Injured because of someone else’s negligence and unsure what comes next? Our concise FAQs clarify claims, insurance, timelines, and costs so you can move forward with confidence. For advice tailored to your situation, contact the Law Office of Shane Kadlec, a certified personal injury trial lawyer, today.
Personal Injury FAQs
Answer: A primary factor in resolving personal injury claims is determining whether someone else’s negligence contributed to your injuries. A person can be considered negligent if they act in a way that a reasonable person would not, or if they fail to do something a reasonable person would. If this action or inaction leads to your injuries, you may have a claim.
If you are unsure whether you have a valid claim, consider speaking with a lawyer to learn more. Our firm offers free consultations to discuss your potential case.
Answer: It may seem like this is the end of your claim, but you may be able to appeal the decision if your claim is denied. An attorney can help you file an appeal in the days after the decision has been made, but it is important to appeal quickly, because there is a statute of limitations for the appeals process.
Answer: First, contact an attorney. Having a lawyer review the offer before you accept it is an important way to ensure that the insurance company isn’t offering a sum that is too low to aid you in recovery. This is especially important for catastrophic injuries, because they can require long-term medical care, and they may prevent you from earning a similar salary to what you earned before the accident.
Answer: Most personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, which means that an attorney’s payment is dependent on the success of the case, and they are paid nothing unless they win. If your case does succeed, then payment varies depending on how much compensation you are awarded, the facts of your case, and its complexity.
Answer: One of the first things that you should look for is experience working personal injury cases. This knowledge is a great asset when an attorney is guiding you through the process of filing a claim and can be key to courtroom success if negotiation is unsuccessful. One marker for this is board-certification in personal injury law, which shows a higher level of experience in this practice area. Another thing to look for is an attorney who can meet with you directly. Not only does this help your attorney get to know your claim and fully understand the impact that your injury will have on your life, but it also means that you can ask any questions that you might have directly.
Answer: After an injury, medical care is the top priority, and the law requires that the injured victim be fully responsible for getting any and all necessary medical treatment. Hopefully, there is available First-party coverages that can pay these medical costs first: health insurance, Personal-Injury Protection (PIP), or MedPay coverage, but without these, out-of-pocket medical payments for treatment may be the best option. For many of our clients who can’t afford their medical care and do not have any medical coverage for their injury claim, we work to find them medical providers who can treat their injuries and agree to wait to be paid until the claim is resolved. We work with all types of medical professionals and facilities we know and trust will support our efforts in advocating for our clients, and are not afraid to take on a patient who has been involved in an injury.
Answer: Yes, Texas law allows for the recovery of lost income, if there is evidence of a job before the injury, and that a medical professional placed work restrictions due to the injury. Providing pay stubs, tax returns, or an HR letter to show the days or hours you missed are all ways to document this. If your injuries limit future earnings, you can also claim diminished earning capacity in the future, often proven through vocational or economic experts hired in the case.
Answer:
While every person, injury, and case is unique, most of our clients generally go through the following steps after their injury, leading up to the conclusion of the case:
- Medical Treatment & Investigation (1–6 months)
- Demand Package & Negotiations (2–4 months)
- Suit & Discovery (6–18 months)
- Mediation/Settlement or Trial
- Straightforward claims may resolve in under a year, while complex or high-value cases can take several years—especially if they go to trial.
Be sure to check our infographic with a typical motor vehicle accident timeline.
Answer: Following an injury, the law requires that a person get whatever medical treatment they need, so it is imperative to begin as quickly as possible. Often, we expect an ER or urgent-care visit shortly after the injury, then follow-ups with your primary doctor, imaging (X-ray/MRI), physical therapy, and if needed, medical specialists such as orthopedic, neurological, and pain-management specialists can become involved, and finally, surgery and post-surgical care and rehabilitation. It is tremendously important to keep every appointment and follow medical advice, as any gaps in care can be used against you in a case.
Answer: All Texas lawyers are licensed to take on an injury client. But, to become certified as a Board-Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, it takes a lot of real trial experience and success. Only those lawyers who apply for board certification and then pass a written examination and successfully undergo an additional peer-review and trial-experience process, where Judges and defense lawyers rate the lawyers, can earn Board Certification status from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Fewer than 3 % of Texas lawyers are Board-Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. Check out our video for more information.
