Personal Injury Lawyers in Carrollton, TX

Carrollton, TX Personal Injury Lawyers Help Accident Victims Hold Negligent Parties Accountable

An accident can happen anywhere and even when you least expect it. If you sustained injuries in a Carrollton accident that wasn’t your fault, you deserve justice. A personal injury can undermine your health and your financial stability. An experienced Carrollton personal injury attorney can fight to get that justice for you, as well as financial compensation for your injuries and other damages. Depending on the details of your case, you could be entitled to recover compensation for your injuries, lost income, emotional trauma, and more.

If you are looking for a personal injury firm near Carrollton, TX, contact the Hartley Law Firm. We put our extensive experience to work for you from the moment you walk through our door, and we don’t stop fighting until we get the results you deserve. We offer a highly personalized experience for our clients, and we design our legal strategies specifically to meet your needs and goals.

Types of Carrollton, Texas Personal Injury Cases We Handle

Although we can assist you with many types of injury accident claims, these are some of the most common types of cases we handle.

Whenever the negligent, careless, or wrongful actions of another party cause you harm, you have the legal right to pursue compensation. We understand this complex area of the law, and we know how to get legal results. We investigate the details of your case and gather the critical evidence necessary to establish liability for your damages. Our experience and reputation for getting results helps us level the playing field for you against the large insurance companies and their teams of attorneys in Carrollton.

Determining the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim

When you work with our Carrollton personal injury lawyer, you can rest assured that we will fight to get you every dollar possible for your injuries and other damages. We identify all your physical, emotional, and financial damages. We document each one to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

Because every personal injury accident victim’s circumstances are unique, we cannot estimate any average Carrollton personal injury claim value. However, depending on the details of your case, you could be entitled to compensation for your medical treatment, lost income, emotional trauma, disfigurement or disability, lost earning capacity, and more.

We offer a free, no-obligation consultation to help you explore your options. After we evaluate the details of your case, we can provide you with a more detailed estimate of your potential claim value. We can also provide you with an estimate of the timeline for resolving your claim.

Common Types of Personal Injuries in Carrollton

When you meet with an experienced Carrollton personal injury lawyer, chances are they’ve handled a variety of personal injury cases. Here are some of the most common injuries we see in a personal injury claim.

Sprains and Strains

Muscle sprains and strains may seem minor at first, but they often lead to reduced range of motion or chronic pain. One of the most common injuries in this category is whiplash, which usually occurs during car accidents. Whiplash happens when the muscles in the neck and head snap back and forth suddenly. This leads to stiffness, soreness, headaches, and nausea.

Burns

Burns of any kind usually fall into one of three categories: 1st degree, 2nd degree, or 3rd degree. While many people experience 1st degree burns when accidentally touching a hot stove, personal injury cases often involve 2nd or 3rd degree burns. These burns often destroy underlying tissue in the skin, causing lifelong disfigurement and nerve pain.

Bone Dislocations and Fractures

Bone injuries, including dislocations and fractures, typically occur in a variety of slip and fall cases and motor vehicle accidents. While dislocations may not always require surgery to treat, the likelihood of sustaining the same injury is high after the first instance. With severe fractures, surgery is almost always required, and the injury often results in permanent complications like reduced movement and soreness.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Injuries to the spinal cord are among the most serious personal injuries. Since the spinal cord carries electrical signals from your brain to the rest of your body, any injury to the spine can be severe. The resulting damage depends on the location of the injury, with injuries on the higher C1-C4 vertebrae usually leading to paraplegia or quadriplegia. Many spinal cord injuries require ongoing physical care for the victim.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Brain injuries occur whenever there is bruising, bleeding, or tearing of the brain tissue. Even common types of brain injuries, such as concussions, can be traumatic and lead to issues with memory, emotional regulation, and balance. In more serious cases, brain injuries cause permanent intellectual or physical disability.

Why Work with a Carrollton Personal Injury Attorney?

When the actions of another party cause you harm, you are left to deal with the consequences of their actions. You need comprehensive medical treatment and care to recover from your injuries. You need financial resources to pay your bills and living expenses until you recover sufficiently to return to work. Holding the at-fault party accountable for their actions is important. More important, however, is getting you the compensation you need for your injuries and other damages.

When you trust the Hartley Law Firm to handle your case, you will have a skilled and compassionate advocate on your side. We handle every aspect of your personal injury case, from investigation and documentation to negotiation and settlement. We successfully negotiate with the insurance company to obtain settlement for most of our clients. This gets you the funds you need as quickly as possible.

In some cases, however, we might have to file a lawsuit and fight for you in court. If the insurance company will not settle fairly, we will be prepared to move forward in court. We have extensive litigation experience, making our firm well-suited for anything that might come up along the way—including making the strongest possible case for you in the courtroom.

Throughout the legal process, we handle all the details. We investigate your accident and document everything. We use whatever resources are necessary to establish liability for your damages. We handle all negotiations and communication with the insurance company, other attorneys, and any other parties that may be involved. At the same time, we provide proactive communication and updates about your case. We are there to answer your questions and provide the information you need.

