Personal Injury Lawyer in Tomball, TX
An accident in Tomball, TX, can change your life forever. Whether you were injured in a car crash, a fall, or a botched surgery, you may struggle with a range of problems for the rest of your days. These problems may be financial in nature, such as medical expenses and lost wages. They may also be psychological in nature, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or humiliation. Faced with these issues, you may wonder how you’re going to make ends meet. How will you provide for your family if you’re struggling with a disability? When will the memories of your traumatic accident fade? A personal injury lawyer in Tomball, TX, can help you answer these questions. More importantly, they can help you pursue the compensation you need to cover your damages.
What Can a Tomball, TX, Personal Injury Lawyer Do For Me?
Located in Harris County, Tomball is a small Texas city with a population of about 12,000 people. Named after the well-known attorney Thomas Ball, the city has a long history of legal excellence. Today, personal injury lawyers in Tomball provide residents with valuable services – helping them pursue justice after suffering injuries caused by other people.
Without personal injury attorneys, Tomball residents could still file lawsuits in court. However, they would encounter various roadblocks and challenges along the way. Filing a personal injury lawsuit is difficult – and winning a case with no legal experience is even more challenging. A simple mistake can cause a judge to throw a case out of court, leaving injured plaintiffs with nothing.
Injury lawyers in Tomball approach their cases with plenty of experience and many years of university training. In Texas, like any state, you must pass the “Bar” exam to practice law – providing an additional layer of reliability for injured residents. Some law firms, such as Hernandez Law Firm, have decades of combined personal injury experience.
First and foremost, a personal injury lawyer in Tomball can help you determine whether a lawsuit is even worth your time. During a consultation, you and your lawyer can review the circumstances of your situation and assess the most appropriate course of action.
If your case has merit, you can move forward with your lawsuit. Even better, you can move forward with the case before paying your lawyer anything up front. A contingency fee system ensures that even those with limited financial resources can pursue compensation for their injuries. Once you win your lawsuit, you can pay your legal fees with your settlement money.
Lawyers can gather evidence on your behalf, find helpful witnesses, and prepare you for the next phase of your injury claim. Often, you will have the opportunity to negotiate with the defendant and their insurers for a settlement before the trial. This is how most civil cases end, and your lawyer can negotiate effectively on your behalf for a fair amount.
What Kinds of Accidents Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help With?
A personal injury lawyer in Tomball can help you pursue compensation after a range of accidents. As a rule, you can file an injury lawsuit if your accident was caused by someone else. Here are a few examples:
- Auto Accidents: Car accidents, truck accidents, bike accidents, motorcycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents all fall into this category. If your auto accident was caused by someone else’s negligence in Texas, you can file an injury claim. Auto insurance helps provide injured plaintiffs with compensation for both economic and non-economic damages.
- Slips and Falls: A slip-and-fall lawsuit is a type of premises liability claim. If you slipped and fell due to a preventable hazard on someone else’s premises, you can sue. For example, you might slip on a puddle of spilled milk at a grocery store. You might also slip on scattered nails at a hardware store. Broken stairs, cracked sidewalks, and even dimly lit corridors can all lead to these lawsuits.
- Accidents Involving Defective Products: If you were injured by a defective or malfunctioning product, you can sue the company that designed, manufactured, or marketed the product. This is called a “product liability” lawsuit. Examples include exploding blenders, batteries that start fires, and faulty prosthetics.
How Much Is My Case Worth After an Accident in Tomball, TX?
Many plaintiffs wonder how much they stand to gain from filing a personal injury lawsuit in Tomball, TX. It makes sense to determine the value of your lawsuit, especially if you are trying to plan for the future after a serious disability. To understand how much your case might be worth, you must first understand the difference between economic and non-economic damages:
- Economic Damages: Most injuries lead to financial losses. Healthcare is not free in the United States, and you may end up paying tens of thousands of dollars to treat a relatively simple injury like a fracture. The treatment of more serious injuries could cost millions. In addition, you may miss work for weeks, months, or the rest of your life after an injury. Finally, a fatal injury may leave families with additional funeral costs.
- Non-Economic Damages: The psychological issues that accompany serious accidents are less obvious – but they are just as serious. In fact, the emotional impact of a serious accident can linger for many years after physical injuries have fully healed. Examples include PTSD, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, anxiety, depression, and many others.
The value of your injury lawsuit depends on both your economic and non-economic damages. However, calculating this overall value is complex. While economic damages are easy to identify and add together, the same is not true for non-economic damages. After all, it is difficult to put a “price” on PTSD. You cannot show the court a receipt that clearly communicates the cost of your depression. These are subtle, nuanced issues that require careful calculation methods. Speak to a personal injury lawyer in Tomball, TX to determine how much your non-economic damages might be worth.
