If you have been injured in an accident, you might be worried about the future. Your medical bills may surpass your coverage, and you may have to take time off work. This can leave you in a terrible position financially, which you have to deal with on top of the physical pain and emotional distress of the accident.

Woman discussing her personal injury case with her personal injury attorney.

Nobody should be left in this situation due to the careless and negligent behavior of another person, and the state of Texas agrees. In Sugar Land, if you have been injured because another person has acted in a negligent manner, you may be entitled to seek compensation for your pain and suffering, and you may be able to pursue the recovery of all the damages you have incurred as a result of the accident.

For the best chances of pursuing the full and maximum compensation on offer to you, you should speak to an experienced personal injury attorney. They will help you to navigate the complex laws surrounding personal injury and will be fierce advocates when it comes to fighting the other party’s insurance company.

Abraham Watkins – Speak to a Dedicated Personal Injury Law Firm Today

Here at Abraham Watkins, we have been fighting hard on behalf of personal injury victims in the state of Texas for over 70 years. This makes us one of the longest-serving law firms across the entire state. During these 70 years, we have handled every kind of personal injury case, from small slip and falls to large, complex high-profile cases.

Our experience and skill has been built on the back of countless victories, both in and out of the courtroom. Our Sugar Land personal injury lawyers will work with you every step of the way, prioritizing the attorney-client relationship above all else. We will investigate on your behalf, calculate your damages, and deal with all the paperwork.

We believe that all victims should have access to reliable representation without the worry of fees or being left in a worse financial situation. For that reason, we offer a free consultation and case evaluation. In this initial consultation, we will answer any questions you may have, and we will evaluate your case, letting you know if it is worth pursuing.

We also work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no up-front fees for our service, and you do not have to pay a penny if we cannot win your case.

What Damages Can I Pursue in a Sugar Land, TX Personal Injury Claim

One of the most important aspects of any personal injury claim is the recovery of your damages. When you have been injured by a negligent party, there are a number of economic and non-economic damages that you might suffer.

Calculating what these are worth is the cornerstone of deciding upon a settlement offer. Once your attorney has worked out what your settlement offer is, they will send it to the other party. The more accurate the damage calculations, the better the chances of an out-of-court settlement that you are happy with.

The first stage is to calculate the economic damages. These damages have physical prices attached to them. If you have had to pay a bill, such as a medical bill or repair bill for your car if you were involved in a car accident, these are economic damages.

Your economic damages include:

Lost Income

For most injuries serious enough to warrant a personal injury claim, the victim will need to take time off for treatment/recovery. This time off could mean the victim ends up with lost wages or income. This isn’t fair to the victim, and through your claim, you are entitled to recover all lost wages.

You can pursue all future and past lost wages. This means if you are going to need time off in the future, or are unable to work in the same capacity, you can claim for the future loss of wages. If your injuries are severe enough that you will never be able to work in the same career again, your attorney may pursue a lifetime of lost wages in your claim.

Medical Bills

Medical bills are extremely expensive and can quickly surpass even premium insurance coverage in serious accident cases. When your coverage is exceeded, or if you do not have coverage at all, it could mean you are left responsible for paying for your own medical care.

When the accident happened because of someones else’s negligence, you shouldn’t be the one left paying for medical care to deal with your injuries.

By working with your personal injury attorney, you can recover all of your medical costs. Anything to do with your recovery is recoverable, including taxi costs to and from the hospital, childcare for your kids while you are in hospital, medical bills, physical therapy and ambulance call-outs.

To assist your attorney in calculating these damages, we suggest that you keep an accurate daily diary of your treatment and medical expenditure. In this diary, note down your pain levels and your mood on a scale of 1-10. This will help your personal injury attorney when it comes to calculating your pain and suffering.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are variable and include things like the pain and suffering you have been through and any loss of enjoyment of life. These damages do not have a physical price tag attached, making them much harder to calculate. The more experience your personal injury attorney has, the better they will be at this.

Pain and Suffering

You should be compensated for your pain and suffering, so any pain you have been through, and any emotional trauma and distress needs to be included. Your attorney will consider how severe your pain and suffering is and decide how much you should be compensated.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

The term loss of enjoyment of life refers to any changes to your normal way of life that you have suffered as a result of the accident. An example would be if you have been in a car accident and you have suffered neck injuries that prevent you from playing basketball with your friends.

Can I Raise a Personal Injury Claim in Sugar Land, TX?

In order for your personal injury claim to be a valid one, your attorney will look at four elements. These elements are extremely important. The other party will expect to see proof of these in your evidence, and if your case moves to the courtroom, your attorney will be expected to prove them to the court.

They are:

  • Duty of Care – The at-fault party must have owed you a duty of care at the time the accident happened.
  • Breaching – The person at fault must have breached the duty of care by acting in a way that is negligent.
  • Causation – This negligent behavior must have caused your accident.
  • Injuries – This accident must have directly caused you the injuries you are claiming for and the damages you are seeking to recover.

Don’t worry if you are unsure whether you can prove these elements. Your attorney will work with you and will do their own investigations to establish the above elements on your behalf. The best thing to do is to get in touch immediately and arrange a free case evaluation.

