Posted on August 29, 2022 in Work Accidents

Most people who work in riskier jobs are very familiar with Workers’ Compensation. It is a very well-known program that allows workers who get hurt on the job to have things like their medical bills and lost wages covered. Texas is fairly unique in that employers are not required to subscribe to Workers’ Compensation. Most other states do not give companies any choice in the matter. In Texas, however, many employers choose to forego Workers’ Compensation and opt for a different type of insurance. If you get injured at work, you should be covered under your employer’s insurance if they do not use Workers’ Compensation. If you were hurt at work and your company is a non-subscriber, you may have a few extra challenges while pursuing compensation. Jerry D. Andrews, P.C. is ready to fight for compensation on your behalf. 

The Differences Between Workers’ Comp and Self-Insured Claims 

Workers’ Compensation was designed and intended to create a streamlined process for injured workers to file a claim and start being compensated. Dealing with a non-subscriber can be a little more difficult. Rather than working with a public program, you will be up against a private insurance company. 

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 Posted on August 12, 2022 in Car Accidents

A drunk driving accident can come out of nowhere and shake up your life. One moment, you are driving along on a nice summer night. The next moment, a drunk driver has come flying out of a side street and hit you. Or maybe you had seen them swerving miles ago and had been trying to avoid them before the inevitable happened. Either way, you got injured because someone made the choice to drink and drive.

Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may be unable to work and losing income, or you could be getting buried under piles of medical bills. You deserve to be compensated for what has happened to you, and depending on the circumstances, you could have a claim against multiple parties. Our attorneys can work with you to help you decide who may be liable to you. 

Who Could be Held Responsible for the Accident?

Your lawyer will want to do a little digging in order to figure out who could be liable given the particular circumstances of your accident. Parties who you may have a claim against could include: 

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 Posted on July 27, 2022 in Uncategorized

Some lines of work are inherently dangerous. If you work in construction, or in a factory around heavy machinery, your risk of getting injured at work is very high. Many injuries that happen on job sites are relatively minor and will heal. Injuries like sprains or some broken bones often improve after a period of rest so that the injured person can go back to work. Other injuries are much more serious. Traumatic brain injuries can have major lifelong effects. Every traumatic brain injury is unique. The particular effects you may suffer depend on which parts of the brain are most affected by the injury. In many cases, a worker who suffers a TBI will not be able to come back to work and may need permanent disability payments through Workers’ Compensation or through your company, if they are a non-subscriber. 

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 Posted on July 13, 2022 in Car Accidents

Rear-end collisions can range in severity from very mild, like a bump in a parking lot, to devastating, like when a semi-truck hits a sedan. The driver in back is nearly always responsible for the car accident, as they are generally the one who could have prevented the crash. The driver in front is usually powerless to avoid being struck from behind. Head, neck, and spinal cord injuries are somewhat common after a particularly hard rear-end impact. Wrist and arm injuries are somewhat less common, but likely to occur if the occupants of the front vehicle saw the crash coming and attempted to brace themselves. The driver in back is almost guaranteed to be found negligent outside of very particular circumstances where the front driver did something to deliberately force the collision. If you were rear-ended, an attorney may be able to help you recover compensation. 

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 Posted on June 16, 2022 in Car Accidents

Everyone has encountered a driver with road rage at some point. If someone aggressively cuts you off, makes rude hand gestures, uses their vehicle to block your path, or yells at you out their window, you are likely dealing with road rage. Studies show that since the pandemic began, instances of road rage have increased quite a bit. Perhaps this is because people became accustomed to the lighter traffic and are having difficulty adjusting to the return of rush hour. Whatever the reason, all drivers should know how to respond to road rage when it is directed at them. While it is not always possible to prevent a road-raging driver from causing a car accident and hurting you, taking the right steps can help keep you safer before, during, and after a road rage crash. If you were injured by a driver with road rage, our lawyers may be able to help you recover compensation. 

