A serious bodily injury in Texas can change a person’s health, employment, finances, and family responsibilities in a single event. These injuries often require prolonged treatment, rehabilitation, surgery, or permanent changes to daily life. Insurance companies review every detail before deciding what to pay, while medical costs keep accumulating. Understanding the legal and practical issues early helps injured people protect evidence, document losses, and make informed decisions as their recovery progresses.
After an accident, an injured person often faces medical bills, missed work, and calls from an insurance adjuster. A consultation with Pasadena personal injury attorneys can clarify liability, necessary records, and claim steps before statements or releases weaken the case. Early legal review also helps preserve evidence while treatment continues and the final impact remains uncertain.
What Counts As Serious Bodily Injury?
Though every case is different, Texas law generally considers the seriousness of the injury based on its medical effects, the extent of treatment, the length of time of symptoms and the extent of disablement.
These types of injuries result in serious illness or even permanent disability. Common injuries that would result in serious personal injury claims are severe bone fractures, severe head injuries (including traumatic brain injuries), severe spinal cord injuries, and severe burns. Also, internal injuries and permanent disabilities can result in serious personal injury claims. Often, victims of personal injuries suffer from chronic pain and suffer from disability that prevents them from working. Some of the other common injuries that result in serious personal injury claims are nerve damage, amputations, loss of limbs, etc.
While documentation of lost wages, and payment for medical treatment are typically easy to document for personal injury cases, the true challenge is documenting the consequences of permanent personal injury to maintain adequate compensation for pain and suffering and loss of use of a body part.
How Serious Injuries Affect Compensation
Losses such as hospital bills, medication, physical therapy and even future medical treatment to address ongoing problems with an injury can be tabulated. However, the injured party’s loss of wages until they can return to work and even their future reduced earning capacity can also be used to support the amount of compensation they demand for their injuries.
While some losses are easy to put a price tag on, such as medical expenses for hospitals, physical therapy, and time off from work for those who are unable to return to their job, many other important losses, such as chronic pain, permanent disabilities, loss of physical health, as well as mental distress and/or physical disfigurement will have greater monetary value and will have to be proven with greater amounts of evidence relating the losses to the accident in question.
A very good way to get additional information and perspective regarding the extent of the injured person’s disability and its effect on the person and family is to have them, along with other family members, describe in detail the changes that have occurred as a result of the injury and how it affects them and others in the family.
Why Liability Requires Careful Investigation
In many personal injury cases, the responsible party can be more than one person. For example, in a car wreck case, it could be another driver, or the driver’s employer, or even the manufacturer of the vehicle or a part. In a slip and fall on private property, it could be the property owner, or the property owner’s employer, or even the contractor hired to do work on the property.
Cases involving Pasadena’s busy industrial scene, State Highway 225, I-610 and other commercial traffic require special analysis of vehicle data, photos, witness accounts, dispatch records and even video of the crash on traffic cams. A premise liability case would require documents such as property inspection reports, and maintenance records as well as warning signs and other complaints against the property.
Evidence can disappear quickly. Vehicles get repaired, surveillance systems overwrite footage, and witnesses forget details. Prompt preservation requests and a focused investigation help protect information needed to establish fault.
Insurance Company Tactics
An adjuster may ask you for a recorded statement. The insurance company will also review your treatment and possibly try to assign a cause to your symptoms. They may claim that your injury was caused by a pre-existing condition.
A quick settlement can create lasting problems. Once an injured person signs a release, the insurer generally treats the claim as resolved, even if complications appear later. The settlement might also fail to cover future surgery, ongoing therapy, lost earning capacity, or necessary medical equipment.
Evidence of injury, bills and other records pertaining to one’s medical treatment, proof of lost wages, as well as before and after photographs of injuries and property damage should be retained. All correspondence with insurance companies should be saved and individuals should continue to treat any recommended treatment for their injuries and advise their doctor of any increase in symptoms.
Texas Deadlines And Case Preparation
Typically, an individual has two years from the date of an accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. There are exceptions to this rule and it is best to have the date of an accident reviewed by an attorney as soon as possible to determine if there is an exception that would alter the typical 2-year statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit.
It is also important to remember that for minors, the mentally incapacitated and for other special parties and claims, there are different procedures for claims against government entities and for other special circumstances. And even though the parties may be negotiating settlement of a claim, that does not automatically toll (suspend) the statute of limitations for filing suit.
Claims are prepared for settlement by first identifying parties responsible for injury to and to death of our clients as well as identifying all available insurance coverage for that responsible party or parties. We compile evidence to support our client’s claims for compensation, organize our client’s medical bills and all other evidence relating to their claim for damages and then establish the full amount of the losses our clients have incurred as a result of their injury.
When A Lawsuit Becomes Necessary
There are instances when an insurance company is unwilling to offer a claimant reasonable compensation for their injuries and the claimant is forced to file a lawsuit to seek additional relief for their injuries and hold the responsible parties accountable for their actions.
Even if the injured person describes their injuries and their consequences to the at fault party’s insurance company, written evidence, such as written discoveries, depositions of witnesses, experts and physicians, as well as settlement negotiations with insurance companies will be necessary to support the injured party’s claims for compensation for their losses and physical injuries.
Settlements can occur before a trial but the injured party must have a full understanding of the proposed settlement’s value in light of the injured party’s current and future injuries and also be aware of all the risks involved with going to trial and trying to obtain a higher award for his or her claims and injuries.
Conclusion
Claims involving serious bodily injury need to be addressed as soon as possible. There are many factors to address including your treatment, evidence, liability and the corresponding time limits in your state. Be sure to keep records of all accidents, including personal injury, as well as corresponding medical treatment and wage Loss. Keep a record of all communication with your insurer and contact a qualified personal injury attorney in Texas to discuss your case in detail and prepare your claim to get you the compensation you need to heal from your injuries.
Written by Marc Cousineau (marc.cousineau@maintainxsolutions.com)
