What Is “Pain And Suffering?”

Pain and suffering is a qualitative, not quantitative, assertion made to the jury. That is, there’s no objective scale that ranks the experience of being injured and the ongoing pain of it to compare it to other similar accidents, so juries hear testimony about the pain you felt, feel, and will continue to feel, as well as how it has changed your day-to-day life, and make determinations based on their judgment and their sense of justice and fairness.

Related to pain and suffering (or “physical pain”) are concepts like mental anguish and future pain and suffering. Testimony from those who know you well, your doctors, and yourself can demonstrate to the jury how your life has been limited by pain, or how overwhelmingly affecting the original injury was.

Will My Case Have To Go To Trial?

Whether a case has to go to trial depends on a lot of factors, and we can never say on day one that a case will or won’t have to go to trial. We specialize in getting our clients the best settlement or award possible, in the shortest amount of time.

We have an excellent track record – and have recovered millions of dollars in damages for our clients – at achieving settlements without going to court. But sometimes, it is still necessary.

If your case is one that requires a jury to deliver justice, you can trust that our team will prepare you fully for the experience, and you’ll have our support every step of the way. When you’ve been hurt, get all the help you need.

How Long Will It Take To Reach A Settlement Or Get The Case In Front Of A Judge?

There are too many variables involved to give you a very precise answer, but in general you should expect that your case may last several months, or even longer if we go to trial. That said, it is not at all unusual for settlements to be negotiated in a shorter time frame, or for settlements to be offered once a trial has begun.

Legal cases can be very frustrating. You may be fully prepared and our case is ready to go, when the other side requests a delay and the court’s calendar pushes things back weeks or months. We’ll prepare you for these eventualities, and explain what they mean if they happen in your case. We know the games insurers play, and we work to get our clients the maximum settlements and awards possible, in the shortest time frame.

What Is “Diminished Value” And How Do I Claim It?

Diminished value is a calculation of your vehicle’s reduced resale price based on its damage history. In determining the inherent diminishment, it is assumed that the vehicle is perfectly repaired.

Diminished value is simply a way of measuring the difference between what a buyer would pay for your vehicle had it never been damaged, versus what a buyer is willing to pay with the damage history.

To claim diminished value, you’ll have to have an appraisal – at your own cost – and then present the appraisal to the insurance company. Bear in mind that insurers are often not persuaded to comply with your claim. Especially when you have an extremely valuable vehicle, it can be helpful to have an attorney handle the claim.

How Much Of My Time Will A Lawsuit Take Up?

We know that our clients are busy not only with the aftermath of accidents and injury, but with full lives including family, school, work, and church. You don’t have endless hours to devote to your legal matter. Your most important activity after an accident should be healing, not dealing with a lawsuit.

You’ll be relieved to learn that your case, after our initial interview, won’t require much of your time at all. We’ll keep you regularly informed about the status and what we’re doing, but for most of our clients, the time commitment is minimal.

In the majority of cases we handle, we are able to secure a settlement in the matter relatively quickly. If your case goes to trial, your time commitment will be higher and the case itself will take longer to resolve. We can give you a more thorough sense of how long your case is likely to take, and what we’ll need from you, during our free consultation.

What Can I Expect In A Deposition?

Depositions are designed to allow the other side to learn more specifics about you, your history, the particulars of the case, how it has affected you, and how it might affect you in the future.

It is an adversarial proceeding, and the other side is looking for opportunities to diminish a potential damage award by muddying the waters as much as possible. For instance, you may be asked about previous accidents, injuries, and illnesses you’ve experienced in your life.

While the question seems reasonable, your answer may provide a basis for the other side to argue that injuries you claim are related to the current case are actually older, and therefore not the responsibility of the insurer to pay.

Other questions you may be asked include things like whether you’ve been party to lawsuits in the past, whether you filed a claim with your own insurance company, details about the injuries you are claiming now, and particulars about medical treatments you’ve used as a result.

You should never be deposed without an attorney at your side. An experienced injury lawyer can ensure that questions posed are appropriate, and that your answers are honest and clear, but don’t provide the other side with ammunition against you.

Can An Accident Attorney Accept A Settlement Without My Permission?

No. Your attorney is your employee, and is required to present you with settlement offers, and an expert opinion on the merit of the offer. Your attorney may not accept an offer without your express consent, and if one does so, they risk professional sanction.

We take cases we believe in, and work diligently to achieve the best outcomes, and highest damage award, for our clients. We are passionate advocates for their rights, but choose to hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards. We provide informed guidance on matters related to the case, and act according to our clients’ wishes and goals.

How Much Of A Damage Award Does Your Firm Take?

Accident Attorneys work on a contingency basis, meaning that if we don’t win your case for you, or achieve a fair settlement for you, then we collect nothing. Our fees represent a fair market rate for the work we do, which includes interviewing witnesses, consulting experts, reviewing medical information, building a case, and of course, negotiations and litigations that achieve financial compensation for the people we represent.

Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in damages for clients in Austin, which has made the difference for individuals and families who’ve experienced losses of many kinds. Our fees are fair and represent a good balance between value and the high quality of representation we provide.

The insurance company wants to audit my hospital bills. Why?

Unfortunately, the insurance company wants to audit your medical records in order to minimize what they have to pay you. If there’s anything they can tie to prior injuries or pre-existing conditions, they’ll mark through that and refuse to pay, even when the claim in relation to the accident is perfectly valid.

Never turn over medical records or hospital bills to an insurer without talking to an attorney first.

You may be surprised to find that bills totaling many thousands of dollars work out to drastically less in reimbursement to you when insurers do the math themselves. It’s unfair, and it’s stress you don’t need as you’re healing.

Let an Accident Attorney take care of your insurance company while you take care of your health. We represent your interests and push back when insurers try to pay you less than you’re due after an injury.