In this evaluation, your attorney will be able to ask some simple questions about your case and will be able to inform you if they believe it is indeed a valid case worth pursuing or not.

What Counts as Negligent Behavior?

Understanding negligence is important when it comes to a personal injury claim. An experienced personal injury lawyer and their legal team will be trying to establish the other party acted negligently, so understanding what constitutes negligence can be useful.

According to the WEX Legal Information Institute, negligence is:

A failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances.  The behavior usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act (e.g., a duty to help victims of one’s previous conduct). 

While this may look complicated, in its essence, negligent behavior is any behavior that is seen as different from how you would act if you were a reasonable person in the same situation.

For example, running a stop sign while under the influence of alcohol. Any reasonable driver would not enter their car when they were drunk and would not run a stop sign. This makes the actions of the driver who did enter their car while drunk negligent.

Common Forms of Personal Injury

Here at Abraham Watkins, we have over 70 years of experience serving the state of Texas in personal injury cases. This means that we have seen almost every injury under the sun in some form or another.

Every case may be unique, but with our long history and vast experience, we have usually dealt with a case similar to yours before, giving us an advantage when it comes to formulating a tailored strategy specifically for you.

Some of the accidents we have dealt with include:

Slip, Trip and Fall Injuries

Slip, trip and falls are extremely common forms of personal injury. Often they happen whilst on the property of someone else or at work. If your workplace failed to maintain a safe space for you to work, or a private property owner has neglected to maintain their property to a high enough standard, they could be found liable for your injuries.

Owners of the property automatically assume a duty of care to people who are on their property.

Car Accident/Truck Accident Injuries

There are millions of motorists across the United States, and every single day there are fatalities, countless accidents, and, frighteningly, a large number of DUI incidents. In the state of Texas alone, there are 72 drunk driving accidents a day. That’s around one every 20 minutes.

Car accidents have a strong chance of causing a serious accident, one that can easily claim the life of a beloved family member or cause lifelong, life-changing injuries. As soon as you get behind the wheel of any vehicle in Texas, you assume a duty of care to all the other users of the road, making it likely that you can pursue a personal injury claim if you have been involved in a car accident that wasn’t your fault.

Commercial truck drivers, with their vehicles weighing up to 20x that of normal passenger vehicles, can also cause serious injuries. When it comes to commercial truck drivers, the case gets more complicated as the liability can lie with more than one party, including the driver, trucking company, mechanics, and even the manufacturers of the truck parts.

Premises Liability Injuries

If you have been injured on someone else’s premises due to their negligence, it usually counts as premises liability. Common examples are drowning accidents in private pools and electrocution during renovations.

How to Decide Which Sugar Land Attorney To Hire

For many of our clients, hiring an attorney is an entirely new process, one which they have never had to do before. This can make the task seem a little daunting. Appointing representation that is suitable for the job is extremely important when you are pursuing compensation and the recovery of all the damages you have suffered after all.

We advise you to research all the potential law firms you are considering. Don’t listen to flashy ads or billboards; dig a little deeper. You should check independent review sites like AVVO. AVVO uses a point system that is allocated to an attorney based upon their years of service, awards, client reviews, and strengths. Recommendations from friends and family can be a good place to start as well.

Once you have found an attorney or a law firm that you like the look of, get in touch with them and arrange a free initial consultation. Don’t worry; this consultation should have no strings attached and is the perfect space for you to ask more questions and get a feel for your potential attorney before you agree to representation.

During this consultation, you should ask to see examples of their previous victories in similar cases and referrals from past clients. Any good lawyer will be happy to oblige.

Use the initial consultation to ensure the following:

  • Personable – Depending upon the complexity of your personal injury case, you may be spending the next several years fighting your case with your attorney. This means you will be spending a lot of time talking to them. You should make sure that in your initial consultation, you get along with your attorney, and your personalities don’t clash.
  • Time Management – If your attorney has a great track record and numerous victories under their belts, like our attorneys here at Abraham Watkins, they will usually have a full caseload of clients besides you. This means they will need strong time management skills to divide their time and prioritize their clients. You shouldn’t expect to have access around the clock, but you should feel they respond to your queries in a timely manner.

What to Do at The Scene of the Accident

There are certain steps you can follow at the scene of any accident to ensure both your safety and that you maximize your chances of a successful claim later on:

Prioritize your safety

It doesn’t matter how important it may feel to collect evidence and speak to witnesses; you need to prioritize your health and safety above all else. This means you should check yourself for injuries. If you have hit your head, feel pain in your neck or shoulders, or have fallen a great height, you must remain still and wait for the ambulance. Do not let anyone move you until then.

If you are confident, you have not hurt your head or back and are in further danger from oncoming traffic, for example, move to a place of safety.

Call an ambulance if there are injuries

No matter how serious the injuries seem, you should always call an ambulance. When the human body goes into shock, it releases a lot of adrenaline, which masks a lot of the symptoms a serious injury might exhibit. It is not uncommon for a person to assume they are fine and really be suffering from internal bleeding or head trauma, both of which can prove fatal if left untreated.

