When my son got in trouble with law enforcement, I turned to O’Connell West for help. Doug and Laurie did an amazing job. They steered us through the process, fought for my son and ultimately his case was dismissed. If you or someone you care about is in trouble, I highly recommend you hire O’Connell West.
Austin Personal Injury Lawyer
A serious injury rarely comes alone. Medical appointments, missed paychecks, and calls from an adjuster tend to arrive within days, often before anyone has explained the rules. An Austin personal injury lawyer starts with two Texas rules that shape every injury claim: a two-year filing deadline and a fault rule that can shrink a recovery or end it.
O’Connell West, PLLC represents people hurt in accidents across Central Texas on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Call 512-547-7265 or contact us to talk about what happened.
Why Injured Texans Choose O’Connell West, PLLC
After an injury, getting across town to a lawyer’s office can be harder than usual, so we keep help close to home. Clients can meet an attorney in person, and our ten attorneys work from offices in Austin, Taylor, San Antonio, and Killeen, serving clients in Travis, Williamson, Bexar, and Bell Counties.
Personal Injury Claims We Handle in Austin
Injury claims in Austin come from many kinds of accidents, and each type raises its own questions about fault and evidence:
- Car accidents: These claims turn on driver fault and the injured person’s losses.
- Truck and 18-wheeler crashes: These claims often involve a trucking company, its insurer, and federal driving-hour and maintenance records.
- Motorcycle crashes: Riders have little protection, and the question of who caused the crash can decide whether a rider recovers anything.
- Pedestrian and bicycle accidents: A person on foot or on a bike has almost no protection, and under Texas’s crosswalk right-of-way rule, drivers generally must yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk where no traffic signal is operating.
- Wrongful death: When an injury takes a life, Texas makes a wrongful death action available for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children, and parents under Section 71.004 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
What to Expect in a Texas Injury Claim
An injury claim generally moves through these stages:
- Treatment and documentation: Medical care comes first, and the records it creates become the main evidence of the injury.
- Investigation: Crash reports, photos, witness accounts, and insurance information show how the accident happened and who may be responsible.
- Demand and negotiation: The claim goes to the at-fault party’s insurer with records of the losses, and the insurer responds with an offer or a denial.
- Lawsuit if needed: When a claim does not resolve, a lawsuit filed before the deadline keeps it alive and moves it toward trial.
Dealing With the Insurance Company After an Accident
An adjuster’s call can come while you are still in pain. The adjuster works for the insurance company, and one common request is a recorded statement, an interview in which the adjuster records your account of the accident.
A recorded statement becomes part of the insurer’s file. An offhand remark about speed, distractions, or how you feel that day can later be used to dispute fault or the extent of an injury, which is why some people talk with a lawyer before deciding whether to give one.
Compensation Available in a Texas Injury Claim
No fixed formula sets the value of a Texas injury claim, but the damages it can include fall into these main categories:
| Category | What it covers | Common examples |
|---|---|---|
| Economic damages | Financial losses caused by the injury | Medical bills, future treatment, lost wages, reduced earning ability |
| Noneconomic damages | Harm that carries no bill | Physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement |
| Exemplary damages | Damages beyond compensation, meant to punish serious misconduct | Cases involving fraud, malice, or gross negligence |
Under Section 41.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, that misconduct must be proven by clear and convincing evidence, and Section 41.008 of the same code generally caps exemplary damages at the greater of $200,000 or twice the economic damages plus up to $750,000 of noneconomic damages.
How Long You Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Texas
Under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a personal injury lawsuit generally must be filed no later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues, subject to a few exceptions the statute lists. In a wrongful death case, the claim accrues on the date of death.
Accrual is the point when that two-year clock starts. The Supreme Court of Texas explained in Marcus & Millichap v. Triex Texas Holdings that a claim generally accrues when wrongful conduct causes a legal injury, which for most accident injuries is the day of the accident. A narrow exception, the discovery rule, can delay the start only for an injury that is by nature unlikely to be discovered in time.
Austin Personal Injury FAQs
Can I Still Recover Compensation If I Was Partly at Fault?
In Texas, a person who is partly at fault can still recover damages, as long as their share of responsibility is not greater than 50%. In cases covered by the state’s proportionate responsibility chapter, Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code sets that bar, and Texas’s damage-reduction rule lowers a claimant’s damages by their own percentage of responsibility.
For illustration, if a jury valued a claim at $100,000 and found the injured person 20% responsible, the recovery would drop to $80,000. At 51% responsibility, the same person would recover nothing.
Should I Accept the Insurance Company’s First Offer?
No law requires accepting a first offer, and an early offer may come before the full cost of treatment is known. Accepting a settlement usually means signing a release, a document that generally ends the right to seek more money for that injury, so later medical bills from the same accident typically fall outside the claim.
Does a Pre-Existing Condition Rule Out an Injury Claim?
Not necessarily. Texas law allows compensation when an accident makes an existing condition worse, such as an old back injury that flares up after a collision. The claim generally covers the worsening the accident caused rather than the original condition, so medical records from before and after the accident often carry weight.
Talk With an Austin Personal Injury Lawyer at O’Connell West, PLLC
Recovering from an injury takes time and energy, and handling deadlines and insurance calls on your own adds to the load. O’Connell West, PLLC charges no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you, and our attorneys meet with clients in person. Call 512-547-7265 or contact us today to talk with an Austin personal injury lawyer about your injury.
O’Connell West,PLLC
