Unlocking Your Strategy

The first step toward trying to "win your case" is to unlock and develop your unique case strategy! Winning can sometimes be confusing because people have varying definitions of what it means to “win a case!” Winning is thus subject to everyone’s varying definitions. One of the things I focus on is helping you define what a win is for your unique case. From a litigator who has experience with hundreds of litigated cases and thousands of clients, it becomes paramount to understand how we will together define a win for you! I have comprised a list of 61 unique factors that I contemplate for each individual case to help me, help you, determine how we can position your case for the greatest success – in other words, your own defined win! For example, a win can sometimes be knowing when you should accept a settlement offer versus not accepting one. A win can sometimes be achieved by accepting more back pay instead of future pay. A win can sometimes be better achieved by choosing to file your case in one court (County Court) versus another court (District Court), or when to appeal a decision and when not to. A win can sometimes be obtained by accepting a structured payout instead of a lump sum payout and vice versa. A win can sometimes be better obtained by opting for a jury trial instead of a judge trial because the tendencies of your local area and the political system favor one or the other. A win can often be opting for mediation instead of trial because we know there are unfavorable witnesses, evidence, or legal defenses against us. Or to the contrary, maybe the witness, evidence, or law favors us so we should opt for trial instead of settlement. The list of scenarios that can affect whether you can “win” your case goes far and beyond the 61 factors listed below. But in my experience, the 61 factors are the common areas that we need to explore carefully together. It is also important to know that lawyers cannot guarantee a certain outcome, but rather only guarantee to use our best professional efforts to help you achieve the best possible result. Call me today so I can help you set up a strategy to put you in the best legal position to help you achieve your defined “win” for your case!

In general, someone must have been at fault for a traditional personal injury case. It is usually easier to prove that someone else was careless in an accident, although not always so. Police reports often accurately describe how accidents can occur and this can assist with your case. Police reports often contain convincing and credible diagrams that help the fact finder visualize the accident, albeit only demonstratively. Be cautious though because police reports can be challenged. Expect the car insurance company to deny liability as that is usually an automatic position they take. However, where you were not at fault and are still being sued, I can still help you with your defense.

It is held by many experts that the biggest factor in determining your personal injury settlement is the type of injury you sustained. Loss of limbs, broken bones, vision impairment or loss, hearing impairment or loss, spinal, head and a long list of other permanent and major injuries make your payout bigger. Also, whether you need surgery or rehab therapy can help increase the value. Other minor injuries like whiplash and soft tissue injuries only causing temporary pain, tend to be smaller in terms of payouts.

It is important to determine the amount of your out-of-pocket bills. In smaller cases, the amount of your medical bills become very important in getting your payout increased. In larger cases, your pain and suffering component will generally much higher than medical bills. Be sure you retain all of your receipts, canceled checks, invoices, and billing records for your medical bills paid, even though not paid by you.

In any type of litigation to recover money, an early assessment of whether you can potentially collect from a defendant is a threshold issue that must be answered. Even if a defendant is negligent, you may not be able to recover damages. There must be a payment source from which to collect. Sources are things like insurance coverages (Uninsured motorist (UM), personal injury protection (PIP), Medical Payments Coverage (Medpay), liability insurance, or self-insured company, to name a few. Other considerations are corporate defendants with large assets and individuals with large unexempt assets.

Counties that consist of big cities are generally known for higher jury verdict awards than counties that consist of smaller cities. These big cities are usually more likely to vote Democrat in elections.

In consideration of the size of the city, believe it or not, the county of your accident does play a major role in the value of your payout. It is believed by many personal injury attorneys with trial experience that claims in Collin County for example are less valuable by jurors than in Dallas County. This follows because cities in Collin County are smaller than Dallas proper. The reasons are highly debatable, but some attorneys believe that jurors in counties like Collin are more concerned about their insurance rates being affected by higher payouts than other counties like Dallas. Opinions can vary of course. But just be aware of your county's tendencies and include this in your analysis of determining your expectation of payout amount if your case ends up being submitted to a jury.

To succeed in raising your settlement amount, you must be able to put your pain and suffering into words that are clear, reasonable, and persuasive to the adjuster or jury. Take time to think about what you lost and how you suffered as a result of the injury. It is important that you have

Medical treatment records, such as medical restrictions, sleep and rest orders, no driving instructions, and treatment for depression counseling
Photographs and videos of your injuries, struggles, and rehabilitation
Witness statements that detail your struggles with personal care, meals, housework, childcare, pet care, and transportation
Expert witness testimony such as but not limited to brain injury, emotional distress, post-traumatic stress disorder, pain associated with burns, etc., and pre-death suffering
Detailed written notes about pain levels, humiliation of impairments or disfigurement, frustration with daily tasks, fears, worry about rising medical costs, sadness, and depression
Reports arising from the incident such as police reports, fire and rescue reports, incident reports
Tangible personal property items such as ripped and bloody clothing, child’s broken toys, broken eyeglasses in head injuries, shattered watches, dented motorcycle or bicycle helmets, etc.