Answer: During the free consultation you should expect to discuss all of the events leading up to the injury, share evidence and documents related to the case, list all witnesses and discuss what their role is, identify all medical providers seen to date, and, most importantly, have an initial plan for addressing the medical care needed. Our employment agreement is provided and explained, going over how lawyer fees are paid and how case expenses are managed. Often, client hire our office at this initial consultation.
Motor Vehicle Accidents FAQs
Answer: Move to safety, call 911, then prioritize medical evaluation, photograph the scene and vehicles, exchange information with every person there, including witnesses, by getting names, addresses and phone numbers. When time allows, report the crash to your insurer, and consult a lawyer before giving a recorded statement to anyone.
Answer: There may be more than one party you could recover damages from. The drunk driver himself, of course, is liable for any harm he causes. If the drunk driver had insurance, then filing a claim with his insurance company is usually the first step. However, in Texas, you may have a third option. Our “Dram Shop” laws can sometimes be use to hold a drinking establishment liable for harm caused by one of its patrons.
Answer: Under Texas’s Dram Shop laws, a bar, club, restaurant, or other business where alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises can be held liable if they furnished alcohol to a person who was clearly already intoxicated, and that person went on to cause harm to others as a result of their intoxication.
Answer: While a DUI arrest can make it easier to prove your case, it is not necessary. Our attorneys may be able to use other evidence to show a civil court that the driver’s intoxication caused the accident.
Answer: You may be able to recover financial compensation for a wide variety of expenses and financial losses related to the accident. This includes current and future medical bills, lost wages including impairment to future earning capacity, and compensation for emotional harm and loss of enjoyment of life. We will help you carefully calculate the amount of compensation to demand.
Answer: Yes, but sometimes it is fastest to rely on your own insurance company to address the damage done to your vehicle so you get back on the road as soon as possible, as they will then seek repayment of the costs from the other driver’s insurance company. If the at-fault driver’s carrier accepts liability quickly, then they can handle both the injury and vehicle claim, and should pay for the property damage within the first few weeks, and the injury claim can be resolved at a later time. If the other driver disputes fault for the crash or you carry collision coverage, using your own insurer for the property damage claim may speed up repairs.
Answer: Drivers who are under the influence of drugs other than alcohol are still liable if they cause an accident while intoxicated. People who are under the influence of marijuana, street drugs, or even certain types of prescription drugs may be unable to drive safely, and they are responsible for the harm they cause due to their impaired driving.
Answer: Yes, you can. In Texas, lack of liability insurance does not prevent you from making a claim against an at-fault driver, and you may still file a lawsuit or third-party injury claim against the at-fault driver’s liability coverage.
Answer:
1. Liability Coverage (Required by Law)
- Bodily Injury Liability: Pays for medical expenses, lost wages, and related costs if you cause injury to others in an accident.
- Property Damage Liability: Covers repair or replacement costs for damage to another person’s vehicle or property.
- Texas Minimum Limits (30/60/25):
- $30,000 per person for bodily injury
- $60,000 per accident for bodily injury
- $25,000 per accident for property damage
2. Collision Coverage
- Covers repairs or replacement of your own vehicle after a collision, regardless of who is at fault.
- Especially important for new, luxury, or financed vehicles; often required by lenders.
3. Comprehensive coverage
- Protects your car from non-collision events such as theft, fire, vandalism, weather events (hail, floods, tornadoes), and animal incidents.
- Also, typically required for financed or leased vehicles.
4. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM)
- Pays for your injuries or car repairs if you are hit by a driver with too little or no insurance, or in certain hit-and-run accidents.
- Insurers must offer this; you may decline in writing, but it is highly recommended in Texas.
5. Medical Payments (MedPay) & Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
- Medical Payments Coverage: Pays medical bills for you and your passengers, regardless of fault.
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP): Similar to MedPay, but also covers lost wages and non-medical costs after a crash. Automatically included unless declined in writing.
6. Other Common Optional Coverages
- Towing and Labor: Pays for towing and certain roadside assistance (like changing a tire or jump-starting a battery).
- Rental Reimbursement: Covers the cost of a rental car if your car is being repaired or replaced after a covered accident.
