus accident – all of the above compensation and more. And the only way to expect that compensation is with the help of an experienced Texas bus accident attorney.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types, both locally and all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The bus accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured or taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent bus operator.
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Accidents While on the Bus
It is not unusual at all for passengers to become injured while using the bus service. Sometimes, these injuries occur when the bus is involved with a collision with another vehicle.
In the event that you are riding the bus that bus is involved in an accident with another vehicle, your claims process may become quite difficult. The first obstacle you may encounter has to do with the number of people who will be making a claim. If the accident is caused by the other vehicle, there may be dozens of passengers aboard the bus who need to file a personal injury claim against the other driver’s insurance policy. As you can imagine, very few people carry enough insurance on their personal automobile to compensate all of the passengers fairly. In such an event, you will need the help of an experienced bus accident attorney to ensure that you are fairly compensated for your injuries.
The attorneys with our Law Firm can help you by identifying potential other sources of money from which you can be compensated, and by helping you claim priority for your portion of the responsible driver’s insurance policy. If some sort of commercial vehicle caused the accident, their insurance might be more appropriate but again, their insurance company will fight very hard for your rightful compensation.
Injuries Caused by the Bus Itself
Sometimes, the bus itself can pose a safety hazard such as when the bus runs over a passenger or other pedestrian, the bus driver starts driving before a passenger is seated, or when the door or automated stairs make contact with a passenger. Most of these are more likely to happen with local transit authority busses or school busses.
If you have been struck by a bus that is operated by any of these three entities while standing outside of it (or in your car) your claim would be similar to that of a conventional pedestrian or vehicle-on-vehicle accident victim. The difference, however, is that you would be filing a claim against which is effectively an institution owned by some sort of government entity. As you can imagine, you stand little chance for victory without the help of an experienced attorney when you try to get money from any quasi-government agency because the laws are written to make it extremely difficult to sue them, even if they are legally obliged to carry private insurance that is designed to prevent the very losses that arise from such accidents from falling at the feet of these agencies.
If you have been injured while on the bus because the bus driver starts moving before you are seated, you will certainly need the help of a lawyer. Such claims are virtually impossible for non-lawyers to win on their own because the liable government entity certainly has a long history of denying these types of claims as valid. Hundreds of court cases throughout the state involving transit authority and school buses have resulted in numerous denials because lawmakers generally operate under the belief that you knowingly assume such a risk by getting on the bus in the first place. Our attorneys can help you with this type of case by employing contrary case law and statutes that counteract this rather nonsensical outlook that seems so prevalent in these types of cases in Texas. But it’s not easy.
If you have been injured by some component on the transit authority or school buses such as a door in the process of opening or closing, much of the above mentioned applies to your case as well. The bottom line is that you have little chance of making it past the scrutiny of a courtroom without the help of an experienced attorney.
If you have been involved in an accident with a school or transit authority bus while driving an automobile, you will certainly require the help of an experienced local bus accident lawyer. Many laws have been put into effect to give buses a considerable amount of right of way. This has led to a general (and unfair) stigma that bus accidents are universally the fault of the other vehicle. That is simply not the case. As unfair as it may be, such biases within the justice system are common, and your only chance for a fair case is to partner with an experienced bus accident attorney.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types, both locally and all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The bus accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent bus operator.
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Driver Fatigue and Improper Maintenance are Usually the Culprits in Many Bus Accidents.
The past few years there have been several noteworthy bus accidents on Texas highways that have killed and seriously injured many people. And in most of them, reports by the Texas Department of Public Safety indicate that an overly-tired driver may have caused just about all of them. These national companies or tour bus firms have very thin profit margins, which means that the two areas that get squeezed are driver scheduling and maintenance. And though federal laws prohibit the number of consecutive hours a bus driver can be on-duty (10 in a 24 hour period) in order to keep costs down, many over-the-road bus carriers look the other way when it comes to this regulation, not to mention the bus driver who is happy to get the extra money. But when that compromises passenger safety and that of the public in general, it makes the company liable for any accidents or injuries caused by an exhausted, inattentive driver. The same holds true of school bus drivers. Driver fatigue was cited as the cause of a school bus wreck that killed one Texas student and injured 11 others.