We accept Carrollton personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that you pay nothing out of pocket and you owe no legal fees until we recover compensation on your behalf. We will fight tirelessly to help get you the justice you deserve.

Personal Injury FAQs

After sustaining a personal injury, it’s common for victims to have questions about pursuing a claim. Here are the most frequently asked questions about filing personal injury cases.

What Damages Can I Recover in a Personal Injury Claim?

In Texas, personal injury lawsuit damages fall into three categories: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages represent those monetary, calculable losses related to your lawsuit. These damages are easy to calculate because they usually are accompanied by invoices and receipts. For many, awards that compensate for economic damages alleviate a substantial financial burden that was thrust upon them due to the accident.

There are several damages you may include in your claim, including but not limited to:

Medical bills,
Lost wages,
Property damage,
Lost earning capacity, and
Pain and suffering.

Economic damages can make up a substantial portion of your compensation. So be sure to keep good records of all of your expenses following an accident.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are non-monetary and subjective losses related to your lawsuit like pain and suffering and emotional distress. Oftentimes, non-economic damages far exceed an injured person’s economic damages. Sometimes there is no amount of money that can compensate a severely injured person for what was taken by a negligent party. Non-economic damages can have a big impact on your recovery because they compensate you for losses that cause a substantial disruption to your life.

You may wonder, “How are pain and suffering calculated?” A personal injury law firm cannot document non-economic damages through invoices, pay stubs, and bills. Instead, your lawyer proves non-economic damages through your testimony as to the pain, suffering, embarrassment, and mental anguish you suffered due to the accident. Your legal practitioner may also wish to call medical and non-medical experts to testify and support your claim. Often times, your attorney will call what is called a “before and after” witness to testify about how your life was before the incident or accident and the changes they have seen in your life since the accident or incident.

Punitive Damages

A Texas court may choose to award punitive damages—not to compensate the victim—but to punish the defendant. A court may only award punitive damages if they first award economic and non-economic damages.

The purpose of punitive damages is to make an example of the defendant. Courts want to discourage reprehensible conduct and prevent the defendant and others from similar future behavior. For punitive damages to be proper, the defendant’s actions must have amounted to gross negligence, malice, or fraud. A common example of cases where punitive damages are sought are drunk driving car accidents and texting and driving collisions.

Your Carrollton personal injury attorney will help you determine the full extent of your damages. In many cases, personal injury claims also include the cost of future medical treatment related to the injury.

What Do I Have to Prove in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

In Texas, personal injury lawsuits use a standard of proof known as “a preponderance of the evidence.” In other words, plaintiffs must prove their claims are “more likely than not” to be true. This burden of proof is relatively low, especially when compared to criminal cases.

To make your case and fulfill your burden of proof, Carrollton personal injury lawyers gather evidence to establish the defendant’s negligence. The four elements of negligence that you must prove by a preponderance of the evidence include the following:

The defendant possessed a duty of care to the plaintiff to conduct themselves as a reasonable person would in the same situation;
The defendant breached this duty of care through their conduct;
The plaintiff suffered injuries as a result of the breach; and
The plaintiff’s injuries were a direct result of the defendant’s actions.

Despite the lower burden of proof, Carrollton personal injury attorneys understand that personal injury cases can quickly become complex. Failure to properly prepare your case could result in the loss of much-needed compensation.

How Long Do I Have to Pursue a Claim for a Personal Injury Accident in Carrollton?

An attorney handling a personal injury case in Carrollton.

Under the Texas statute of limitations, you have only two years after a personal injury accident to pursue legal action. If you don’t file a civil lawsuit within that period, you could lose your right to pursue compensation for your damages. If you must file suit to resolve your claim, you might not discover that fact until several months (or more) have passed. For this reason, it is imperative that you contact a Carrollton personal injury lawyer as soon as you can after an accident. This helps ensure you have plenty of time to take the steps necessary to get justice. It also lets your legal practitioner get started as quickly as possible, while evidence and witness memories remain fresh.

What If I’m Partially at Fault for My Injuries?

Even if you are somewhat at fault, it’s worth pursuing a claim. Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule, which means that even if you share some fault, you may still recover compensation. However, your share of fault must be 50% or less, and your total award may be reduced by your percentage of fault.

Talk to a Carrollton Personal Injury Attorney Today for Free

At the Hartley Law Firm, we are client-centered and results-driven. Take a moment to browse our client testimonials, and you will see how committed we are to providing exceptional service and getting results. Although every case and client is unique, our history of delivering for our clients demonstrates our ability to get the job done for you.

After an injury accident, contact us as soon as possible. No one should continue to suffer or face uncertainty after an accident. The sooner we can get started on your claim, the sooner we can get you the medical treatment you need and your case resolved. We leverage our wide network of all types of medical providers to make sure you get quality medical care as soon as the next day after an accident or incident. Contact our office today to learn more or to schedule your consultation with a Carrollton personal injury attorney.

Hartley Law Firm also provides personal injury services to several other Dallas area locations, including: