TEXAS CITY LAW BLOG

Filing a personal injury claim is a way to get compensation for someone injured in an accident through the fault of another. A settlement offer is made by the insurance company to the injured party to cover costs for medical treatment and other “special” damages, or those that can easily have a dollar amount put on them, such as loss of property or lost wages.

Many people make the mistake of conflating the terms bodily injury and personal injury in the event that they are hurt in an accident or incident. Yes, both concern injuries to a victim and are used when discussing the type(s) of coverage and compensation to which they might be entitled. But the terms are not interchangeable.

PIP exists to protect motorists in the event that they are injured in an accident in which they are at fault, fault cannot be determined, fault is shared equally among parties, or the at-fault party does not carry proper insurance. Should this be the case, the motorist can invoke his or her own PIP policy to gain some coverage for injuries.

One of the most important elements of your personal injury case in Texas, and particularly of the settlement negotiation phase, is your demand letter. A personal injury demand letter is essentially a jumping off point.

Unlike acute traumas, which are typically visually apparent and often require urgent medical care, soft-tissue injuries may not be immediately noticeable. Because they occur internally—in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons—soft tissue injuries may present as pain that worsens over time, or may not be taken as seriously as they should be.

As you build your personal injury case, you might reach out to on-the-scene witnesses to corroborate details of an accident or incident that they also experienced or observed firsthand.