What Kinds of Damages Can Victims Recover for Accidents in Odessa?

An insurance company that is handling your injury claim will utilize a certain formula to calculate your possible settlement. The insurer could very well reach out to you and offer you a settlement before you have even had the chance to call a lawyer, but you should know that whatever offer you receive is likely to be much less than what you are entitled to.

Some people can be taken aback by the offers and feel a rush to accept them for fear that it might be their only chance to get paid. You need to focus on much more than your current bills when a settlement offer is being proposed because you may have many future medical bills to treat your injuries, and if you accept a settlement offer too soon then you will not be able to obtain any additional compensation if you need more later.

Common kinds of factors that could determine the actual value of a personal injury case may include:

• The severity of your injuries
• Whether your injuries have permanent effects
• The types and costs of your medical care
• Whether you can return to work
• How much you can earn even when you do go back to work
• Your emotional trauma
• Your ability to still participate in recreational activities

Assuming your personal injury case makes it to court, compensatory damages are an award most victims receive that usually involves two forms of damages. Economic damages are the actual, tangible losses people can prove, while noneconomic damages are far more subjective, non-monetary losses.

Some of the kinds of economic damages might include:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Past and future lost wages
• Rehabilitation costs
• Diminished earning potential
• Property damage
• Costs of medications and medical devices

As for noneconomic damages, common kinds include:

• Mental anguish
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of companionship and society
• Diminished quality of life
• Scarring
• Disfigurement
• Anxiety and depression

Why You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Odessa?

One of the first reasons you will want to hire an Odessa personal injury attorney to handle your case is simply for help dealing with an insurance company. It is again important to remember that an insurer wants to resolve your case for as little as possible strictly to protect its bottom line, so even when an agent for an insurance company claims that they commit to helping you, they are actively working against you and looking for reasons to reduce the value of or outright deny your injury claim.

Most injury victims have little to no idea of the actual value of their injury cases, so a lawyer will be beneficial because they will not only have prior experience handling similar claims but also can work with experts in a given field to get accurate estimates about your lifetime costs of treating your injuries. An attorney will have a much better understanding of what constitutes a fair settlement offer and can negotiate for a far more suitable outcome to your personal injury case.

Remember that an Insurance Research Council (IRC) study entitled “Attorney Involvement in Auto Injury Claims” found that injury victims with legal representation achieved settlements over 3.5 times larger than people who settled claims on their own without a lawyer. Whereas the average settlement for a person representing was $10,000, a person with a lawyer usually recovered $35,000.

The same study showed that a person with a neck sprain or strain only received $2,480 without an attorney but $7,918 with one, and people with bone fractures got $19,105 without legal counsel and $39,397 when they had lawyers. A minor laceration only resulted in $1,166 without an attorney but $4,771 with one, and the average injury settlement of $3,262 turned into $11,939 with an attorney.

In addition to assisting with settlement negotiations, legal representation will also be important simply for expediting your personal injury claim. If you try to handle a personal injury case on your own, you will be likely to encounter any number of possible delays, from insurance company red tape to requests for additional paperwork needing to be completed to a need to speak to additional witnesses.

Many personal injury victims cannot afford to wait several months or even years to achieve their payments for injuries, so an Odessa personal injury lawyer will help by moving your claim along as quickly as possible. An attorney is going to know how to keep the insurance claim process moving forward and eliminate any lengthy delays.

Settlements are not always possible in personal injury cases, which means that some cases could end up in court. When you are heading for a trial, you do not want to be representing yourself in your case.

By retaining legal counsel, you will be able to have a skilled professional representing you in court and presenting the best possible argument to a jury for why you deserve financial compensation for your injuries. Remember that the negligent party will presumably have an insurance company that also invests in having attorneys representing them in court, so you do not want to show up without somebody who can still possibly negotiate a settlement for you.

Every personal injury case is going to have a statute of limitations (or time limit) that applies to the case, meaning that a victim has to commence legal action within a specified period to try and recover money. A lawyer is going to understand this deadline and will be able to take the appropriate action when an insurance company is unreasonably delaying proceedings.

You also want to hire an Odessa personal injury attorney so you can be confident that an independent investigation is performed into your accident. You presumably will not have the ability to perform a rigorous investigation on your own, but a lawyer will know how to get access to police reports and other evidence relating to your case that could be important to proving your case in court.

Even when you have full faith in your preferred doctor, an attorney will also be of tremendous assistance in making sure that you can receive the best possible medical care for your injuries. Some victims may experience immediate issues paying medical bills, but a lawyer can negotiate with a hospital for a lien in which you agree to pay medical bills out of a settlement or judgment rather than having to worry about every bill as they come in.