I also like to send the claims adjuster big verdict rulings on similar cases, especially with high verdicts on pain and suffering. This can be helpful in persuading him/her about the risk in not resolving your case.

Insurance adjusters look at whether there was a minor or major accident. For example, if you were not struck by a heavy object like a car then they tend to value it less. On the other hand, accidents involving heavy objects like crashed cars and property damages are more likely to yield higher values. Keeping photos and videos can help where you can show the accident appears to be major based on the severity of the impact and heaviness of the objects involved.

Insurance adjusters are masters at immediately taking the position that your injuries existed before the accident occurred, especially if you have a prior personal injury case or cases. They have access to all of your past claims. This is a general search they perform. They also will require a medical authorization be signed so they can go dig up your old medical records. Therefore, pre-existing injuries are the adjusters ace in the hole to try and knock your value down. In order to combat this unfair presumption that the insurance adjuster almost always takes, requires good thorough medical documentation from your current medical provider to create demonstrable differences in the injuries where the situation warrants it. The point is don’t give up if you have pre-existing injuries. You may end up accepting less money; however, you may still have a good case. It takes more work to get you a higher payout, but I am willing to put the extra effort in to combat the insurance company's seemingly automatic argument against you.

Your doctors play a significant role in the value of your case. If your doctor says your injury is related to the accident, then your case is worth more and the contrary is likewise true. Be sure you know the reputation of the doctor treating you. The best way to know whether the doctor can harm your personal injury case is to speak with a lawyer who is familiar with the doctor’s reputation. Often times I can point you to doctors that want to help patients with their accident victims. This information is also available online.

Knowing the insurance company payout tendencies can be very valuable. My own personal experiences have shown me that Progressive, Farmers, United Auto, Allstate and State Farm are known to be terrible. It is important to know this, so we can race to the courthouse quicker. I do not waste time with their delay and bad faith tactics as I perceive them. If you are involved in an Uber accident for example, be aware that Farmers, Progressive, and Allstate have been shown to be a big insurer for them. Call me for more information and up to date statistics.

On the other hand, Hartford, Nationwide and USAA are all considered to be above average insurance companies. This means you are less likely to need to file a lawsuit. However, as you know from reading my website, I will not hesitate to file your case as needed as an aggressive and tested trial lawyer! Don’t delay, call me today

Regardless of the type of injury you have, an eyewitness to your accident can make a huge impact on your payout. Insurance companies worry when there is a credible eyewitness who will disrupt their presumption that You are at fault. Also, eyewitnesses that are reasonable, credible and unbiased can make or break your case. Do yourself the biggest favor and bring your witness list to your consultation. Keep your witnesses full name, address, contact telephone numbers and a short narrative as their personal knowledge about your case. If possible, let’s try and get an affidavit (sworn statement) from all of your witnesses. This becomes important because over time, emotions calm, witnesses forget things, and they become less likely to sign statements. Witnesses’ memories fade, they move, they die, and they can become hard to track down. Be proactive, and let’s get their statements sooner as opposed to later! Even keep unfavorable witness information so we know how to cross-exam them.

Common damages recoverable in personal injury cases include the following:

Diminished value of your vehicle
Rental car
Past lost income
Future lost income reduced to present value
Past medical expenses
Future medical expenses
Replacement value of lost personal property (i.e. damage to your car, broken glasses, watches, child toys, etc.)
Funeral expenses
Reimbursement for mileage to and from medical appointments
Past pain and suffering
Future pain and suffering
Disability Scarring and disfigurement
Mental anguish
Loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life
Inconvenience
Punitive damages (cases like drunk driving)

Damages can vary in a wrongful death case, car accident, slip and fall and intentional injury case. Call me to discuss the differences.

Pictures can increase the value of your personal injury claim. Jurors (and insurance adjusters) love to see pictures. Helpful pictures should be sent to the adjuster as soon as possible after the accident.

Pictures which show the following can be helpful to your case:

Moderate to severe damage involved
Paramedics, police cars, ambulances at the accident scene
The dangerous condition that may have caused the accident like ice, water, etc.
Poor lighting at the time of the accident, car neglect, proof of negligence
Hardware outside of your body such as breathing machines, fixators, etc.
Scarring or disfigurement
Injured person in bed with oxygen tubes, cuts, scapes, a cast, an IV line and machines

In general, the more the picture causes you to feel pain, the more it increases the value of your case.

Also, be aware of pictures that hurt your case. It is important that I know this information as well as we use this to help determine case strategy and evaluate your risk. Such pictures include proof that no damage or minor damage occurred, excellent lighting, no harmful conditions existing. Many more examples are possible.