What Steps Should I Take After a Tomball, TX, Accident?
You can take a few simple steps after an accident to improve the chances of a positive outcome. Some of these steps merely improve the chances of success, while others are essential for the pursuit of compensation.
First, you absolutely need to seek medical attention from a licensed doctor after your accident. Even if you believe that your injuries are light, you must seek treatment as soon as possible. Only qualified medical professionals can determine the extent of your injuries. In the immediate aftermath of a serious accident, adrenaline and shock may mask the true extent of your injuries.
For example, you may have suffered a serious head injury without realizing it. Memory loss (otherwise known as amnesia) is a common problem after even light head injuries. Intracranial hemorrhages (brain bleeds) can put increased pressure on your brain, and this pressure may eventually build to fatal levels. This is just one reason you should see a doctor after your accident.
Another important reason is purely legal. Without sufficient medical records to back up your injuries, it will be impossible to pursue compensation. Personal injury lawsuits are only possible if you can prove you suffered legitimate physical injuries.
After seeking medical attention, you can start considering your personal injury lawsuit. Take photos of your injuries and reach out to people who might have seen your accident. Of course, your personal injury lawyer in Tomball, TX, can help you gather this evidence.
While you recover from your injuries, consider keeping a journal. Your journal entries can help establish your thoughts and feelings during this difficult process. A journal is one of the best ways to prove the existence of non-economic damages, such as emotional distress. If you do not like the idea of writing down your thoughts, consider a vlog with your smartphone. However, keep all journal entries private and store them safely.
Another simple rule is to stay off social media until your personal injury lawsuit has been resolved. A single social media post could prevent you from pursuing compensation. For example, you might accidentally post a picture of yourself standing when you are supposed to be recovering from a torn ankle ligament. Defendants and insurers can use these posts to avoid paying you crucial compensation.
Next, consider a mental health assessment. The trauma of a serious accident can be quite severe – and you may not even realize how this is affecting your psychological well-being. A mental health professional can run tests, perhaps diagnosing you with PTSD, depression, and other disorders. These official diagnoses can be helpful as you pursue compensation for your non-economic damages.
How Do I Pursue Compensation After a Spinal Injury in Tomball, TX?
Spinal injuries are common after car accidents in Tomball, TX. Partial or full paralysis can end your career forever, and it may lead to ongoing medical treatment for the rest of your life. It is very important to pursue full compensation in this situation, as a personal injury lawsuit may represent your last remaining opportunity to secure financial security. If you let this opportunity pass, you may be forced to rely on charity handouts, government welfare, and other less reliable sources of compensation.
Spinal injuries can lead to both economic and non-economic damages. A quadriplegic may struggle with a loss of enjoyment of life after losing the ability to walk their dog, play sports, and hike with their kids. These injuries can also lead to millions of dollars in medical expenses and serious psychological challenges.
How Do I Get Compensation for Disfigurement in Tomball, TX?
Disfigurement is a unique non-economic damage. As the name suggests, it refers to permanent scars, blemishes, and burns. Although this might seem like a physical injury, it is a psychological, non-economic damage. This distinction allows you to pursue compensation for all medical expenses related to your disfigurement – plus additional compensation for the psychological impacts.
For example, you might struggle with self-esteem issues after suffering disfiguring burns to the face. Perhaps you were involved in a fiery truck accident. Maybe you suffered corrosive burns after a mishap at a hardware store. Perhaps you were injured in a storefront crash that caused glass shards to lacerate your face. Whatever the case may be, you can recover compensation for the psychological and emotional effects of permanent disfigurement.
Can You Get Additional Compensation for PTSD?
Yes, you can receive additional compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Tomball, TX. This is a common psychological disorder after certain accidents, including auto crashes and violent assaults. To pursue compensation for this damage, you may need to undergo an official evaluation by a mental health professional. Defendants may call upon their own independent medical experts to evaluate you, and these experts may call your diagnosis into question. Your lawyer can help you prove that your PTSD is real.
Choose Hernandez Law Firm
If you are serious about pursuing justice and compensation for your injuries, book a consultation with Hernandez Law Firm today. A quick consultation can help you feel more confident about the future – even if you have suffered a life-altering injury. Help is available – and you are not alone on the path to recovery. Texas law allows you to hold negligent parties liable for causing or contributing to your injuries, and this is a right you should take full advantage of – especially if you face future economic uncertainty. Call Hernandez Law Firm at (936) 256-3115 today to book your consultation and take your first steps toward justice.