- Gap Insurance: Pays off the remainder of your auto loan if your car is totaled and its value is less than what you owe
Answer: If you are found at fault, Texas insurers may add a surcharge that lasts up to three years. If you are not at fault and the other driver’s insurer pays, your rates typically remain unchanged. This is true even after making a claim on your own insurance policy after a crash, as long as you’re not at fault.
Answer: Passengers who are hurt while riding with a drunk driver can still seek compensation. The intoxicated driver’s liability insurance, and in some cases the car owner, an overserving bar, or a social host, may cover your losses, while your own UM or UIM policy, PIP, or MedPay can make up any shortfall. Insurers may argue that you assumed the risk by accepting the ride, yet drunk driving usually satisfies any gross negligence or guest statute requirements. Act quickly and hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to untangle multiple insurance layers, comparative fault arguments, and strict filing deadlines.
Answer: If a member of your immediate family lost their life in a DUI crash, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In these cases, you may be able to recover compensation for the loss of your family member’s financial, domestic, and emotional support, as well as certain other damages that your family member could have recovered had they survived, including any medical bills they accrued before passing.
Answer: DUI crashes tend to be severe because alcohol slows reaction time and clouds judgment, leaving drivers little opportunity to brake or swerve, so collisions often occur at nearly full speed. Impairment also causes drivers to drift out of their lane into oncoming traffic or sideswipe nearby vehicles, producing violent head-on or broadside impacts that greatly magnify crash forces and injuries.
Dental and Medical Malpractice FAQs
Answer: Medical doctors are common defendants in medical malpractice lawsuits, although they are not the only licensed professionals who can be held accountable for medical malpractice. Dentists, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, optometrists, chiropractors, physician assistants, and even a healthcare facility as a whole can be sued for medical malpractice.
Answer: If a doctor or other licensed health-care professional causes avoidable harm to you, then you may have a malpractice case. Common types of medical negligence that lead to malpractice litigation include surgical errors, missed or delayed diagnoses, negligent prescribing, or medication errors. Neglect and abuse in nursing homes is another large category.
Answer: Healthcare professionals have a duty to use the level of care demanded by the standards of their profession and to act as a reasonable person with the same level of experience would in a similar situation. The first thing that must be proven is that the professional has violated this duty by acting carelessly or by failing to act when they should have. It must then also be demonstrated that you suffered harm as a result. These are the main elements that must be proven to sustain a successful malpractice claim.
Answer: Dental malpractice can leave a person with lasting pain or disfigurement. Common dental errors include mistaken extraction, anesthesia errors, unnecessary procedures that are frequently profit-driven, and infections caused by equipment that was inadequately sanitized.
Answer: When a patient consults with a healthcare professional with a concern about their health, the provider has a duty to make reasonable attempts to discover the cause of the patient’s symptoms. Doctors sometimes fail to take a complaint seriously, and they may not conduct reasonable testing in pursuit of a diagnosis. This can lead to dangerous health conditions progressing unchecked until they can no longer be treated as easily or successfull. This is known as a delayed diagnosis. Diagnoses that are missed entirely may be discovered only when the disease is terminal or after an autopsy.
Answer: Surgeries do not always go perfectly. Often, this is due to a careless mistake by the surgeon or one of their assistants. Having a foreign object left inside you, contracting an infection due to poor sanitization, having the wrong operation performed, or suffering a serious and avoidable complication can all amount to medical malpractice.
Answer: Often, the party who has the best proof of medical negligence is the provider themselves. Hospitals may be reluctant to turn over information that could be used against them in court, and some patients do not even learn of the malpractice until many years after the incident giving rise to the claim. Fortunately, an attorney may be able to compel the health care provider to turn over the records you need.
Answer: Vulnerable adults living in nursing facilities deserve high-quality care. Those with a loved one living in a nursing home should be aware of a few common signs that neglect or abuse is taking place, including unexplained injuries or falls, sudden personality changes, fast weight loss, bedsores, and fearful behavior. Poor hygiene and cleanliness or unanswered call lights may also be cause for great concern.
At Law Office of Shane R. Kadlec we strive for client satisfaction and as always, we sincerely appreciate your referrals. For a free telephone consultation, call us at 281-643-2000.