The liability insurer will want to know whether you were suffering from physical infirmity, disability, or sickness at the time of the incident. I once settled a slip and fall at a convenience store. The insurance company automatically assumed my client who was in a cast caused the accident. However, pictures showed my client slipped on an oily parking lot. My client received over 10 times her medical bills.

In a slip and fall case, you should expect the adjuster to want to know whether your disability caused your fall. They may look through your past and current medical records to see whether they find any mention of past falls or difficulty walking.

As with my client who slipped and fell while wearing a cast, you may still have a personal injury claim even if you had a disability at the time of the fall.

You need to consider whether you will have to pay taxes on your settlement. In most accident cases, you don’t have to pay taxes on the settlement. However, to be sure, you can research settlement taxability on the IRS website. Many publications are available. You also need to speak to a certified public accountant or tax accountant to fully appreciate tax liability. I do not provide tax advice as this is beyond my scope of practice.

The main event that may result in you owing taxes is if the insurance company requires your personal injury settlement (or lawsuit) to be confidential. If possible, you should not agree to a confidential settlement during your personal injury lawsuit or claim.

The best way to ensure that your medical records accurately reflect your limitations or complaints is to call the medical provider (often a doctor) before your next visit and ask them to please have the medical record ready for you. You should review your records at each visit and try to leave each visit with your records so you can consistently confirm they are accurate. Please have your medical provider immediately correct inaccurate items.

You can review the medical record while you are waiting and point out any errors to the medical provider. The medical provider may also document his or her records more clearly once they realize that you are reviewing your records for accuracy.

Very serious injuries often result in permanent injuries, including scarring and disfigurement. At a minimum, scars and disfigurement in a visible location are embarrassing. Even a small scar or other residual injury can cause suffering. For some accident victims, disfigurement affects their ability over the course of their lives to get a job and enjoy their lives.

If the scarring or disfigurement occurs in an area of the body that is visible when clothed, such as the face, neck, or hands, these are likely to be perceived by a jury as more harmful than scarring on the back or stomach. In general, youth and gender can also affect the amount of damages recovered for scarring after an accident. Both insurance adjusters and a jury are more likely to perceive a young woman as suffering greater damage from scarring or disfigurement than a man with the same scar would.

Very obvious scarring can cause both cosmetic embarrassment and inflexibility in a particular area of the body. For example, if you develop scar tissue at a joint, the increased width of skin in that area can result in loss of mobility as well as visible changes. Other losses associated with scarring are lack of nerve sensitivity and psychological and emotional distress.

There are numerous intangible difficulties that can result from very severe scars or disfigurement. Severe disfigurement can affect a person’s ability to get married, make friends, have strong self-esteem, and enjoy various recreational activities.

If you have suffered scars or disfigurement due to somebody else’s negligence, you may be able to sue the negligent party for compensatory damages. When scars are disfiguring, and the party responsible acted egregiously in creating the situation that gave rise to them, that party may be held accountable for punitive damages as well.

Documenting a Scar or Disfigurement

If you have suffered a scar or disfigurement, you should make sure that your doctor has noted this condition in your medical records and noted whether there is a permanent or residual effect. Your doctor also should note whether the scar or disfigurement has any effect on mobility. Later, the medical records can buttress your claim to the defendant’s insurer or the jury for compensation for the permanent injuries.

How is a scar valued? This can be difficult to predict, although many personal injury attorneys such as myself do verdict searches to figure out how much juries in a particular jurisdiction have awarded in the past for a similar scar or disfiguring injury. In some cases, a plaintiff’s attorney may retain a doctor, not your treating physician, to opine on the cost of removing or repairing the scar as a way of demonstrating the value of the injury.

If you have already seen a doctor about removing the scar, you will have to note it in your discovery responses. The defendant in the case likely will subpoena the doctor for deposition, particularly if the cost of removal is not very high. Assuming that the doctor’s testimony is favorable to you, the defendant’s attorney will try to undercut his or her credibility or counter with an opposing expert. Additionally, the plaintiff may testify as to how the scar affected his or her life, and whether the plaintiff subjectively perceives it has limited his or her job or romantic prospects.

Sometimes, scarring may be the result of botched cosmetic surgery. If your cosmetic surgery resulted in scarring, you may have a medical malpractice claim. In order to recover for the scarring, you would have to show that the cosmetic surgeon did not act in accord with what other reasonably prudent cosmetic surgeons would have done in the same or similar circumstances, and thereby caused scarring or disfigurement. In many states, due to tort reform, it can be more challenging to recover the full spectrum of damages in medical malpractice cases than it is in personal injury cases.

