If you or a loved one suffered an injury in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence in Baytown, TX, you need experienced legal counsel on your side. Over the past four decades, the aggressive advocates at Simmons & Fletcher, P.C. have helped injury victims in Baytown and throughout Harris County recover millions of dollars in compensation. Our goal is to help you recover physically, emotionally, and financially from the impact of your injuries. If you cannot come to our offices and it is a must, we will gladly come to you in Baytown to meet for a consultation. But the good news is, today consultations and most document gathering can be conducted electronically and via mail.
We know Baytown. We know Texas injury law. And we will leverage every bit of that experience to fight for the justice and compensation you deserve. Call (713)-932-0777 now to schedule your free case review with a trusted personal injury lawyer in Baytown. You can also contact our law firm through our online consultation form.
Types Of Personal Injury Cases
Each year, about 50 million Americans require medical care for unintentional injuries, as reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These injuries often become the subject of personal injury cases, where accident victims seek compensation for damages.
While no two personal injury cases play out identically, many fall into one of the following categories (this list is non-exhaustive):
- Vehicle accidents (including truck, bus, motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, and drunk driving accidents);
- Slip and fall accidents (including uneven sidewalks, slippery floors, and more);
- Workplace accidents (including construction-site accidents and industrial accidents);
- Medical malpractice and other types of harm caused by medical professionals;
- Dog bites and other animal attacks;
- Wrongful death claims;
- Premise liability claims (when a dangerous condition on someone else’s property causes you injury).
How Do I Know If I Have a Personal Injury Case?
Personal injury cases are based on negligence, i.e., someone acted carelessly and injured another. Four key elements are needed to establish a successful case for negligence:
- Duty of care: The other party had a responsibility to prevent harm to you.
- Breach of care: They failed to meet the proper standard of care.
- Cause in fact: Their failure directly caused your injury or losses.
- Damages: You suffered tangible physical, financial, or emotional harm.
This is a broad overview; your Baytown personal injury attorney will further evaluate the specifics of your situation to help you determine whether you have a personal injury case.
Not every case is worth pursuing, however. You need a lawyer who can give you honest, straightforward legal advice. If you have been injured in an accident and are unsure about whether to pursue legal action, we encourage you to take advantage of our free case evaluation. A thorough case evaluation saves you time and money by setting expectations upfront. During the evaluation, we will:
- Listen to you describe your case
- Plainly lay out potential outcomes;
- Set realistic recovery prospects;
- Prepare you for any challenges ahead.
Contact us today to schedule your free initial consultation. No charge, no catch. Get all the information you need to make an informed decision.
Types Of Damages You Can Recover From a Personal Injury Claim
An individual who wins a civil action for personal injuries is entitled to damages. Personal injury damage awards are determined by a jury on a case-by-case basis.
Economic Damages: These cover quantifiable financial losses from medical bills, lost income, property damage, and other out-of-pocket costs directly tied to the incident. Strong documentation helps prove these losses.
Non-Economic Damages: Also called “general damages,” these cover non-tangible losses like pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, etc. Permanent disability or disfigurement also falls into this category. Your lawyer will have to determine an appropriate multiplier to assign a monetary value to such damages.
Punitive Damages: If gross negligence or deliberate misconduct caused your harm, the court may award additional punitive damages.
What Happens Once You Hire a Baytown Injury Attorney
As soon as you engage an attorney’s legal services, they will start gathering evidence to prove fault and build your case. The attorney will collect police reports, photos, witness statements, videos, etc. to show how the accident happened. They may get a court order to preserve any evidence at risk of being altered or destroyed.
Your attorney then notifies the defendant’s party of your injury claim. Before filing a lawsuit, they’ll try to reach a fair settlement agreement. If that fails, your attorney will proceed with filing a lawsuit on your behalf, and the legal discovery process begins.
During discovery, your attorney will conduct pretrial investigations to lay the groundwork for a strong claim. The attorney can send interrogatories (written questions) and take depositions (in-person interviews under oath) to get testimony from the other side.
If the case still cannot be resolved, the court may order a settlement conference—where an independent mediator reviews the case and tries to facilitate an agreement. Your attorney will review any settlement offers with you and make sure it is satisfactory before proceeding. Most cases settle out of court this way.
