I was injured in an accident, what rights do I have?
Your rights, whether you were injured in a car accident, motorcycle accident, a slip and fall or from a board hitting you on the head as you walked through a store are governed by what is called Torts law.

What is a tort?
A tort is a harmful act or failure to act which causes you or your property injury, for which you are entitled to recover.  You are normally entitled to recover for someone hurting you physically, or damaging your property.  You are allowed to recover whether the act was intentional or not.

Someone beat me up or hurt me, can I recover for that?
Depending on the circumstances, this is still a tort, and you are allowed to recover for your injuries under the law.

What should I do after an accident or injury?
You should always take whatever steps you need to take to get proper medical care to ensure that you don’t get worse.  Go to see your doctor, get x-rays, whatever is necessary to make sure that you are alright or to help you get better. You should also make sure that you find out what kind of insurance coverage the other person has, including the name of their insurance carrier, and their policy number.  You should get the name, address, and telephone number of the person that injured you.  Texas law requires that if someone is involved in an accident with you, that they provide that information to you.

My car was hauled off by a wrecker and isn’t driveable, what should I do?
Among other things, go over and get all of your personal items out of the car as quickly as possible.  Take pictures of the car both inside and out.  It is better to have too many pictures than not enough.  Your pictures of the car can be useful in obtaining a settlement or in winning a lawsuit.

What do I do if the person that was responsible for my accident or injury doesn’t want to pay me?
If the person refuses to pay you for your injuries or damages, you are entitled to file suit.   A victim of a tort or accident has the right to sue the tortfeasor (the person committing the tort) for damages.

How much money will my attorney charge me to handle my case?
Generally on personally injury matters, we handle your case on a contingency basis.  That means we don’t collect unless we get money from you.  Then we get a percentage of the money we recover.

What will the attorney do to assist me?
At the Carroll Law Firm, we will contact the other party’s insurance agency to find out what issues can be resolved.  First, we will try to ensure that you are getting proper medical care.  If your injuries are related to a car accident,  we will also be trying to resolve the issues related to your car, getting your car fixed or paid for, and getting you a rental car while they work on an appraisal of the car you were driving.

What happens if a settlement cannot be reached with the other party or their insurance company?
A law suit will have to filed to collect your damages.

How long do I have from the date of the accident or injury to file suit?
Generally, you only have two years.  If you exceed that time frame, your time to recover is lost forever.  So acting quickly is a must.

What locations does Lynn Carroll practice in?
Generally, I practice in Dallas County, Tarrant County, Collin County, Hunt County, and Denton County, although I have filed cases all over the state of Texas depending on the circumstances.

What kinds of injury or tort liability are recognized in Texas?
The law generally recognizes three types of torts: intentional torts, negligent torts, and torts based on strict liability. Which theory or theories a plaintiff uses depends on the facts of his or her particular case.

What is Intentional Torts?
An intentional tort is a wrong based on an intentional action, as contrasted with carelessness. Examples of intentional torts include assault (threatening someone with physical violence), false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, and trespass. Defamation usually is considered an intentional tort, because the defendant intentionally prints or speaks the defamatory statement.

What has to be proved in a lawsuit for an intentional tort?
You have to prove that:  (1) the defendant committed the tort, (2) either the defendant intended the consequences or the consequences were the natural, direct, and probable result of the tort, and (3) the defendant’s act was a substantial factor in the resulting harm or injury.

What has to be proved to establish that an injury occurred because someone was negligent?
When you sue, you have to prove:  (1) the defendant had a duty to conform to a certain standard of conduct to protect the plaintiff from unreasonable risk, (2) the defendant breached that duty, (3) the defendant’s breach was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury, and (4) the plaintiff suffered damages.

What duty does a person have to another?
Most people are simply expected to behave as carefully as a reasonable, ordinary, prudent person would behave in a similar situation. This is known as the reasonable person standard. A defendant’s actions must fall short of the reasonable person standard in order for the defendant to be found negligent.  If a person is a doctor or other professional , they must act in a manner that is acceptable and appropriate for reasonably prudent health care providers in similar circumstances.

What does proximate cause of the accident mean?
Proximate cause means the legal cause for the accident.

When can a person get damages?
You have to be able to prove in Court that you have suffered some injury for which compensation is required, in order to collect damages.  . A plaintiff who successfully proves the defendant’s negligence is entitled to compensatory damages. In addition, if the plaintiff proves the defendant acted willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, or with gross negligence, the plaintiff also may recover punitive damages.

Are Damages limited in the State of Texas?
Texas law sets strict limits on how much you can recover in most cases.  Generally, punitive damages may not exceed an amount equal to the greater of (1) two times the amount of economic damages, plus an amount equal to noneconomic damages up to $750,000, or (2) $200,000.

What happens if I am found to be partially responsible for the accident?
Generally, as long as the other person is found to be more than 50 percent responsible for the injury or accident that occurred you can collect damages.  In a  jury trial, the jury will  determine the percentage of responsibility of each party for each claim asserted. If the plaintiff’s percentage of fault does not exceed the percentages given above, the plaintiff is entitled to recover damages.   However, the Judge will reduce the amount of damages by the percentage of your  responsibility. If a jury finds that you were partially responsible for the accident in which you were injured and sets your responsibility at 25%,  the defendant will only have to pay 75 percent of the damages you were able to prove.

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