The first question we need to determine, is an injury case worth pursuing? Some personal injury cases have a small settlement case value. All cases take a lot of time and cost to be handled properly. A small full value does not justify the time and expense, so aggressive upfront handling of the case in a pre-litigation fashion is desirable. Therefore, contact me today so we can determine whether your case needs to be put on a fast track to case settlement due to its minimal value. This saves you lots of time and frustration. I can help you determine this early on.

If you do not want to hire an attorney, you can skip to the next factor. However, many people hire a lawyer. If you do, their fees and costs will affect the settlement. I do not charge an upfront fee for my personal injury cases unless you are hiring me as a defendant. Rather, I am only paid if I recover money. This is known as a contingency fee. This is great for injured claimants. Most are low-income or middle class. They cannot afford to hire a lawyer without a contingency fee. In different states, the attorney’s fees are different. For example, in Texas, the standard fee is 33 1/3% of the total injury settlement. This is if the case settles before a lawsuit. If your attorney files a personal injury lawsuit, then the fee usually increases to 40% Costs are in addition to this amount. Then your medical bills and any liens are paid. The client then receives the net settlement. Cases that go on appeal can cost 45% of the total injury settlement.

Personal Injury cases take considerable thought and strategic legal planning time to settle or prepare for trial. This is true if you want not only a fair settlement but the highest possible. You can rest assured knowing that I will devote the time and thought necessary to put the insurance company on their heels so you can get the highest dollars possible. The time it takes to settle may depend also depend on how well you have kept records and gather the information I need to assess your case.

It may also depend on whether there is limited insurance. A dollar now is worth more than a dollar in one year. This is known as the time value of money. Insurers may settle for a reduced amount prior to trial. This is because the injured person’s costs increase as the trial date gets closer. Insurers know this. As a result, I put extreme pressure on insurers to settle early. My reputation is to deliver what I promise, so if your insurance company does not settle, I will file your case as soon as possible. I believe I am different than the run of the mill personal injury lawyer who settles cases in bulk. With me, you get personalized, high quality, and aggressive representation which includes a race to the jury trial.

In general, the injury settlement value of a case may increase as the number of defendants increases. It is easier for two defendants to each pay $50,000.00, than it is for one to pay $100,000. The injured person must know every potential defendant as soon as possible. If they do not, they may be leaving money on the table. Here is a general list of 11 possible parties you can sue after a car or truck accident.

The Careless Driver
The Vehicle Owner
Liability Insurance of the Careless Driver’s Spouse
The Driver’s Employer (or Agency): such as Uber, Lyft or Tax Company
Parental Liability if they Signed the Driver’s License Application
Worker’s Compensation
Manufacturer of the Vehicle or Tires
The Repair Shop
The Contractor (or Others) Responsible for the Design or Maintenance of Road
Property Owners Who May Have Created the Hazard that Caused the Accident
Other First Party Benefits, Such as Uninsured Motorist Coverage, Disability and More

If someone’s carelessness caused you to lose money by being unable to work, you may be able to get paid for your lost wages in the injury case. Your lost wages increase the full value of the case.

If you missed work from the accident, this may show that you were truly injured in the accident. This can increase the pain and suffering component of the claim. This is particularly true if you were an employee or worker who rarely missed work prior to the accident.

The injured person should never miss work solely in the hopes to get more money.

If someone’s carelessness causes your injury while you are working in Texas, you may have a personal injury claim against that party. The personal injury claim could be in addition to a workers compensation claim against your employer.

There are many cases where the employee cannot file a personal injury lawsuit. For examples, please contact us to discuss. Primarily in worker’s compensation and some governmental entitles there are exceptions.

Someone’s carelessness may cause another’s injury. The injured person should expect that the liability insurer may hire a defense attorney. The attorney will request that the injured person provide them with the number and service carrier associated with each cellular telephone. These are for phones used by the victim and/or registered in his or her name. This includes all numbers registered to and/or used by him or her under a “family plan” or similar service. They will want this info for those used at the time of accident or currently used.

In most cases, you won’t have to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, in some cases, the insurance company may deny liability or make an unreasonable offer. If this happens, you may need to file a personal injury lawsuit.

The defense attorney may request copies or screenshots of all photographs associated with that account during the two years prior to the date of the accident. He or she may also request copies or screenshots of all photographs associated with that account from the date of accident to the present. The defense attorney may also request copies of any documentation outlining what calls were made or received on the date of loss. The defense attorney generally asks these questions to determine if you were on the phone at or close to the time of the accident. If the injured person was on the phone, at the time of an accident, it may constitute comparative negligence and reduce the full value of the claim. Even if it does not make the claimant at fault, it can discredit his or her testimony because perhaps his or her concentration was lacking. The worst thing for the injured person can do is lie and say that he or she was not on the phone if it is untrue. If the defense attorney proves that you were lying, it can damage the case beyond repair.

If someone causes injury to another, in the Texas personal injury case jurors are not supposed to consider the likeability of the careless party when deciding whether the defendant was negligent and, if so, whether the negligence caused the claimant’s injury. But they do. It is human nature!

