Practice Areas: Car Wrecks and the Other Injury Cases LAWBOSS Handles

On this page

This site is about car wrecks, but LAWBOSS, Uvalle Law Firm, PLLC handles personal injury cases of many kinds. This page lists each of them with the Texas rules that most often shape the case. Every case starts the same way, with a free consultation.

Car wrecks

Collisions between cars, pickups and SUVs on San Antonio streets and highways are the subject of every other page on this site. Start with what to do after a car wreck, how fault is proved, the insurance that pays, each kind of collision and crash injuries and treatment.

Truck and 18-wheeler crashes

A crash with a tractor-trailer or another large commercial truck is a different case from a car wreck. The truck company, the driver, the owner of the trailer, the shipper and maintenance contractors may all share responsibility, and federal safety rules govern drivers’ hours, inspections and maintenance. Trucking companies keep electronic records of where the truck was and how it was driven, and those records have to be preserved quickly. In a commercial motor vehicle case, Texas also lets a defendant ask for a bifurcated trial, with compensatory damages decided first and exemplary damages second (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 72.052), which affects how the case is prepared.

Motorcycle crashes

Riders are often blamed for crashes they did not cause, and fault is split in percentages under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, so the argument over blame matters. Texas requires a helmet for every rider and passenger unless the person is at least 21 and has either completed an approved motorcycle operator training and safety course or has health insurance that covers injuries from a motorcycle collision (Transportation Code 661.003).

Drunk driver crashes

A crash caused by a drunk driver can support a claim for exemplary damages, which require clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence, malice or fraud (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 41.003). In some cases a bar or restaurant that served an obviously intoxicated driver can be liable as well (Alcoholic Beverage Code 2.02). Our auto accident lawyer San Antonio page explains both.

Wrongful death

When a crash or another wrongful act takes a life, Texas allows a wrongful death action for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, children and parents of the person who died (Civil Practice and Remedies Code 71.004). Any of them may bring it for the benefit of all. If none of them has filed within three calendar months of the death, the executor or administrator must bring it unless all of them ask that it not be brought. Separately, the claim the person who died would have had survives to the estate (71.021). The deadline is two years from the date of death (16.003(b)).

Workplace injuries

Injuries at work raise questions about workers’ compensation, whether the employer carries it, and whether someone other than the employer, such as a contractor, an equipment maker or another driver, caused the injury. A workplace injury can lead to more than one claim, and the deadlines for each differ.

Premises liability: slips, trips and unsafe property

Property owners and businesses can be responsible for injuries caused by dangerous conditions they knew about or should have found and fixed: wet floors, broken stairs, poor lighting, missing handrails, unsafe parking lots. The facts that matter are what the owner knew, when, and what it did about it, so photographs of the condition and the names of employees on duty are important.

Dog bites

Dog bite cases turn on what the owner knew about the dog and how the dog was kept. A bite can cause scarring, nerve damage and infection, and children are often the victims. Photographs of the injury over time, the medical records and the animal control report are the core evidence.

Catastrophic injuries

Brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and paralysis, severe burns and amputations change a life for good. These cases depend on careful evidence of future medical care, lost earning capacity and the cost of help at home, which usually means working with treating doctors and other professionals for the length of the case.

Bicycle, pedestrian and rideshare cases

We also take cases for cyclists and pedestrians hit by vehicles, and for people hurt in crashes involving rideshare drivers. In a rideshare crash, the insurance that applies depends on what the driver was doing in the app at the time (Insurance Code Chapter 1954).

How our fee works in every practice area

The first consultation is free. We work on a contingency fee: you pay no attorney’s fee unless we recover money for you. We advance the case expenses, and if there is no recovery you owe no fee and no case expenses. If there is a recovery, the fee and the expenses are paid from it as your written fee agreement sets out before we start. More about the firm is on our about page and at lawboss.com.