Certain injuries can also require specialized kinds of medical treatment, and an attorney will know which specialists you should see for your treatment. They can ensure that you are seeing all of the right doctors as it relates to your case.

You may also be dealing with a case in which liability is unclear to you, such as a multiple-vehicle crash in which several drivers may have been at fault. An Odessa personal injury lawyer is going to know how to determine exactly who was at fault for an accident and then work to hold that party accountable.

The bottom line is that a personal injury attorney in Odessa is also going to understand the law as it applies to your personal injury case. Most average people have little to no understanding of the many intricacies of personal injury law, but a lawyer is going to be aware of every single unique aspect of a personal injury case.

Another important aspect that a lawyer will offer is objectivity, which is important because many victims are not capable of being completely reasonable in their dealings concerning compensation following an accident. If you cannot present yourself to an insurance company calmly and sensibly, then the insurer will be less inclined to assist you and may simply move to deny your claim.

How Much Does an Odessa Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?

A majority of personal injury lawyers in Odessa are going to handle cases on a contingency fee basis. Contingency fee agreements mean that clients do not pay an hourly fee or any money upfront because the attorney will instead deduct their payment from any settlement or jury award.

Many injury victims have major concerns about the ability to afford legal representation after their accidents during a time when they are unable to work and are already struggling to pay mounting medical bills. An attorney is not going to add to your financial woes and will usually do what they can to try and help ease many of the concerns that you are dealing with.

The bottom line with a contingency fee agreement is that a lawyer recovers nothing if they do not settle or win your case. The result is usually that the attorney has even more motivation to make sure you recover as much as possible.

You should know that a lawyer may charge you for any number of court costs and other legal expenses, which may include filing fees, police reports, expert witness fees, medical records, court reporters, trial exhibits, and postage or copying charges. Such expenses may also be added to what the deduction is after your case.

Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct § 1.04 relates to fees and states that a lawyer cannot enter into an arrangement for, charge, or collect an illegal fee or unconscionable fee, and a fee will be unconscionable if a competent lawyer cannot form a reasonable belief that the fee is reasonable. Factors that could be considered in determining the reasonableness of a fee include:

the time and labor action will require, the novelty and difficulty of the questions that are involved, and the skill necessary to perform the legal service properly
the likelihood, when apparent to a client, that acceptance of particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer
the fee that is customarily charged in the same locality for similar legal services
the amount involved and the results obtained
any time limitations imposed by a client or by the circumstances
the nature and length of a professional relationship with a client
the experience, reputation, and ability of a lawyer or lawyers who are performing the services
whether a fee will be fixed or contingent on results obtained or uncertainty of collection before any legal services have been rendered
When a lawyer has not regularly represented the same client, then the basis or rate of their fee must be communicated, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after commencing the legal representation. A fee can be contingent on the outcome of the matter for which a service is rendered, except in matters in which contingent fees are prohibited (criminal cases) or under other laws.

A contingency fee agreement has to be in writing and must state the method by which the fee will be determined. If there is a differentiation in the percentage or percentages that will accrue to the lawyer in the event of a settlement, trial, or appeal, the percentage for each must be stated.

An agreement must also state the litigation and other expenses that will be deducted from the recovery, and whether such expenses will be deducted before or after the contingent fee is calculated. Upon conclusion of a contingency fee matter, a lawyer must provide a client with a written statement that describes the outcome of the matter and, when there is a recovery, shows the remittance to the client and the method of its determination.

A division or an arrangement for division of a fee between lawyers who are not members of the same firm can only be made if:

the division is in proportion to the professional services performed by each lawyer or made between lawyers who are assuming joint responsibility for the representation
a client consents in writing to the terms of the arrangement before the time of the association or referral proposed, including the identity of all lawyers or law firms who will participate in the fee-sharing arrangement, whether any fees will be divided based on a proportion of services performed or by lawyers agreeing to assume joint responsibility for the representation and the share of the fee that each lawyer or law firm will receive or if the division is based on the proportion of services performed, the basis on which such a division will be made
the aggregate fee does not violate the Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct § 1.04(a)
Many contingency fee agreements may operate on what is known as a sliding scale, under which the fee an attorney will charge depends on the point at which a case is resolved. The fee may be the lowest if a lawyer negotiates a settlement with an insurance adjuster alone, increase if they have to file a lawsuit but still settle, and be the highest if the case proceeds to trial.