If the at fault party is likeable, this makes the case tougher. As a result, you the insurance company may make you a smaller injury settlement offer. The human dynamics of psychology and sociology make it tougher to punish, or award damages against, people that we like. Therefore, even if a nice person or company’s negligence caused your injury, you may have a great case. On the contrary, if a defendant’s carelessness caused your injury and he or she is not likeable, this increases the value of the case. This happens all the time actually! If the careless party shows little remorse or is angry or prideful, this increases the value of a case. Jurors have an easier time awarding higher pain and suffering amounts against someone who they do not like.

The accident victim’s experience handling prior injury claims may play a big role in determining how much a personal injury case is worth. If you have had a personal injury claim in the past, you may be able to help prepare your case before you come hire me. Read through my website carefully so you can come to your consultation prepared. With prior experience, you can get me better prepared in order to make the case move faster!

First and foremost, do not expect the adjuster to explain the law to you. An adjuster is not your friend! Do not be persuaded by their friendly tactics.

I also like to send the claims adjuster big verdict rulings on similar cases especially with high verdicts on pain and suffering. This can be helpful in persuading him/her about the risk in not resolving your case.

Determining whether the claims adjuster needs permission to settle your case or has limited settlement authority is important. Once this can be determined, I can make a quicker decision as to whether to move your case into litigation. In short, I do not like to waste time with claims adjusters who have no power to do anything.

If someone’s negligence caused your injury, Medicare may have a huge effect on your injury case. Medicare may pay your medical bills following an accident. In Texas, a Medicare lien is one component that makes up the full value of a case. If Medicare pays for bills, it decreases the full value of the damages case, which then leads to a lower settlement value.

Medicare is entitled to be repaid for the amounts that they pay for treatment related to your claim minus attorney’s fees and costs. One of the many advantages of hiring me is that Medicare will usually discount the amount that you have to repay them by your attorney’s fee and costs.

Learn more about whether Medicare will affect your case. You can also see www.medicare.gov.

Your social media accounts can destroy or greatly improve your injury case. You should expect the insurance company to be looking at your social media accounts. I have had this happen on several occasions.

I often look at defendants and opposing parties’ social media pages. If I find something that they say that helps my case, I will take a screenshot. And I will be sure to show to this to their insurance company.

You should set all of your social media accounts to private. However, a court can still order you to produce your photos and messages from those accounts. So be careful with what you share on those accounts. Think of every page as an exhibit being used against you at trial. This will help you be mindful of what you post online.

Your dates of employment for the past 5 to 10 years may affect your injury case. Consistent employment shows stability. It is acceptable to move from job to job if you are changing jobs because you are taking on more responsibility.

On the other hand, someone who cannot hold a job may be viewed by an adjuster as someone who may not make a good witness. Injury attorneys love to represent injured people who have been at the same job for many years.

Please do not just blindly sign the insurance company’s settlement release. You should demand or negotiate the terms of the personal injury settlement release with the claims adjuster. It is also not a good idea to make a written statement without consulting an attorney.

If you do not make good choices in your settlement release or with written statements, you can lose the right to make any other claims arising from the same accident or change what you have written.

Punitive damage claims are in addition to economic damages and non-economic damages. If a DWI driver’s negligence, or driver who was on a cell phone, caused your injury in a Texas car or truck crash, you may be able to make a punitive damage claim.

If the Texas DWI crash victim is a witness in a criminal trial, it can increase the likelihood that he or she may make a punitive damage claim.

Punitive damages increase the full value of a case. In general DWI accident claims are generally worth more.

A personal injury lawyer’s worst nightmare comes true when his/her client informs of a recent bankruptcy filing. The reason is because when you file for bankruptcy, your personal injury claim may then belong to the trustee. This means that it might no longer be your personal injury case. It will depend on the type (chapter) of bankruptcy that you filed.

On the other hand, if someone who caused your injury files for bankruptcy, your case may wind up being worth pennies on the dollar. If they have liability insurance, you can still make a claim against their liability insurance even if they file bankruptcy. To do so, you may have to file a motion to lift stay of bankruptcy (up to the insurance policy limits). You will likely want to hire me to file this motion and exercise your claimant rights.

I am very experienced in bankruptcy practice so please contact me if you have a bankruptcy related issue in your case.

If you do not know how to calculate the settlement value in an injury case, you will not get a fair settlement. The adjuster will just make you a low offer. When calculating the value of a personal injury claim, you should assign three ranges for pain and suffering. Those ranges should be high, medium and low.

It takes many years to become excellent at evaluating personal injury case values. Call me today, so we can start a free case evaluation.

Married adults tend to get higher verdicts and settlements than those who are single. I am not referring to someone 24 years old or younger in the US. This is because 24 years old is below the age of the average married adult in the US. 24 year olds are not expected to be married.