The legal notion that holds transportation companies generally liable in such cases is called respondeat superior; which essentially states that employers are legally responsible for the actions (and inaction) of their employees when they are working. But in the case of driver fatigue, in addition to respondeat superior, more direct liability might be attached to the company if they scheduled the driver for more hours than the law allows.
A few recent fatal overland bus accidents across the state were found to have been caused by improper maintenance or a defective part. These causes rank just behind driver fatigue as being the cause of a serious bus accident. Respondeat superior attaches to this situation as well, where the bus company is responsible for the maintenance worker’s incorrect acts, in addition to not scheduling routine maintenance in a timely fashion or trying to get a few more miles out of a bus before finally putting it in the shop.
Also, you may notice that in the past few years, more busses that are owned by Mexican firms are now traveling our roads. And though these companies are now allowed to operate in the U.S, and can offer their services to Americans, the standards for managing and maintaining busses on the other side of the Rio Grande are a bit more lax than they are in Texas. The issue of whether the busses are adequately insured is also a rightful concern, although these companies agree to carry “proper” insurance when operating in the U.S.
These busses are also subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Texas Department of Public Safety inspections when they cross the border; assuming there is an inspector there at the time they enter the state. If there isn’t one, they just motor on through and continue their journey through our state. And many of them remain and become part of the lucrative charter bus industry in Texas. Some foreign bus operators register their busses in two states through the use of false addresses and a third party to complete their illegal registration paperwork. So it’s not hard, from a regulatory and insurance perspective, for these operators to fall through the administrative and enforcement (and insurance) “cracks” while they continue to transport their passengers all over Texas and the state.
So, it should become more apparent that before you get on a bus, that you have a good idea of what they will be able to do for you if something goes wrong. And when something does go wrong and you are seriously injured (or a loved one loses his or her life) in a bus accident, your best leverage involves an experienced and tenacious Texas bus wreck lawyer.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types, both locally and all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The bus accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured or taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent bus operator.
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Investigations by Your Bus Accident Attorney are Vital to your Claim or Case’s Success
When you have been seriously hurt (or a loved one has been killed) in a bus accident, determining everyone who is responsible for the wreck is the first thing that must be done. Finding those responsible leads to identifying the legally liable parties for the injuries you suffered. In order to win your insurance claim or case you need an experienced accident lawyer on your side who also has the ability to thoroughly investigate the scene of an accident and determine who is (and isn’t) liable, so you know the right defendant(s)
Texas bus drivers are held to a higher standard (or a duty of care) due to the number of passengers they carry. So when a bus accident occurs, much of their investigation focuses on the driver. What caused the accident? What did the driver say after the wreck? Was it the truth? Your attorney’s investigation must be over-and-above the normal local, state or federal enforcement investigations. And though most of the time those investigations do reveal the primary responsible parties, they often stop short of the type of examination those that experienced bus accident lawyers and their investigator’s conduct. These “drill-down” investigations reveal every liable party, and the degree of the responsibility each party played in the accident. Occasionally, our investigations bring other facts of the case to light that law officials miss. We pass them along to them for further action if they feel it is warranted.
Injured bus accident victims (and their lawyer), as the plaintiffs in this case, must determine whether the negligent driver caused the wreck, or if a mechanical malfunction might be responsible, or if someone else played an important part. Many different contributing factors can abruptly lead to such tragic wrecks.
This is why it is in your best interests to harness the expertise of a local bus accident lawyer who will make sure that all the liable parties for your injuries from that accident (or wrongful death) are held responsible for your injuries, pain and suffering, lost wages and disability.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types, both locally and all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The bus accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured or taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent bus operator.
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Insurance
The odds that a commercial liability insurance company will be involved in the bus accident that injured you is a very good bet.
Bus companies, especially the larger ones or those that serve a government entity usually carry very high-dollar policies relative to car insurance policies. This is because injuries caused by a bus wreck are more expensive because so many people can be injured or killed in a single accident. So, it follows that bus companies have much more to lose. Insurance companies hired by these common carriers have huge advantages when representing their clients. They have “top gun” teams which include defense attorneys, investigators, and various specialists who will leave no stone unturned in mounting their defense. Their legal teams are highly trained and can find any loophole so their client, the bus company, will not have to pay. The stakes are extremely high. And their objective is for their client to avoid having to pay a huge claim.
