Texans have the legal right to seek compensation when they are injured because of another party’s actions or negligence. Personal injury laws protect residents, consumers, and even workers who sustain injuries that aren’t their fault. Under the laws, these individuals can seek monetary damages for lost wages, auto repair costs, medical expenses, and some tort-based rulings such as pain and suffering or mental anguish.
Attorneys advise all victims to contact them for legal assistance and determine if the victim has a viable claim. The laws provide legal avenues for individual who were injured through dog attacks, car accidents, 18-wheeler accidents, and premises liabilities.
Car Accident Claims
With auto accident claims, the victim must try to file a claim through the accountable driver’s insurance provider. The mandate for auto insurance for the state requires all drivers to have a policy offering a minimum of $30,000 for bodily injuries with a maximum of $60,000. The property damage coverage must pay at least $25,000 toward property damage sustained during the accident. If the accountable driver doesn’t have insurance, they can become the defendant in an auto accident claim.
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The state of Texas is a fault-state which allows victims to hold liable drivers accountable for their actions. If the driver doesn’t have insurance, the victim seeks compensation through a lawsuit. The victim needs invoices from their doctor show all their medical expenses and repair estimates from at least three mechanic shops. If the driver damaged a residential or commercial property, a contractor can provide an estimate for the repairs.
In auto accident claims, the defendant could use any moving violation committed by the victim as leverage. The court deducts a portion of the monetary award based on the percentage applied to each moving violation. Under comparative fault rulings, the victim could lose their entire award if they are more than 50% liable for the auto accident. Victims who need guidance after a car accident can visit lawboss.com right now.
Dog Attack Claims
Since Texas doesn’t have an existing statue for dog attacks and liabilities, the courts follow the one-bite ruling. The ruling excuses an animal after the first bite, and this means that the pet owner isn’t liable if they weren’t aware of their dog’s aggressive nature. For example, a victim cannot sue the pet owner if the dog bites them because an even tempered dog bites an intruder suddenly.
The cases require the pet owner to know about their dog’s propensity for biting or attacking humans to be held liable. However, if the dog continues to attack the victim, the victim has a legal claim against the owner if the victim didn’t break the law.
A dog attack victim seeks compensation for medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If their injuries were life-altering, the pet owner may have to pay a larger monetary award. However, the attack is investigated by the animal control officer, and if the dog wasn’t vaccinated for rabies, the dog must enter into a 12-day quarantine. The licensed vet reports their findings back to the animal control officer, and the officer decides the dog’s fate.
Local authorities highly recommended that victims should contact animal control and not the local police since the law enforcement officers aren’t trained to handle animals and may shoot the dog unnecessarily.
The pet owners could sue the supposed victim if the findings determine that the victim broke the law and caused the dog attack because of animal abuse. If the victim broke the law, they do not qualify for compensation, and an unnecessary termination of the dog’s life could give the pet owners a viable claim against the perpetrator for mental anguish or other tort-based rulings.
18-Wheeler Accidents
Law enforcement assesses commercial drivers who cause an accident through a more stringent process than other drivers. After an 18-wheeler accident, the law enforcement conducts a Breathalyzer test to determine if the driver was intoxicated.
If there are any signs of intoxication, the driver is arrested and must submit to a blood screening at the county jail. If they were not intoxicated, the driver must report the accident to their employer immediately otherwise law enforcement contacts the business themselves.
The 18-wheeler truck is evaluated to ensure that the driver followed all Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration laws and regulations. The driver must log all operational hours and keep it in their log for further assessment.
All truck drivers must stop at weigh stations on state highways to evaluate their cargo weight and prevent accidents. The trucking company must release all mechanical repairs and serving logs to law enforcement and the FMCSA to ensure that a mechanical failure didn’t cause the accident. Once the reason for the accident is determined, a victim can file a lawsuit to seek compensation for their losses.
In an 18-wheeler accident claim, the defendant could be an owner/operator who owns their rig or a commercial trucking company. If the auto parts caused the accident, the manufacturer and the mechanic could face liabilities. All findings define who is at fault for the accident.
Premises Liability Claims
Premises liability claims identify a risk to visitors or clients entering the building or parking lot structure of a commercial property. The basis of the claim is that the owner was aware of the hazard and didn’t take action.
Due to their negligence, the customer sustained injuries. The victim must present medical evidence of their injuries, and it is feasible for the attorney to get the surveillance footage for the property through a court order. The footage must show the victim was injured because of no fault of their own.
Texas personal injury laws define statutes of limitations for victims according to the claim type. The laws apply to motor vehicle accidents, dog attacks, product liabilities, premises liabilities, and medical malpractice.
Victims seek compensation for their financial losses through the claims, but they may have access to tort-based rulings if their injuries are severe or life-altering. Families can also sue the accountable party if the victim dies through a wrongful death lawsuit. Reviewing Texas personal injury laws shows victims what to expect when filing a claim.
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