When the ambulance arrives, they can ensure that everyone is treated and at least checked over for injuries. They will also file a report regarding the accident, which can be used by your attorney later on down the line and is a great piece of unbiased evidence.

This will also act as your first recorded instance of medical attention, which is useful when it comes to proving the accident caused your injuries directly, one of the four important elements.

Call the police

If you were in a car accident or the accident involved parties under the influence of alcohol or drugs or that are acting violently, call for the police. They will divert traffic, handle aggressive parties, and can administer BAC tests if the driver was under the influence.

Call the fire department

If there has been an explosion, fire, structural collapse, gas, or electrical incident, call for the fire department as they will be able to isolate and control the situation.

Collect evidence

If you are certain that you have done everything possible to ensure your own safety and the safety of anyone else involved, and your injuries allow it, now is the time to collect evidence.

We recommend taking a video of the scene, trying to highlight as many details as possible while you talk over the top, and recording a voice statement. This is the strongest possible evidence. You may also support it with pictures and a sketch of the scene if you have a pen and paper to hand.

Speak to witnesses

If there were witnesses on the scene who witnessed what happened, try to collect their details immediately. Ask them if they mind if you record their statement. This is the best way to ensure they remain reliable, as they only have to agree they gave the statement if questioned later on down the line. Get as many of their personal details too, such as their emails, names, phone numbers, drivers licenses, and addresses if they are willing.

Call a team of Sugar Land personal injury attorneys

You should call your personal injury lawyer as soon as it is sensible to do so. They will be able to offer immediate advice about what to do next, what to say, and what not to say and may send investigators to the scene immediately.

Personal injury cases and investigations are always time sensitive, meaning the sooner you get in touch with them, the sooner they can spring into action and the better your chances of seeking the full and maximum compensation on offer to you.

They can take over your case, liaising with all parties involved and giving you the space you need to focus on your recovery while they do the hard work.

Sugar Land, TX Personal Injury FAQ

How Long Does a Personal Injury Claim Take?

This will always depend on the complexity of the case. Simple cases may settle relatively quickly if there is clear liability and lesser injuries. If the liability is hard to prove, or the injuries are serious and the case involves numerous parties, the case could take a longer time to complete.

While there is no average time for these claims, they will most likely take over six months and up to several years, depending on the complexities. 

How Are Personal Injury Cases Funded?

At Abraham Watkins, we want all victims to have the opportunity to seek justice and compensation for their damages and injuries. We don’t want victims to have to avoid this because of their financial situation.

For that reason, we work on a contingency fee basis and offer a free consultation to all potential clients who may need our help. You don’t pay upfront or if you lose. If you win, we take our fee from your settlement figure.

Do All Personal Injury Cases Go To Court?

A large number of cases will settle outside of court. This is because court battles are expensive, and if a party loses, they add court costs to the money they have to pay out. However, if your case is complex and the liability is less than crystal clear, the other party may decide they want the fight.

Having a good attorney behind you is instrumental here, and in some cases, the other party may simply decide to settle because you have an attorney with a strong reputation behind you.

Get in Touch With Abraham Watkins Today!

Here at Abraham Watkins, we have been serving the state of Texas for over 70 years. As one of the states longest serving law firms, you know you are employing a team that has a long history of victory and a vast wealth of experience and knowledge to draw upon.

We have a reputation for aggressive representation, and we are not afraid of any legal team, any insurance company, or any large corporation. We will fight your case, and fight your case hard, without rest until we obtain the result you desire. Call us today and speak to a dedicated personal injury lawyer at 713-535-9319

Free Consultation

We offer a free consultation to prospective clients. If you have been injured and wish to speak to one of our attorneys in a no-cost consultation, please call us at (713) 222-7211. or toll free at 713-222-7211

Real trial lawyers, real results

Our Record of Success

$250+

million

Drug Litigation

$201+

million

Plant Explosion

$88

million

Automotive Defects

$60

million

Drug Litigation

$60

million

Chemical Plant Fire

$35

million

Premises Liability

Our Awards

Best Law Firms - Badge 2024
Best Lawyers Best Law Firms US news 2023.
Abraham Watkins Best Lawyers Award for 2022.
Best Lawyers Best Law Firms US news 2021.
Best Lawyers Best Law Firms US news 2020.
Best Lawyers Best Law Firms US news 2019.
Best Lawyers Best Law Firms US news 2018.
Top 10 Wrongful Death US 2022.
Top 20 Motor Vehicle Accidents - 2022.
Top Verdict Top 50 Personal Injury
Top Verdict US 2022 Top 100
Number 1 settlement for wrongful death in Texas 2022.
Number 1 for Pedestrian Accident Settlements in TX for 2022.
Number 1 for Wrongful Death Settlements in TX for 2022.
Firm Award - Top 10 Motor Vehicle Settlements in Texas 2022
Best Premises Liability Lawyer Award.
Top 20 Best Lawyer Award for Abraham Watkins.
Top 100 Best Lawyer Award 2021 for Abraham Watkins.
2021 Top 10 Practicing Lawyers in Texas Award.
2021 Top 10 Personal Injury Verdict Award.
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