These attorneys in expensive suits also know how to use the inconsistencies in federal and state laws to their advantage. It is especially important that you have a local bus accident injury attorney to represent you when making a claim, or going to court if our opponents insist on not fairly settling your claim.
For generations, the mission of every insurance company is to protect their bottom line, regardless of whether that company is a corporation that answers to stockholders or a mutual fund company that answers to its policyholders. All insurance companies are in the business of taking in premiums and paying out as little as absolutely necessary in claims. They do this by denying your claim for as long as possible, avoid paying you fairly if they can and protect their cash. Without the right experienced attorney on your side, the odds of collecting a fair settlement from an insurance company are astoundingly against you, regardless of the nature of your rightful claim.
Insurance adjusters are their primary weapon against you because their job is to save their companies money by denying your claim or underestimating the true and total cost of your injuries. And the best adjusters are given the most important cases. And bus wrecks have the potential to be some of the most expensive accidents and command extremely large damage amounts. This makes them very important claims and poses the most danger to any insurance company’s profits. An adjuster acts like your best friend and constantly assures you that all of your needs are met. Then they turn around and cut you off at the knees in coming up with excuses to deny your claim. They are very clever. They try to imitate the good relationship with your car insurance agent. Some unscrupulous adjusters even try to deceptively convince uninformed bus accident injury victims to sign away the legal right to sue in exchange for a measly settlement amount that would never be mistaken for fair compensation for the victim’s injuries and other financial losses from a serious bus accident. We’ve even seen a few of them haunting the ICU waiting for victims to get out of emergency surgery before they pounce.
Corporate insurance adjusters and defense lawyers lick their chops when they find a victim who tries to represent his or herself, or is represented by under-experienced legal counsel. They know how easy it is to lead such novices around by the nose. The tactics of an insurance company to save their money by denying your rightful claim is illustration enough of why you need aggressive, experienced legal representation. Our clients know that a good accident attorney shields them from insurance companies who want to keep victimizing those who have been negligently injured in any vehicle accident, regardless of the size or gravity of the tragedy.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types, both locally and all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The bus accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured or taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) page for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent bus operator.
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An Experienced Attorney Offers the Best Possible Outcome for your Bus Accident Claim or Lawsuit
There are many personal injury attorneys in South Central Texas. How can you decide which one is right to handle your case? Respected bus accident attorney our lead attorney recommends interviewing at least two or three lawyers before choosing the one that you want to hire. And it is not unusual for family members to begin this task quickly if their loved one is fresh out of emergency surgery. Hiring an experienced attorney as soon as possible is an excellent first step that your loved one will thank-you for.
Ask each one about his track record for settling and litigating bus accident cases. Find out what each attorney thinks the strengths and weaknesses of your case are. See if the lawyers can provide you with the names of former clients whose cases were similar to yours. Ask if you can contact them. And then reach out to them and ask the same question you asked your prospective legal advocate and counsel. If you do all of these things to your satisfaction, then you’ll be able to hire an attorney whose experience in handling cases like yours gives you confidence, as well as peace of mind that this is the lawyer you can trust with your case.
When accident victims retain the attorneys with our Law Firm, they receive the following services:
We ensure that our clients receive the medical care they require in order to recover from their injuries.
We conduct an in-depth investigation to determine the cause of the bus accident. This includes asset checks of all defendants to make certain they can pay damages.
Our investigators gather evidence, including witness statements, photographs, forensic tests, and police reports that we will need in order to prove your claims.
We respond to and send discovery requests (and shield you from opposition insurance adjusters).
We manage ALL the paperwork and phone calls related to your claims. We file all motions (and answer all motions made by the defense) quickly and effectively.
We use our stellar reputation to pressure the defendants into a settlement.
We act as mediators for our clients’ cases.
When necessary, we file lawsuits and argue them aggressively to prove your damage case in front of a jury.
We fairly and accurately calculate all damages resulting from the car accident and demand fair compensation for you.
A non-attorney doesn’t have the necessary knowledge to effectively investigate a bus accident, negotiate a fair settlement with insurance companies, or successfully represent him or herself in court. Litigating a bus accident-related injury case is extremely complex. And attorneys who don’t have a deep background in personal injury or bus accident cases don’t have any better chance than you of winning reasonable compensation. So why would you even entertain such a foolish idea, especially when tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars are on the table?
