Frequently Asked Questions

You should always consider contacting an attorney for a free consultation before contacting your insurance provider, even if you don’t ultimately require their representation. Your call to your insurance adjuster will most likely be recorded, and your description of the event is essential.

If you’ve been involved in a minor car accident, you may be able to call and file a claim with your insurance company on your own. However, in some cases, your insurance provider or the provider of an at-fault driver may not offer a settlement that fairly compensates you for your losses, even if your description of events was accurate.

If your car accident involved any of the following circumstances, you should consider hiring an experienced car accident attorney who can help you make a strong case for relief:

• You were injured

• Someone else was injured

• A semi-truck was involved

• A company vehicle was involved

• The accident was caused by poor road maintenance

• The accident was caused by improper signage

• Your insurance company is denying your claim

• Your insurance settlement offer is too low

• Your insurance company is delaying

Remember: you can always ask an attorney whether or not they think you’ll need their representation during a free case evaluation. Personal injury attorneys are paid based on the settlements they earn for their clients, so an attorney is highly unlikely to take your case if they don’t think it can succeed.

After a minor accident, you may not need to hire an attorney to get the insurance coverage that you need. However, if your case is more complex, if you were injured, or if your settlement offer isn’t enough, you should consider contacting an attorney for assistance. To find the right attorney for your case, you can follow a few steps:

1. Figure out what sort of attorney you need — personal injury is a broad category that includes many types of harm, and you should seek out an attorney with experience in cases like yours, whether it be a slip-and-fall, medical malpractice suit, or a truck accident.

2. Check for referrals, reviews, and recommendations — before choosing an attorney, ask your friends and family if they can recommend any candidates, and be sure to check the reviews of any attorneys on your list.

3. Look online — there are countless online databases that you can use to search for qualified attorneys in your area. You can also research individual attorneys to get more information.

4. Get in contact, and ask questions — many attorneys offer free consultations for potential clients during which you can ask about their experience, their communication style, their pay structure, and their current caseload.

Remember: your attorney works for you, and they should always have your best interests at heart. In order to have a successful relationship, it’s important for you and your attorney to have clear and open communication, and you should be able to feel confident that your attorney is giving your case the attention it needs.

Because of how vulnerable and unprepared they can make us feel, even minor car accidents can be incredibly overwhelming. The situation can become even more difficult if anyone was injured or enraged during the accident. Each accident is different, so it’s important that you use your best judgment to keep yourself safe. In general, you can follow the steps below to stay safe and legally protected:

1. Check for serious injuries

2. Call 9-1-1 for help, or ask someone else to call

3. Stay in your car unless it’s on fire or flooding

4. Wait for emergency assistance before moving forward

5. Seek medical care as soon as possible

6. If you are injured, ask someone to help with the following steps

7. Get the contact and insurance information for all involved parties

8. Take pictures of all relevant damage and conditions

9. Get contact information from potential witnesses

10. Ask officers for your chance to check that the police report is accurate

11. Contact an attorney for a case evaluation before contacting your insurance

After a car accident, your safety should be your first priority. Crash scenes can be incredibly dangerous: traffic is often still passing to and fro, and emotions may be running high. It’s usually safest to wait for police to arrive before attempting to get in contact with other drivers.

It might seem counterintuitive to stay in your car after a crash, but your vehicle is the best armor you have against passing cars and flying debris. If your car is on fire, move as far away as possible while being careful not to enter traffic. If your car is flooding, leave through the windows at the front of your car, using your headrest to break the glass if needed.

While class actions provide victims compensation in the form of a standard payout, most other kinds of personal injury cases provide compensation for the specific harm caused to the individual. In other words, damages are meant to compensate for provable losses. This includes both losses with exact prices, or economic damages, and losses with no monetary equivalent, or non-economic damages.

Economic Damages

• Medical bills

• Car repairs or replacement

• Disability

• Lost wages and income

• Funeral expenses

Non-Economic Damages

• Emotional distress

• Pain and suffering

• Lost relationships

• Scarring and disfigurement

• Reduced quality of life

• PTSD and other mental health conditions

Proving non-economic damages can be more difficult than proving economic damages. Because these losses don’t have price tags, compensation is usually calculated by multiplying the total economic damages by a figure based on the severity of the non-economic harm.