Injured adults who are married may get higher settlements in an injury claim if they have suffering and/or loss of enjoyment associated with not being able to enjoy time with their spouse due to an accident.

Married adults, who are 25 or older, tend to be more stable than those who are single. Stable people are more believable. Thus, married individuals may receive more money for suffering and loss of enjoyment of life than those who are single.

Jurors are allowed to determine the believability of a witness and the weight to be given to their testimony.

In order to get a fair offer, or an offer at all, sometimes the injured person will need to file a personal injury lawsuit. A trial date is usually the best pressure to get an unwilling party or his or her insurance company to settle and pay the claim. There are many personal injury lawyers who file cases in bulk and settle cases without filing a case or filing a case and not working it aggressively. You can rest assured that I will prosecute your case to the finish line if necessary. I believe this separates me from the average personal injury lawyer who is quick to settle for pennies on the eve of a trial. I am Board Certified in Civil Trial law because of my extensive trial experience. When looking for the big payout, look for a lawyer like me who is willing to show the insurance company that they are not going to get away with making you an unfair settlement offer. Let’s go to trial!

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then a video speaks ten thousand! If you have video evidence let's use this to get you a higher payout.

Video evidence can make or break a case. As soon as possible after an incident, you should send the prospective defendants a written request to preserve any and all video of the entire premises where the incident occurred.

Some ambulances have a built-in video that records whenever there is a hard brake. So, you should ask a commercial driver to preserve and send you video of the crash.

If you slipped and fell or were injured on a county bus, there may be video that shows your movement (if any) at the time of the accident. If the impact (your fall or movement) was not that hard, this can destroy or hurt your personal injury case.

Even if you received a lot of medical treatment, if a video shows that you hardly make contact with something or moved at the time of an accident, you may have a very difficult case.

Tell your doctors about all of your pain, but do not be dramatic. The last thing you want is for your medical records to say that you have excruciating pain yet your gym records show that you were working out every day.

Once a lawsuit is filed the defendant or its insurance company can basically get (subpoena) more information than you can ever imagine, and they often do.

Expect the insurance company to hire a private investigator to follow you. From the moment of your accident forward, you should prepare as if the case is going to trial. Do not exaggerate your injuries.

Assume that from the second you are injured in your accident, every moment has been recorded by a private investigator hired by the insurance company. Apart from being morally wrong, exaggerating will hurt your case much more than it helps.

In an abundance of caution, act as if the defendant or claims adjuster has access to all of your social media accounts including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, and Vine.

They will be looking to find you doing activities that you say that you cannot do since the accident. The insurance company will be looking to see or hear you talking about how good life is.

They will be looking to see if you are out dancing at a club when you are telling your doctors that your pain is debilitating. On the flip side, defendants post things on social media than can cripple their case.

If an injured person has one or more minor children, this may increase the value of their case. This is because an injury may make it more difficult to take care of your minor child. Also, if you have a special needs child, this may also increase the value of the case.

In addition, an injured person’s claim value may increase with the number of minor children that he or she have. Generally speaking, someone with 3 children may get more than someone with 1 child.

The theory is that an accident has impacted your life more if you have several children, as opposed to one, who you cannot enjoy spending time with after an accident.

If you have multiple minor children, it tends to show that you are family oriented. Jurors and adjusters tend to like family-oriented people because it may show compassion and stability. More children means that you have more potential witnesses to talk about the extent and effect of your injury on your lifestyle.

This can be great if your children can articulate the limitations that the accident has had on your activities of daily living including, but not limited, spending quality time with your kids because you were in pain or disabled.

The date of the accident may affect an injury claim for 3 reasons.

First, laws change, which may affect the burden of proof such as proving a key element in your case.

Second, the date of the accident also affects the time deadline as to when you can file your case.

Third, if the date of your incident may make it such that you complete your treatment toward the end of the year. If this happens, you should send the carrier your demand before the end of the year. Your case may then have a chance of settling quicker. It may also settle for a larger amount.

Liability insurers like to close our cases. This includes settling them. They need to close their books out by the end of the year.

You need to get all documentation that supports your claim as soon as possible. Send it to the carrier. This is so they can properly set its reserves in time.

The time of the accident may be used to verify whether you were on a cell phone when you were injured. A claims adjuster may discount the value of your case by your comparative negligence if he believes that your cell phone use distracted you and caused your injury. An adjuster may think that you are at fault because certain hours of the night may be associated with drinking or drugging. For example, an adjuster may think that you may have been on drugs or drunk if your accident happened after 12 a.m. and you were going or coming to a party.

