Top Personal Injury Lawyers in Lubbock, Texas for 2024 – Forbes Advisor

When one person suffers harm at the hands of another, they have the right to seek compensation through a personal injury claim. Unlike criminal law, which punishes criminals with fines or imprisonment, a civil claim focuses on the victim recovering damages through their economic and non-economic losses.

Economic damages are out-of-pocket expenses that you incur as a result of your injury. For example, if you miss work because of your injury, the lost income would be considered economic damages. Medical expenses are also a type of economic damages.

Noneconomic damages are more subjective and include intangible losses such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and reduced quality of life. For example, if your injury prevents you from enjoying hobbies or activities you once loved, this would be considered noneconomic damages.

Another form of damages, punitive damages, are also awarded in extreme cases. They are available in cases where the defendant’s actions were particularly reckless. They are intended to punish the perpetrator and deter them from repeating their actions in the future. For example, if a company knowingly sold a dangerous product that caused injuries, the court may award punitive damages to deter such reckless behavior.

Below you will find laws that impact how personal injury claims are handled in Lubbock.

Texas Personal Injury Lawsuits Statute of Limitations

When you are injured in an accident, the law allows you to hold the perpetrator accountable, but it gives you a limited amount of time to do so. The statute of limitations is a set of laws that defines the period of time in which legal action must be taken. Once the statute of limitations has passed, the doors to seeking justice for the incident close for good.

In Texas, you have two years from the time of your injury to file a lawsuit for most personal injury claims. This includes car accidents, slip and fall injuries, injuries caused by dangerous or defective products, professional negligence, dog bites, and assault and battery injuries.

If the victim dies, their loved ones can file a lawsuit for compensation for wrongful death – the limitation period in this case is also two years, but it starts to run from the date of death.

There are also other exceptions that may impact the standard two-year claims deadline:

Medical malpractice. If you were injured due to your doctor’s negligence, you must file a lawsuit within two years of the date the medical error occurred or the date the treatment that resulted in the error ended.
Principle of discovery. In most personal injury cases, the statute of limitations begins on the date you sustain your injury, since you will most likely find out about it immediately upon the event.

In some cases, however, you may not realize right away that you’ve been injured. For example, if you’re in a car accident, you may feel fine but experience whiplash symptoms a few days later. Or if a surgical instrument is left inside your body during surgery, you may not discover it for years.

In these cases, the discovery rule applies, meaning the statute of limitations begins to run from either the date you discovered the injury or the date you should have reasonably discovered the injury, whichever comes first. That said, you won’t be able to file a lawsuit after more than 10 years have passed since the negligence.

Disability or handicap. If the victim was younger than 18, the limitation period will not start until they turn 18. If the victim is insane and unable to manage their own affairs without the help of a legal guardian or parent, the limitation period will not start until they regain (re)capacity.
The accused is not in Texas. If the person you are suing is not in Texas, the period of time they were out of state will not be counted toward the two-year statute of limitations for your claim.
Lawsuit against the government. If your injuries are the result of the negligence of a local government agency, you can sue them, but you must give them written notice of your claim. The notice must be filed with the city clerk within 30 days of the date of your injury.

It is very important to comply with the statute of limitations because if you miss the deadline, you will not be able to get more time and your case will be dismissed altogether if you try to sue. You can file a lawsuit in small claims court (often called “fairness court” in Texas), but the damages you will receive will not exceed $20,000. Otherwise, you will have to file your case in district court.

Texas Personal Injury Law

Personal injury law is multifaceted, covering a wide range of events, such as car accidents, animal attacks, and construction injuries. Here are some general laws regarding personal injury claims in Texas that you should be aware of.

Car accidents

In Texas, all drivers are required to carry insurance with the following minimum liability limits:

$30,000 in bodily injury per person
$60,000 in personal injury per accident
$25,000 for property damage in the event of an accident

This coverage covers the other party’s losses if you are at fault in an accident. However, the state encourages you to get higher amounts of coverage because you may be liable for damages that exceed your policy limits.