If not, the case will proceed to trial. Your Baytown personal injury lawyer will represent you, the plaintiff, in court and present evidence to support your case. We will fight for your fair compensation for all medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses incurred from the accident. At the end of the day, the goal of a personal injury lawsuit is to work towards making you financially whole again, or as close as realistically possible given the circumstances.
Building A Winning Texas Personal Injury Case
Whether you win compensation often comes down to one key question—can you prove the other party was responsible for your injury? In clear-cut cases, liability is obvious. Take, for instance, being rear-ended while waiting at a red light—there’s very little question that the other driver’s carelessness caused your injuries.
Other cases are not so clear. A store employee left a spill on the ground, which caused you to slip and fall on the surface. A police report is often considered an important piece of evidence, but on private grounds, camera footage needs to be obtained. Perhaps you were partly at fault for a car accident, or there may be multiple parties responsible for your injury. Even if fault is apparent, the amount of compensation you are entitled to could still be a point of contention. More significantly, if the other party (like an employer or insurer) denies liability entirely, you could end up facing long, complex negotiations.
Complex does not inherently mean hopeless, however. An experienced personal injury lawyer serving Baytown can help build your case by gathering evidence, speaking with witnesses, and using expert testimony to establish negligence. They will help address any potential arguments from the at-fault party or their insurance company that may weaken your claim. If negotiations break down, an attorney can file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf.
Wondering if you have grounds for a successful personal injury claim? The legal team at Simmons & Fletcher, P.C. is here to help. Contact us today for your free, no-strings-attached case consultation today.
Do I Really Need A Lawyer in Baytown If The Insurance Company Says Otherwise?
Legally, you’re not required to have an attorney represent you in a personal injury case. However, insurers focus on minimizing payouts more than advocating for your best interests. They will rarely provide full and fair compensation on their own. Without legal guidance, accident victims often underestimate case values or fall into traps set by insurers. This frequently leads to people accepting undervalued settlements that do not come close to covering the true costs of their losses.
Personal injury lawyers exist to balance out this inherent inequality through legal knowledge and objectivity. At a minimum, before concluding matters, meet with a Baytown personal injury attorney near me to better understand your rights and legal options. What you give up early on cannot be regained later.
Get A Baytown Personal Injury Lawyer On Your Side
If you’ve been injured in a vehicle accident, would you want to engage a tax attorney or estate lawyer who does personal injury cases as a side gig? Of course not. At Simmons & Fletcher, personal injury law is our sole focus, nothing else. Our seasoned personal injury attorneys have over 40 combined years of experience handling personal injury claims in Baytown, Houston, and across Texas. Insurance companies know who we are. The insurance companies know we mean business, and that we are not afraid to take our cases to trial.
Here’s why you can rely on us for your next Baytown personal injury case:
- We will guide you through the complex legal process with 100% dependable counsel;
- Insurance companies are always looking to offer low-ball settlements. We will negotiate fiercely on your behalf to ensure this doesn’t happen;
- We conduct investigations, collect evidence, secure witnesses, and handle all paperwork/filings so you can focus on recovery;
- We can bring in medical experts, accident reconstructionists, and other specialists to validate your claims and build a stronger case;
- While many cases settle out of court, our lawyers are equipped to provide legal representation on your behalf if necessary.
Trust an experienced personal injury attorney in Baytown to fight for the maximum compensation you deserve. Contact us to start a free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How much does a Baytown personal injury lawyer cost?
When you hire our lawyers for your Baytown personal injury case, you pay nothing upfront or out of pocket. Our legal fees are a percentage of what we recover for you—typically 33% of the total settlement offer. This contingency fee setup aligns with our interests: we only get paid if you get paid, which naturally drives us to maximize your personal injury settlement.
How soon do I have to contact a Bayton Personal Injury Lawyer?
The sooner you start, the better. In Texas, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of injury for adults. You will have to file a lawsuit within this window. Note that certain circumstances can shorten or extend this timeframe. For example, the delayed discovery of injuries, minors, defendants leaving the state, and first-party insurance claims (three or four-year limitations, depending on the contract).