And if you’re thinking about taking up the offer of a relative or friend who is a lawyer to represent you, you might want to seriously reconsider that plan. For even though he or she might be looking out for your best interests to fight hard for your rights in a bus accident case, unless this person is an experienced personal injury lawyer with insight into beating these opponents and their insurance companies, your attorney’s good intentions might result in your side taking a knife to a gunfight.
Your friend/relative lawyer will likely have a difficult time emotionally detaching him or herself from issues surrounding your case because of that close association. Personal injury law is quite intense and extremely contentious. Your attorney must be pragmatic, focus solely on the facts of a case and be very cool under in order to succeed for you. What happens if that friend or relative attorney doesn’t win the case, or accepts a less-than-fair settlement because he knows how badly you need the money now? How will you feel about your friend or relative then? You will be very wise to keep your family members and friends out of your legal business when deciding who will represent your big rig injury liability lawsuit most effectively.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types, both locally and all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The bus accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured or taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent bus operator.
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The Local Bus Accident Attorneys at our Texas Law Offices are Ready to Help You Today
The first thing you need to understand after a serious bus injury is this: before you speak with an insurance company, or accept even a single dollar of payment or compensation from your employer, or sign anything, or attempt to file a lawsuit on your own, you must contact a competent lawyer. All of your opponents want you to accept a substandard settlement, so they can save their own money. Don’t become a victim again!
Then, you must realize the critical importance of acting swiftly. After a bus accident, the evidence begins to fade immediately. The physical details of the accident scene itself can change literally overnight, especially if there is something to hide. And witnesses change their stories or forget what they saw because the mind is a mysterious thing. If you wait too long to hire an attorney and put him to work investigating the trail of evidence, then you are seriously compromising your ability to secure the fair restitution you deserve.
Bus accidents have been blamed on missed curves, driver fatigue, tire problems, poor maintenance, defective parts and a variety of other reasons. Additionally, federal investigators are discovering larger problems in the industry such as poor driver screening and bus companies have been shut down, but still find a way to operate “on the sly” in Texas and across the United States. And with the recent revelations of NHTSA’s under-reporting bus accidents all across the U.S., an argument can be made that there might be an implied conspiracy between the federal government and the bus industry, in general, to paint a more positive picture of the safety of this industry when the reality of the situation is altogether different.
Whether true or not, this general malaise creates a number of loopholes through which negligent bus companies can hide from both criminal and civil prosecution. And that does not bode well for you or your family after a serious injury in a bus accident, any bus accident anywhere in Texas. You only have one chance at fair compensation for your loved one’s accidental death in the workplace. Make it your best shot with an experienced and aggressive bus accident attorney.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types, both locally and all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The bus accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured or taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent bus operator.
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Have You or Has Someone you Love Been Struck by a Vehicle While Walking, Jogging or Bicycling in Texas?
As the cost of gasoline continues to steadily rise, Texans continue to search for ways to move around their communities more affordably. This has led to a large increase over the past few years in “pedal power,” Several different studies the past few years show that the number of bicycles being used for general transportation purposes, in addition to recreation, has increased almost fivefold in the past 15 years. Cycling is also a handy way to get to, from, and around large campuses quickly.
Whether it’s a motor vehicle and bike or a motor vehicle and a pedestrian or jogger, the lack of traditional safety protection often results in severe injury, or even death, to the cyclist or walker during a mishap. Injured pedestrians or bike riders may have legal recourse to recover their financial losses as a result of a bicycle wreck or pedestrian accident through a personal injury lawsuit. And family members of those killed in pedestrian collisions or bicycle accidents may seek compensation for their loss through a wrongful death lawsuit. In addition to the compensation that can be awarded as a result of a successful civil suit, a plaintiff in such cases can also hold the negligent parties accountable for their careless or reckless behavior and help assure that future injurious or fatal accidents might not happen to another person or family. With two decades of practice in personal injury cases and wrongful death cases in Texas, our bicycle accident attorneys can help you through this time to seek compensation and justice against a liable party.