In the event of an accident, even if minor, do not leave the scene without exchanging insurance information with the other driver. If property damage exceeds $1,000, or if one of the drivers is intoxicated or flees the scene, injury or death occurs, or the driver does not have insurance, you must call the police.

Shared guilt in accidents

In a lawsuit, parties often blame each other for causing an accident. The modified principle of comparative negligence applies in situations where both parties may share some blame.

The court assigns each party a percentage of fault based on their responsibility for the incident. When damages are awarded, the amount you can recover is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are more than 50% responsible for the incident, you cannot recover anything.

For example, let’s say you’re involved in a car accident where your total settlement is $100,000. If a court finds you 30% at fault because you were adjusting the radio, and the other party is 70% at fault for running a stop sign and hitting you, your settlement would be reduced by your percentage of fault. You would receive $70,000 (i.e. 70% of $100,000).

However, if you are 60% at fault, you will not be able to claim any compensation.

Damage limits

In some cases, Texas limits the amount of compensation for different types of financial losses.

Medical malpractice. For noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of companionship, the maximum amount you can recover is $250,000 from each doctor or health care facility, with a total limit of $500,000 from all responsible health care facilities combined. So the maximum noneconomic damages you can recover in a malpractice lawsuit involving providers and facilities is $750,000.
Punitive damages. They are limited to $200,000 or twice the amount of economic damages plus noneconomic damages up to $750,000. This limit does not apply if the incident was a crime.

For example, if you are awarded $100,000 in economic damages and $50,000 in noneconomic damages, the maximum punitive damages you could receive would be $200,000 (twice the economic damages) plus $50,000 in noneconomic damages, for a total of $250,000. However, if the total amount of economic and noneconomic damages is less than $200,000, then the $200,000 cap applies.

Lawsuit against state government

When you sue the Texas government, the limit is $250,000 per person, and damages cannot exceed $500,000 for a single incident. For example, if you were injured in a car accident caused by a police cruiser and had two other passengers in the vehicle, each of you could receive up to $166,666 in damages, because the total for all three cannot exceed $500,000.

Personal Injury Settlement Considerations

When you file a claim with an insurer in Texas, they have 35 days from the date they receive your claim to make a decision and resolve it. Here’s a breakdown of the timeline.

First notification. Once you file a claim, your insurer has 15 days to notify you that it has been received and to send you any necessary documents along with instructions on how to complete them.
Period under investigation. Within the first 15 days, the insurer must begin investigating and request any additional information needed to complete the process. By the end of that period, the insurer should have everything it needs to make an informed decision.
Decision-making period. Within the next 15 days, the insurer will approve or reject your claim and inform you of their decision. If the claim is approved, the insurer has five days from the date of approval to make payment.
Enlargement. If the insurer needs more time to investigate the case, they can ask for a 10-day extension. However, they must notify you of the delay and provide a reason for the extension.

Attorney fees

Once a settlement is approved, your attorney will likely deduct his or her fee before passing it on to you. Most personal injury attorneys charge between 33% and 40% of the settlement, depending on the complexity of the case and whether it will settle before trial or go to trial.

Tax considerations

Physical damage. You typically won’t have to pay taxes on a personal injury settlement if you didn’t deduct medical expenses on your tax return. But if you did, the medical expense portion of the settlement will be considered income and may be subject to tax.
Non-physical damage. Compensation awarded for pain and suffering, emotional distress or mental anguish is not taxable as long as it results from physical injuries. If you have been in a car accident and suffer from PTSD but are not physically injured, compensation for this will be taxable.
Lost wages. Compensation for loss of earnings is treated as income and may be subject to tax.
Punitive damages. Any compensation received under punitive damages is treated as income and is subject to tax.
Interest on settlement. Interest accrued on a settlement or judgment is taxable.