Rain, Ice, Wind, Floods, Fog, and Other Road Hazards can affect your personal injury case as to whether you were at fault or not. There is an old saying in Texas, “If you don’t like the weather wait five minutes and it will change.” It is a saying not original to Texas and often attributed to Mark Twain. Regardless, it is often pretty accurate. Texas is such a large state that the weather can be drastically different in one part than the rest. More specifically, Texas has everything including tornadoes, floods, hail, sleet, snow, black ice, hurricanes, heavy rains, and fog that affect driving.

Thus, if you are going to drive in Texas, you need to be prepared for the weather to be a factor that you must deal with on the roads. Accidents due to weather conditions can make navigating a claim very difficult.

As a general rule, the Rules of the Road do not get suspended because the weather is bad. As a driver, you have an obligation to yourself and others to be prepared and act with ordinary prudence when dealing with dangerous weather conditions. However, just because the speed limit sign reads “55” does not mean that 55 miles per hour is a safe speed in inclement weather. You can be ticketed for failure to control speed even though you are driving under the posted speed limit if the speed you are traveling is not safe under the circumstances.

There are certain legal doctrines that affect whether a person is considered negligent or not when confronted with dangerous weather conditions. If you are in an accident in dangerous weather, you may find yourself in a situation where the adjuster is denying your claim even though you did nothing wrong. Some of these doctrines include:

Unavoidable Accident
Sudden Emergency, and
Act of God.

What Is an Unavoidable Accident?

An unavoidable accident is defined as ‘an event not proximately caused by the negligence of any party to it. Dallas Ry. & Terminal Co. v. Bailey, 250 S.W.2d 378, 385 9Tex.1952). As explained by the Texas Supreme Court, “the instruction is most often used to inquire about the causal effect of some physical condition or circumstance such as fog, snow, sleet, wet or slick pavement, or obstruction of view, or to resolve a case involving a very young child who is legally incapable of negligence.” Reinhart v. Young, 906 S.W.2d 471 (Tex.1995). The unavoidable accident instruction is about as close as a comment on the weight of the evidence as the Court may get. It is effectively a way of reminding the jury that Texas is a negligence state and not every accident is caused by someone’s negligence. If a person is doing everything that an ordinary prudent person would under the same circumstances and an accident occurs in spite of this, that person is not responsible.

One should keep in mind that just because there is fog, snow, sleet, water, or ice on the pavement does not mean that everyone is automatically relieved of responsibility. Drivers still have a duty to reduce their speed, keep safe distances, pay attention, and take necessary precautions to control their vehicles in inclement weather conditions. A personal injury trial lawyer faced with this defense needs to be proactive in questioning the defendant about what precautions he took to avoid losing control of his vehicle.

What Is a Sudden Emergency?

A sudden emergency is defined as:

an emergency situation arose suddenly and unexpectedly;
the emergency situation was not proximately caused by the negligent act or omission of the person whose conduct is under inquiry, and;
after an emergency situation arose that to a reasonable person would have required immediate action without time for deliberation, the person acted as a person of ordinary prudence would have acted under the same or similar circumstances.

Thomas v. Oldham, 895 S.W.2d 352, 360 (Tex.1995). This defense is also sometimes used when a sudden unexpected event like a tornado, heavy gust of wind, sudden hail storm or other unforeseen event arises without warning and causes an accident.

What Is an Act of God?

An act of God is an event occasioned exclusively by the violence of nature. Travelers Ins. Co. v. Williams, 378 S.W.2d 110, 113, (Tex.Civ.App.—Amarillo 1964, writ refused n.r.e.). The act of God defense is not often used nor warranted in auto collision cases. However, it does at times come up when a storm arises such as a hurricane, tornado, or winter ice storm that causes a condition leading to an auto accident. An example of this is McWilliams v. Masterson, 112 S.W.3d 314, (Tex.App.—Amarillo 2003, pet. denied), wherein a herd of cattle broke through a fence and into the road due to a winter storm coming up overnight and causing them to seek higher ground for safety.

Do Not Give a Statement

If you have been involved in an accident and the weather was a factor, you may very well get a call from the adjuster for the other party. That adjuster’s job is to set up a defense for his client. Do not give the adjuster a statement without consulting an attorney first. Many times we see unsuspecting victims of a car crash who, in trying to be helpful, give the adjuster a recorded statement wherein the adjuster tricks the person into setting up a weather defense for them.

Before you talk to the other party’s adjuster, talk to a lawyer who will look out for your interests

Your prior criminal record can play a role in the outcome of your personal injury claim. Prior convictions of moral turpitude can affect your credibility. Also, crimes that are accident-related can affect as well. Please be sure your disclose your complete criminal record so that it can be assessed as a factor which could affect your case. The earlier I know about it, the better it will be. However, just because you have a criminal record does not mean your case will not be good. It just needs to be explored.

Your employer can be a great witness in an injury case. A supervisor can make a great before and after witness. He or she may be able to talk about how you have been affected by the accident. An adjuster may be more likely to believe a co-worker than a family member.

