- Motor vehicle accidents, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents;
- Premises liability lawsuits, which can include slip and fall cases or trip and fall cases, as well as other types of cases in which a person suffers a serious injury as a result of a hazard on another party’s premises;
- Dog bite cases, which often involve filing a claim against the owner of a dog that caused an injury;
- Product liability lawsuits, which can include claims against designers, manufacturers, and retailers of defective products that cause harm;
- Medical malpractice, which can include a wide range of health care provider negligence and claims against doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, and even hospitals where injuries occur; and
- Wrongful death lawsuits, which are closely related to personal injury cases but allow the executor of the deceased person’s estate to file a claim for compensation on behalf of surviving family members.
Personal Injury Claims: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
At the Johnston Law Firm, we routinely receive questions from clients about personal injury cases. The following are some FAQs, followed by our answers to help you:
How much time will I have to file a personal injury case?⌄
Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years from the date of the injury, while wrongful death lawsuits usually have a three-year statute of limitations that will begin ticking on the date of the deceased’s death.
What amount of damages can I receive?⌄
Your damages award will depend upon your specific losses for which you can seek compensation, as well as whether your own fault could reduce your damages award under Oregon’s modified comparative fault rule.
Should I file an insurance claim first?⌄
It depends upon the nature of your case. Many auto accident cases will begin with an insurance claim, while other cases might begin with a lawsuit.
Should I accept a settlement offer?⌄
Typically, an initial settlement offer can be negotiated, so you should not accept the first offer you receive. However, an attorney can assess the settlement offer and discuss the benefits and limitations of accepting it or negotiating for a higher amount.
Proving Negligence in a Dallas Personal Injury Case
Most personal injury cases in Dallas are based on a theory of negligence. Accordingly, the plaintiff will need to prove that the defendant was negligent in order to be awarded damages in the personal injury case. Each type of personal injury lawsuit will have its own specific elements, but the following are the general elements of a negligence claim:
- Defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care;
- Defendant breached the duty of care by acting in a negligent manner;
- Plaintiff suffered an injury; and
- Plaintiff’s injury was caused by the defendant’s breach of the duty of care.
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