In addition to economic and non-economic damages, the court may also decide to award punitive damages. Rather than corresponding to a specific loss, punitive damages are meant to deter the guilty party and people like them from repeating the act that caused your harm.

A mass tort case involves a group of people who have been harmed by a product or action who decide to take legal action against the company or person at fault. The harm covered by mass torts can include missing benefits or preventable harm.

Mass tort cases usually fall into three different categories. In each case, the harm could have been avoided by proper procedures and maintenance.

• Defective Product Designs

• Manufacturer Defects

• Improper or Missing Instructions

Settlement for a mass tort case is usually finalized on a group level. The compensation each individual is awarded varies depending on their specific experience and the harm they suffered. This compensation might include things like lost wages, medical expenses, pain, and suffering.

However, sometimes the compensation offered under the group agreement may not meet the individual’s needs. In this case, you should consider reaching out to a capable personal injury attorney. Individually, you will need to either negotiate a different settlement or go to court. In both situations, proper representation can make a big difference.

Mass tort cases and class action cases usually can cover the same types of cases; however, which type of action you should take depends on the specific situation and the people involved. The main differences between mass tort and class action cases are as follows:

Mass Tort Cases

• Members of the injured group are usually from the same geographical area.

• The plaintiff usually has more control in a mass tort case.

• A mass tort case is similar to a personal injury case in that the individual’s level of harm is taken into account.

• Each individual’s level of harm may vary within the group.

• Compensation depends on each individual’s specific damages or expenses.

• Mass tort cases often result in higher compensation due to each individual’s claims being viewed separately.

Class Action Cases

• Class Action cases usually include a larger group of people than mass tort cases.

• Plaintiffs are not usually in the same geographical area.

• Most of the individuals involved have faced similar harm.

• The plaintiffs in a class action case may be represented by a lead plaintiff or a smaller group of plaintiffs.

• Compensation is not divided evenly and is dispensed only to those who qualify.

• Lead plaintiffs often receive higher compensation due to their higher level of damages and expenses.

Mass Tort cases are generally more complicated and last longer than class action cases because of their complexity. However, each situation is different, and it may be difficult for you to determine which type of action to file. That’s why you should consider reaching out to the Law Office of Bobby Garcia for help in your mass tort or class action case.

Mass tort cases take into consideration the claims of each plaintiff to determine their settlement amount. This settlement can include any physical harm, emotional harm, and expenses that you may have suffered due to the tort, or injury, involved.

Once a mass tort case has reached the final stage and a settlement has been offered, each plaintiff will be given a couple of options to proceed. Plaintiffs can accept the settlement and the compensation will be divided based on the claims filed by each individual. The plaintiffs in the mass tort case can also decline the offered settlement and pursue further adjustments to the compensation offered.

After the plaintiffs of a mass tort case have accepted the proposed settlement, they will no longer be able to pursue legal action against the defendant. However, if an individual plaintiff feels that their compensation offer is too low under the agreed upon settlement, they may need to take legal action individually.

Most of the time, mass tort cases don’t go to trial. Prior to the settlement offer, a Bellweather case may be tried. This involves holding a sample jury trial where the outcome is used as an evaluation of the mass tort as a whole. The results of the Bellwether trial can be used to show what sort of settlement would be offered to each individual if they too went to trial.

Once a settlement amount has been agreed to by the plaintiffs, compensation is awarded based on their relative levels of harm. If you feel that the amount of compensation you’ve been offered is too low, you may still need to go to trial to fight for a more significant payout.

Strict liability torts and negligent torts are similar in that causing harm was not the intent of the defendant. However, these cases vary depending on the situation in which harm occurred.

Strict liability torts are often seen in cases in which harm was neither intended nor caused by neglect. This could include defective products, missing product instructions, or even bites from exotic animals. If a blasting company performed a blast in which debris injured another person or damaged property, the company may be held liable because their acts caused harm to others. The company may not have been neglectful in its duties to ensure safety, but an injury or damage still occurred as a result of the blast.

