Your Personal Injury Lawyer in McAllen

Personal injury attorneys handle a variety of cases in which an individual suffers injury. Each injury and its related circumstances might differ, but the legal requirements to recover compensation from a personal injury are often the same. Our personal injury lawyers in McAllen handle cases involving personal injury, car accidents, truck accidents, premises liability, burns, head and brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, slip and falls, and wrongful deaths.

If a reckless or negligent driver injures you in an accident, you should first seek medical attention. Above all else, you need to ensure that you receive proper medical care to resolve any issues before becoming more serious.

In cases in which you do not seek immediate medical care after an accident, you should document the accident as thoroughly as possible. You can take photos and videos, jot down names and contact information of witnesses, and contact the police to file a report. Do not admit fault or make any deals with the other party. Also, do not exchange anything other than information, such as cash.

You should consult a personal injury lawyer in McAllen to determine if you have a case. Often, evaluating a claim on your own is difficult. As a layman, you will likely spend an excessive amount of time conducting legal research and surveying complex case law that’s challenging to interpret correctly on your own. Personal injury lawyers in McAllen know the relevant law and where to find information on your case’s specific facts.

Your attorney can also compare your case to previous cases to determine the likelihood of success for recovering compensation, how much you might recover, and whether you should proceed with a claim.

At Patino Law Firm, we offer a free consultation to determine whether you have a viable case. Our personal injury lawyers in McAllen can provide a general evaluation of your case and advise you on your next steps.

When an injured party should file their case varies. It may be more strategic to file a lawsuit earlier than later, but this is not always the case. Most importantly, you must ensure that you file your claim before the statute of limitations expires. If you wait too long, you waive your ability to bring a lawsuit and recover compensation for your incurred damages. In Texas, you typically need to file a personal injury claim within two years from the accident date.

Contact a personal injury lawyer in McAllen to evaluate your case and determine whether you can still file a claim. Patino Law Firm handles personal injury cases often and aims to help compensate victims within the allowable time. A U.S. Army medic veteran who pays careful attention to his clients’ needs and deadlines related to their case owns our law firm.

Personal injury attorneys can help secure the following types of financial compensation to cover your damages:

• Compensation for actual expenses, including medical expenses; future medical expenses, such as surgeries, follow-up appointments, and medication; and property damage or replacement of lost property
• Compensation for lost wages, including future lost wages and loss of earning potential
• Compensation for pain and suffering, including physical and emotional suffering
• Compensation for loss of a body party or other disfigurement (e.g., scarring)
• Compensation for loss of companionship or consortium
• Compensation for wrongful death
• Monetary punitive damages in some circumstances.

It’s difficult to predict precisely how much compensation you can or will receive for your injuries. Personal injury cases are often unique, requiring a case-by-case examination to determine proper compensation. The best way to get an accurate estimation of how much you might potentially recover is to contact a personal injury lawyer in McAllen.

At Patino Law Firm, we offer a free consultation to help evaluate your case. Our personal injury lawyers in McAllen have concluded many personal injury lawsuits and can help determine your likelihood of success and what it might involve. We can decide what types of damages you can reasonably recover and answer any other questions you might have about the viability of your claims.

The length of time a case takes varies and depends on many factors, including:

• The type of injury;
• The amount of evidence you need to gather;
• The size of the court’s docket;
• The judge’s preference on which cases they will hear first;
• The strength of a plaintiff’s claim; and
• Whether the parties prefer to settle.

In many cases, parties can agree to settle relatively quickly. In others, the parties may prolong the lawsuit (e.g., the plaintiff might want to litigate the case to receive maximum financial compensation, or the defendant might believe they’re not at fault). Often, cases that settle early in the litigation stage occur within a few months. In other instances, though, cases may take years to litigate fully.

Whether your case settles depends on many factors. Most importantly, both the defendant and plaintiff must agree on a settlement amount and its terms. There are many reasons why parties might want to settle. Often, trials are uncertain, while a settlement guarantees a satisfactory result for all. Parties might wish to settle a case to avoid an unreasonably low or high payout.

In most situations, workers’ compensation is the exclusive mechanism for recovering from an injury while at work. A successful workers’ compensation suit will cover any medical bills, a portion of lost wages, vocational rehabilitation assistance if needed, or a lump sum for specific injuries. Arguably, workers’ compensation suits are easier to win; but the trade-off is that there are fewer opportunities to recover for all incurred damages.

If someone else’s actions caused your injury while at work, you might have a personal injury claim directly against that person. For example, in O’Gee v. Dobbs House, a plaintiff sued Dobbs House, a supplier, for failing to secure a buffet cart in an airplane. Even though the plaintiff, a flight attendant, was injured while working for United Airlines, she brought a negligence claim against the third-party supplier for negligently placing the buffet cart.

Several complex and complicated statutory and common laws (i.e., laws created through judges’ past case decisions) determine whether a government might be accountable for negligence. For example, the Federal Tort Claims Act provides liability in some circumstances when a federal employee acts negligently. The Act essentially waived the federal government’s sovereign immunity, which would otherwise bar all lawsuits, for some claims.

Patino Law Firm can help evaluate whether your lawsuit against a government will likely succeed. If a negligent or reckless government employee injured you in McAllen, you can contact us today for a free consultation about your legal case.

Different states take different approaches to determine whether you can recover compensation if you contribute to an accident. Texas uses the modified comparative fault model. Comparative negligence divides the blame for an accident by assigning a proportionate share of responsibility, but how fault is determined is based on your specific case.

If you or multiple individuals contributed to an accident, you should contact a personal injury lawyer in McAllen for an evaluation of your case. If you suffered an injury in the McAllen area, you should reach out to Patino Law Firm today for a free consultation.

Yes, and especially when substantial injuries involve more facts and complex laws. Additionally, if the at-fault party seeks to contest liability or you are suing for a large amount, you should hire a personal injury lawyer in McAllen to advocate on your behalf.

Not only are personal injury attorneys knowledgeable about personal injury laws, they’re also professionals trained to handle these types of confrontations. Personal injury attorneys specialize in seeking compensation for their clients. If a negligent or reckless driver injures you in an accident, you should reach out to a personal injury lawyer in McAllen to potentially increase your chances of bringing a successful lawsuit.

At Patino Law Firm, we have helped many victims recover from past injuries. We offer a free consultation to ask questions about your case, answer your questions, and provide our advice on your case’s viability.

The plaintiff bears the burden to prove “by a preponderance of evidence” that the defendant is legally liable for their injury. It must be more likely than not that the defendant is responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries. This high standard often requires a substantial amount of corroborating evidence. Your personal injury lawyer in McAllen will seek to collect a wide range of evidence, such as medical records, expert testimony (e.g., from a medical doctor), video or photographic evidence, eyewitness testimony, and written or oral communications.

Personal injury attorneys can create individualized payment options. They will often offer to take a case at no initial charge and instead receive a percentage of any settlement or judgment obtained. This payment arrangement is called a contingency fee agreement. Our personal injury lawyers in McAllen use this fee schedule. Speak with one of our attorneys today to determine how charges might apply specifically to your case.