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 Posted on June 09, 2022 in Car Accidents

While bars and other establishments that sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises can be held liable for a drunk driving accident their customer caused fairly easily, social hosts are only liable under very limited circumstances. “Social host” refers to anyone other than a licensed drinking establishment who provides alcohol to their guests. An individual throwing a party in their home and providing alcohol is the classic example of a social host. Generally, social hosts are not responsible for the conduct of their guests and cannot be held liable for the harm caused by someone who drives away drunk and gets in an accident. However, under some limited circumstances, you may have a right to pursue compensation from a social host. An attorney can help you determine which parties to file a claim against. 

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 Posted on May 27, 2022 in Car Accidents

You are probably familiar with the term “hit-and-run” referring to a car accident. In a hit-and-run, a careless driver crashes into another vehicle and then takes off. A miss-and-run is somewhat similar in that a careless driver causes a car accident and flees the scene. However, in a miss-and-run, the careless driver does not actually crash into you, but forces you to crash without making physical contact.

This type of accident can take several forms. It may be more challenging to prove a miss-and-run than a hit-and-run, but with a careful investigation, it can be done. Even if the other driver cannot be identified, you may still be able to recover compensation. It is important to contact an attorney as soon as you can after a miss-and-run. The sooner the investigation starts, the more evidence is likely to be available. 

How Do Miss-and-Run Crashes Happen?

You might also hear miss-and-run accidents referred to as “phantom driver” crashes. This is because it is often difficult to track down the person responsible for the crash. However, there are still ways you can recover, typically through your own insurance company. Miss-and-run accidents may happen in ways like: 

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 Posted on May 17, 2022 in Car Accidents

Car accidents can easily exacerbate an existing injury. Those who are already recovering from an acute injury or managing a chronic injury may be particularly vulnerable during a motor vehicle crash. If a negligent driver hit you and managed to make an injury you already had worse, you may be wondering how your claim will work.

The good news is that even if you were already hurt, the at-fault driver is still responsible for the change in your condition. They cannot escape liability by arguing that you already had an injury if their actions worsened it in any way. Handling your claim may be just a little bit more complicated, as you will need to calculate the costs and expenses associated with the exacerbation. It is important to work with an experienced personal injury lawyer in this case. 

What is the Eggshell Skull Rule?

In law, there is something called the Eggshell Skull rule to address exactly the type of situation where a negligent defendant has worsened the plaintiff’s existing condition or injury. Generally, the rule is that when someone carelessly injures another person, they are responsible for the entire amount of harm that they caused, even if the victim was particularly susceptible due to an existing condition. 

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 Posted on April 19, 2022 in Car Accidents

Insurance companies have one goal after a car accident: to settle your claim for the lowest dollar amount possible. They are quite skilled at this. The insurance company representative who calls you shortly after your crash may sound caring and friendly, but this does not mean that they will actually be able to help you. You are talking to a professional who is likely to be trained in high-pressure tactics designed to force you into taking an unfairly low settlement. When you have been injured and are still recovering, it may seem convenient for you to simply take a settlement offer and be done with it. However, this is rarely as good an idea as it might seem at the time. Your best bet is to work with an attorney who is prepared to advocate for you and protect your interests. 

Why You Should Have Legal Representation After a Car Crash

There are risks associated with trying to deal with insurance alone after you have been hurt in a car accident. An attorney who has more experience working out fair settlements that fully compensate accident victims can take steps to protect you.

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 Posted on April 12, 2022 in Car Accidents

Not all that long ago, personal injury claims were structured much differently than they are now. Nearly all states used to practice what is known as “pure contributory negligence.” The rule of pure contributory negligence states that a person who is in any way at fault for their injury cannot recover damages from the responsible party. Even if the person seeking compensation was only minorly at fault for an accident, they would be barred from being awarded damages for their injury. Most states—including Texas—have enacted some type of comparative negligence rule, allowing the claimant to recover compensation, even if they had a portion of liability.

Understanding Proportionate Responsibility

Rather than comparative negligence, the state of Texas uses the term “proportionate responsibility,” but they mean the same thing. Different states have different percentage amounts that a claimant can be liable for before they are barred from receiving compensation. In Texas, this is referred to as the “51 percent bar” because a claimant can still recover compensation from another person if they are 50 percent or less liable for the accident that caused their injuries.

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