Negligent torts include situations such as car accidents, medical malpractice, or wrongful death, in which a person neglected their reasonable duty to act with care. For example, a nursing home may be found at fault for negligence or recklessness if they neglect to provide proper medication and care. If neglectfulness and recklessness are seen as the cause of harm, a negligent tort case would be appropriate for the incident.

These two types of tort liability ensure that victims are able to hold defendants responsible for harm, even if that harm wasn’t intentional or negligent.

Anyone involved in the creation, certification, regulation, transportation, marketing, or sale of a product can be held liable for damage that may have been caused by that product. Those involved in a medical practice can also be held accountable for the harm that has been inflicted due to negligence.

The harm that serves as the basis for a mass tort case may be financial, emotional, or physical. In most cases, this harm is the result of dangerous medication, faulty medical devices, harmful products, or exposure to dangerous toxins. These cases tend to involve defendants from a few specific industries:

• Doctors

• Drug Companies

• Government Officials

• Hospitals

• Inspectors

• Manufacturers

• Pharmacies

• Regulators

• Retailers

In order to file a mass tort case, those seeking to file must prove that the defendant, or at-fault party, caused them and a group of similar victims some sort of harm. The plaintiffs will need to prove that the defendant either caused injury through neglect, intentional action, or accidental harm.

For further assistance in deciding who should be held accountable in your mass tort case, contact our experienced and caring team at the Law Office of Bobby Garcia.

Following a Texas personal injury accident, the average settlement can vary from $15,000 to $2 million, while the average compensation for property damage following a crash is $3,231. Compensation payouts depend on the severity of the incident, but you can get an idea of the range available in the list below:

• $1.25 million to $5 million for serious car accidents that may include fatalities

• $145 million for a hit-and-run car accident

• $3,000 to $75,000 for personal injury

Insurance payouts and lawsuit settlements may be different due to how these different claims are handled. Insurance companies should offer compensation to cover all financial and emotional harm caused by your injury, but you may have to negotiate to get the offer you deserve. A personal injury attorney can help you protect your rights to insurance compensation.

Lawsuit settlements, on the other hand, can vary depending on whether or not the case goes to court, as well as the settlement negotiations prior to that point.

If the use of a defective or dangerous product has resulted in some form of harm to you or a loved one, you may be eligible to access compensation through a product liability lawsuit.

While virtually any product may be subject to a product liability lawsuit, there are a few active cases that may affect you or someone you love. Contact an Edinburg attorney for help if your case relates to one of the following issues:

• Paraquat weedkiller Parkinsons

• Round-Up weedkiller lymphoma

• Talcum powder cancer

• 3M Combat Earplug hearing damage

• JUUL lung conditions

• BIA-ALCL breast implant complications

• Asbestos cancer and mesothelioma

• Benzene cancer or other illness

• Beovu vision problems

The plaintiff will have to show some form of negligence on the part of the manufacturer in order to gain compensation. Manufacturers can be found negligent due to design flaws, insufficient warning labels, improper packaging, and many other kinds of product failure.

After you have been in an accident, you will need to call the police. Calling the authorities helps to ensure that you will be legally protected, and you will also need an accident report to support any claims for compensation. Once the police have finished writing their report, you can request to verify that the officer’s description is accurate.

To request a copy of the police report after you’re no longer on the scene, you will need to visit the police department or their website for further instructions.

If your insurance claim has been denied, you have the right to file an appeal. There are two types of appeals: internal and external. An internal appeal involves your insurance company reviewing the decision to see if it can be changed, while an external appeal involves a third party reviewing the decision and choosing whether to pay the claim.

When your insurance notifies you that your claim has been denied, you can take these steps to appeal.

•Determine why your claim may have been denied

•Contact a lawyer

•Contact your insurance company

•Write an appeal letter

The Law Office of Bobby Garcia can help you through this process by reviewing the reason for denial, contacting your insurance company, and drafting the appeal letter.