What is a Personal Injury Case?

The best explanation of a personal injury case is that it involves someone injured as the result of the negligence of another person or entity. Personal injury cases would include cases where someone has some injuries or even where someone is killed. Because they are so important, you need to discuss any accident case with a skilled Austin personal injury attorney. A personal injury attorney protects your legal rights and helps you to seek compensation for your injuries and property damage.

What kind of compensation do I get? 

In most personal injury cases, a survivor can recover the following:

• Compensation for lost earning capacity or lost wages
• Compensation for physical impairment
• Property damages
• Medical expenses
• Doctor bills
• Pain
• Mental anguish
• Punitive damages (in some cases)

To prove your case, provide your personal injury attorney with every document you can get your hands on, including an accident report, a doctor’s assessment and treatment plan, medical equipment you may need, all bills relating to the accident, and all other relevant information you can provide, such as eyewitnesses contact information. It is much better to give your attorney too much information than not enough.

The Lone Star State has the highest number of personal injury cases than most other states. “Just as an example of the high number of personal injury cases we see in Texas, 4,480 people died in crashes in 2021, the second deadliest year since 1940. Another very bad year for fatalities was 1981 with 4,701 fatalities,” said Austin personal injury attorney, Brooks Schuelke.

While most people think of car and other vehicle collisions in terms of what it cost for a particular accident, the average medical bill after a collision can be tens of thousands of dollars. Hospital stays average out at approximately $4,000 a day. “Imagine what a bill would be if you needed to be in hospital for a lengthy stay, including surgery and rehabilitation,” asked Schuelke. To pay those bills, someone involved in the crash needs to be found negligent.

The average cost for a trip to the Emergency Room after a car accident is approximately $3,300 and the average cost of hospitalization for a car accident survivor can run to $57,000.

There are other medical costs to be covered as well. For instance:

• Emergency room expenses – an average bill is $1,500 then you may be moved to another part of the hospital.
• Various tests to determine what your injuries are and how bad they are. This can include X-rays and a CT scan, as well as blood work. This can cost thousands of dollars.
• If surgery is needed, even minor surgery, the cost is thousands. Complex surgery is even more expensive.
• Any medication prescribed can be costly as well, running into hundreds of dollars a month.
• The possibility of physiotherapy and/or rehabilitation is also a part of this picture.
• Future medical costs depend on a survivor’s prognosis.

The most common surgeries required after a car crash include, but are not limited to:

• Knee repair
• Spinal cord surgery
• Back surgery
• Brain surgery
• Plastic surgery
• Setting broken bones

Common causes for accidents in Texas and Austin

• DWI/DUI
• DWI/DUI – Drugs
• Distracted driving
• Speeding
• Drowsy driving
• Reckless driving

“Surviving an accident is traumatic. If you have been involved in a collision, call my office. I can advise you of your legal rights and assist you to file for compensation to help rebuild your life,” Schuelke added.