If you are self-employed, then you may have a more difficult time showing your wage loss than if you a W-2 employee.

If you have health insurance through your employer, then the type of company (i.e. large company vs. small company or governmental entity) that you work for may have an effect on settlement value. Your employer’s status may affect whether you can present the full billed medical charges to the jury.

It may also affect the amount of money that you may need to repay your health insurance plan from the personal injury settlement.

A dollar amount specified in a liability insurance policy that must be paid by the insured before the insurance policy will respond to a loss. Thus, under a policy written with a SIR provision, the insured (rather than the insurer) would pay defense and/or indemnity costs associated with a claim until the SIR limit was reached. After that point, the insurer would make any additional payments for defense and indemnity that were covered by the policy.

In contrast, under a policy written with a deductible provision, the insurer would pay the defense and indemnity costs associated therewith, along with reimbursement of the deductible payment from the insured. For example, assume that two policies are identical, except for the fact that Policy A is written with a $25,000 deductible, while Policy B contains a $25,000 SIR. Also assume that defense and indemnity payments for a given claim total $100,000. In the event of a claim under Policy A, the insurer would pay the $100,000 in defense and indemnity costs that were incurred. After the claim is concluded, the insurer will bill the insured for the $25,000 in payments made on the insured's behalf. In the event of a claim under Policy B, the insured will pay the first $25,000 of defense/indemnity costs, after which, the insurer will make the additional $75,000 in defense and indemnity payments on the insured's behalf.

The lighting at a commercial or residential property can become a hazard in two significant ways. First it can make an otherwise safe property dangerous when lighting is inadequate. It can cause visitors to trip, slip or fall by concealing conditions that are not hazardous in an of themselves, and could be safely negotiated with ease under appropriate lighting conditions. For example, due to darkness, a visitor may fail to see a curb in a parking lot, or a step up or step down along a walkway. Second, poor lighting could mask existing hazardous conditions. Inadequate lighting can be especially dangerous when it serves to conceal the presence of hazardous defects already existing on a property. For example, if a foreign substance has been spilled on the floor, while that would be considered a hazardous condition even when fully illuminated, it becomes doubly hazardous when obscured by darkness.

The quality of the plaintiff (the person bringing a personal injury claim) can have a big effect on the value of his or her case. This may affect your personal injury settlement value of a case pre-suit. This is particularly true if you give a statement to the liability claims adjuster for the insurance company.

Speaking with the insurance company is one of the 3 things that you should never do after an accident, unless you have a duty to do so pursuant to your auto insurance contract. If you are an honest, emotionally stable, hard working, and nice person, then this will help.

Juries like people who do everything possible to get back into the workforce. Insurance adjusters think the same way. If you are unlikable, dishonest, angry, or greedy, you should expect to get less money in your personal injury case than someone who is likeable.

Some liability insurers use Colossus, which is a software that evaluates bodily injury claims so that the offers can be consistent. The adjuster will answer questions about the injured person’s medical treatment, degree of pain and suffering, degree of permanent impairment to the injured person’s body, and the effect on the claimant’s lifestyle.

Once the adjuster answers these questions, Colossus will give him or her a summary of the claim, which includes an injury settlement range. Colossus is used for both personal and commercial lines insurance.

A personal lines insurer covers personal auto or motorcycle insurance, boat and homeowner’s insurance.

Examples of a claim where a personal lines insurer provides liability coverage are accidents arising from a private passenger car accident, motorcycle wreck, truck crash, dog bite, slip or trip and fall at a home. The personal lines insurers that most people are familiar with are State Farm, GEICO, Allstate, USAA, as well as many other insurers.

A commercial lines claim would be a personal injury claim for a slip and fall or other injury at a business establishment. It also includes an accident involving a truck used for business purposes.

The problem with Colossus is that is lacks the human component. It has difficulty or does not incorporate the likeability of the claimant. This can be a huge factor that affects the injury settlement value. For smaller injury claims, Colossus may be used more frequently.

For larger claims, senior adjusters will evaluate the claim based on their experience and put less weight on Colossus’s input. Some insurers use Fault Evaluator software that helps adjusters through the auto accident fault determination process. It gives consistent injury settlements.

Senior adjusters rely more on their gut and experience than newer adjusters. If I have filed a personal injury lawsuit, it’s likely that a senior level adjuster is assigned to your case. Senior level adjusters have more experience with personal injury lawsuits than lower-level adjusters. Senior adjusters have a better understanding of what affects case value. An insurance company will assign its best adjuster to your personal injury lawsuit. Attorneys who have handled several personal injury claims and lawsuits deal with the same issues over and over. We see the same defenses that the at fault raises in personal injury lawsuits.

I have attended countless hours of continuing legal education in litigation and auto accident cases which has also helped me evaluate cases. Adjusters also attend many seminars.

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