Aside from the fact that cyclists are not as easy to see on the road, a lot of drivers cut it way too close when passing a cyclist on a city street. Many don’t even move out of the cyclist’s lane of traffic. We’ve seen many instances when a car or truck “clipped” a cyclist, causing an accident. And when that happens, the only one who is injured is often only the poor bicyclist.
Sometimes the injured bicyclist starts out with two strikes against him/her because insurance adjusters naturally assume that the cyclist is at fault. There’s a certain understandable logic to this, which we’ll discuss in the next section. But the fact of the matter is simple. If you’ve suffered an injury due to someone’s negligence while riding your bike safely, you deserve the expertise of a knowledgeable Texas bike accident attorney if you expect to win damages for the injuries you suffered, regardless of what kind of vehicle hit you.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured or taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent person.
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Seeking Legal Action Through a Personal Injury Lawsuit
If you’ve been seriously injured in a bike wreck or have suffered an injury due to a pedestrian accident, you have certainly suffered some form of financial loss. The goal of any viable personal injury lawsuit is that you, the injured victim, can seek, and be awarded, compensation from a liable defendant (or defendants) for those financial losses, also known as damages. Damages refer to the financial losses incurred as a result of an injury, i.e. medical bills, property damage costs, lost wages, etc.
In such instances, the burden of proof lies with you, the plaintiff. This means you must pursue legal action in order to compel a defendant to either pay your fair compensation through negotiation or at trial if an equitable amount cannot be reached. At the trial, you must prove that the defendant’s negligence caused or significantly contributed to your injury which is the sole reason for your economic loss which can also include disability and lost future income if the injuries are catastrophic. Such damages can also include your pain and suffering, and other types of financial losses incurred as a result of your bicycle injury.
Three aspects must exist in order for an injured pedestrian or bicyclist to bring a legitimate personal injury lawsuit against a negligent defendant: liability, damages, and solvency. Liability refers to the negligent actions of the defendant or defendants who are responsible for causing or contributing to the accident. Liability is assessed when a defendant has violated a legal duty against the plaintiff. A legal duty is a standard of general care that all of us owe each other to not harm the other. The defendant’s legal duty must be proven to have existed between you and that liable person, and it must be shown how that legal duty was violated by the defendant, resulting in your bike accident injury.
Solvency refers to the financial means of the defendant. If a defendant is insolvent, then they will not have the financial means to provide the compensation to you as the injured plaintiff. However, some defense attorneys will attempt to claim that their clients are insolvent so that a personal injury lawsuit will not be pursued. Strong cases come from strong investigations. So in addition to your Texas pedestrian injury lawyer having the means and resources to thoroughly investigate all facets of the accident, but to also perform a thorough asset check of all defendants to pay you for your injuries once the lawsuit ends in your favor: for there’s not much point in suing someone who cannot pay. So your Texas bicycle accident attorney must be very adept at conducting thorough and meaningful asset checks of the defendants.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured or taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent person.
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Who’s At Fault and How Many Liable Parties Are There?
The first issue that must be properly assessed in any personal injury or wrongful death case is a liability. Who is responsible for the accident that has caused serious injury or death? Contrary to what many think, by definition, bicyclists do not necessarily have the right-of-way on a Texas road. Our state right-of-way laws can often be complex and highly contextualized. So an experienced defense attorney will try to utilize these laws’ lack-of-clarity to their client’s benefit. However, we’ve learned through extensive experience the right way to litigate such cases based on the facts revealed by our thorough investigations and the rules of the law. Both can work against a defense lawyer’s ”shell-game” arguments by providing relevant evidence which places the burden of liability where it belongs: the defendant’s lap.
Furthermore, due to the many ways in which pedestrian and bicycle accidents can happen in Texas, it is not unusual to have multiple defendants who may be forced to share in the liability for the accident that seriously injured you or took the life of a loved one. For example, drunk driving accidents that kill innocent bicyclists may have the driver as a defendant, as well as a negligent alcohol-serving establishment if the driver had been over-served past intoxication at that bar or restaurant before the drunk driving pedestrian accident occurred. If that happens, the bar or restaurant is legally liable through the Texas Dram Shop Act.
As another example, an 18-wheeler (or any commercial vehicle) that strikes a bicyclist would likely include the driver as a defendant, in addition to the driver’s employer. The legal term for such a civil suit is known as “respondent superior,” which establishes that employers are responsible for the actions of their employees while they are at work. In such instances, enlisting the help of an experienced and well-rounded personal injury attorney in Texas can help bring all liable parties to justice. Our Texas personal injury lawyers have decades of experience in all forms of personal injury and wrongful death, including those involving cyclists and pedestrians.
We have been litigating and resolving accident and death cases of all types all over Texas for decades. We have successfully negotiated countless settlements and argued many cases against every major insurance provider in the nation. We have a history of success and won numerous fair settlements for our clients on behalf of their deceased loved ones. Insurance companies know our track record and don’t want to see us in court. As a result, they often offer our clients attractive settlements without the stress and uncertainty of a jury trial.
The accident attorneys with our Law Firm do whatever is necessary to help you obtain justice and fair restitution for the loved one that has been injured or taken from you. To find out how we can help, call 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation that will be the first (and best) step to you and your family’s recovery from an accident at the hands of a negligent person.
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Insurance Companies Use any Excuse to not Pay Your Injury-Related Damages
We’ve briefly touched upon the “cultural popularity” of blaming those who operate “non- traditional” vehicles for any and all accidents they are involved in. That bias makes many feel that people who operate bicycles should automatically accept this high risk “it comes with the territory” behavior as part of their lifestyle. And that preconception is warmly embraced by insurance companies as another in a long line of excuses they seem to come up with in order either not to pay accident claims, or to drag their feet and pay as little as possible. This is the real business that insurance companies are in.
But many times, the injuries to bicycle and other similarly injured victims are often very expensive, cause some form of disability, a lot of pain and suffering, and usually prevent these people from working for months or years as they recover. And that means money, a lot of money, must be paid to the injured victim: nine-times-out-of-ten, by some insurance company, (or the defendant if insurance isn’t there or the policy comes-up short). So the insurance companies fight tooth and nail to avoid paying a claim or civil suit.
They use adjusters to make you think they’re on your side, only to trick you into saying something that can be used against you later. They use delaying tactics to pay what are clearly justifiable claims. They offer woefully inadequate compensation settlement packages that don’t come close to paying your medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages because you can’t return to work immediately or disability if you can’t return to work at all. And the insurance companies have very good attorneys to hide behind in their efforts to not pay your claim. The only real way to defeat them is with an experienced personal injury attorney who understands the subtle nuances of liability when it comes to these many types of mishaps.
Additionally, defense attorneys hired to protect an insurance company or a liable party’s assets are well-trained and experienced at defending their client’s interests, especially if it could result in a sizable payday for themselves. Our goal is to aggressively and tirelessly seek the fairest compensation on your behalf because we understand it can help you in the recovery process. Furthermore, proper compensation is often necessary for the event of a fatal bike or pedestrian accident that claims the life of a primary wage-earner for a family.
our Law Firm Will Fight for Your Injury Rights from Any Vehicle Accident
If you expect to be compensated for injuries you sustained in an accident while biking or simply walking around, your case is significantly strengthened when you retain an experienced Texas bicycle accident attorney who knows how to investigate such accident scenes to uncover – then present – evidence that proves your injuries resulted from someone else’s negligence.
Our Law Firm has a great deal of experience investigating all sorts of vehicle accidents. And insurance carriers, along with their attorneys, know that when we’re on the case that we won’t go away as we pursue justice for our injured clients. Steadfastly negotiating fair settlements with insurance companies and, if necessary, taking them to court in order to win damage compensation often inspires your opponents to see discretion as the better part of valor: which usually produces a fair settlement that will relieve you of this sudden financial pressure. We have won just compensation for hundreds of clients against every major insurance company in the state. They know us and our reputation. And once they see the handwriting on the wall, insurance companies are often inspired to offer a fair settlement rather than risk an even higher civil judgment from a jury, in addition to the cost of a trial. We use our intimate understanding of the laws in question, coupled with state-of-the-art investigative techniques to devise the perfect strategy to serve the specific needs of your case. This can deliver fair restitution for your injuries.
If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident involving any type of vehicle, then call us today for a free consultation at 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free). We provide a free, comprehensive and fully confidential legal consultation. We encourage you to ask every question you need in order to completely understand your injury case and how it is best pursued.
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