Your Duty to Mitigate Damages

Your Duty to Mitigate Damages

Posted on by Albert Bolhuis

This Blog was brought to you by the J.A. Davis & Associates, LLP – McAllen Personal Injury Lawyers principal office in San Antonio

Your Duty to Mitigate Damages

Attorney Discusses A Victim’s Legal Duty to Mitigate Damages

The duty to mitigate damages may be a foreign phrase to you, but it’s an important concept to understand if you’ve been injured as a result of the negligent behavior of another person. When broken down into its parts, the phrase is easily understood. Duty means that a victim has a responsibility. Mitigate means to lessen. Damages, in the legal realm, refers to the financial losses that accompany an injury, such as medical bills or lost wages. More on this webpage

Together, a duty to mitigate damages means that an injured victim has a responsibility to lessen the amount of financial losses they sustain as a result of an injury. Such responsibility means that the victim must seek out proper medical attention within a reasonable amount of time after suffering an injury.

As an example of a victim failing to mitigate damages, consider Craig’s plight. Craig’s construction site co-worker accidentally cut Craig’s hand with a saw while the two were working to erect a new building. Craig did not think the injury to be serious, so he continued working. After a week, the injury had become noticeably worse, but Craig didn’t want to take time off from work. Another week passes and the hand has become discolored. Craig is in immense pain, so he finally sees a doctor, only to learn that the injury has become infected and he must endure an amputation. In such a dire instance, Craig would not be able to pursue legal action against a liable party for the full extent of his injuries since he did not take reasonable measures to seek medical help. In other words, he failed at his duty to mitigate damages.

The Notion of Reasonable Care in Regards to Mitigating Damages

Texas personal injury law does not require that a victim take unreasonable steps in the aftermath of sustaining an injury. For example, Craig would not have been required to seal himself off in a sterile room until his injury was healed as that would be considered an unreasonable effort. However, the law does state that reasonable steps must be taken by an injured victim in order to minimize the extent of their sustained injury.

Working to ensure that your injuries do not worsen is vitally important for two reasons: your health and your possible personal injury case. If you’ve been in any type of accident that may have resulted in an injury, it’s in your best interests to be checked out by a medical professional as soon as possible after the accident. Some injuries may not be readily apparent at an accident site, or even in the hours after an accident has occurred. Furthermore, some injuries can take weeks or months to develop. By getting checked out by a medical professional as soon as possible, you can work to ensure that a more serious condition does not develop in the future. Your health, after all, should never be risked by simply choosing not to seek proper medical attention.

Furthermore, should you desire to seek compensation for your injury from the parties responsible for causing it, you will have a legal duty to mitigate damages. If your injuries are allowed to progress to a poor state due to failure to seek medical attention, the amount of compensation you could receive from a liable party could be drastically reduced. If a jury is able to assess you with more than 50% liability for your injury, recovery of fair compensation may be completely denied. In these instances, a defense attorney is tasked with the burden of proof. In other words, this affirmative defense means that the defendant’s legal representation must be able to prove that you failed at your duty to mitigate damages. By seeking proper medical attention after an accident, such a claim cannot then be brought against you.

If you’ve suffered an injury due to the negligent behavior of another person or entity, be sure to seek medical help within a reasonable amount of time. Often, seeking medical attention as soon as possible is in your best interests. Should you have questions regarding your duty to mitigate damages so that your right to seek compensation is preserved, contact the attorneys at our Law Office today.

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Personal Injury Law – Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Personal Injury Law – Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

Posted on by Albert Bolhuis

This Blog was brought to you by the J.A. Davis & Associates, LLP – Personal Injury Lawyers McAllen principal office in San Antonio

Personal Injury Law – Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

If You Were Hurt in a Motorcycle Accident in Texas, You can Discuss Your Case With Our Local Lawyers

Though passenger cars and trucks represent the greatest number of vehicle accidents in Texas by far, mishaps involving motorcycles on the highways and streets happen regularly here in Aggieland.

The Texas, accident attorneys at our Law Offices have over 30 years of experience negotiating settlements and trying cases for people who have been injured in accidents involving motorcycles on our streets. We have the know-how to devise a strategy from the unique circumstances that surround your case and win fair compensation for damages from the accident that left you with a serious injury and produced a pile of bills, the possible need for long-term care to assure recovery, lost wages, pain, suffering, even wrongful death. To that end, we hope this information page will help you better appreciate the legal options available to you, and their value in helping you win your liability case or rightful insurance settlement. More about McAllen Motorcycle Accident Lawyer here
If you are like most motorcycle accident victims you are probably not sure if you need an attorney OR you have reached a point where you are tired of dealing with the insurance company and you are ready to move on to take the next step. Either way, our experienced team of Texas motorcycle accident injury lawyers here at our Law Offices is here to help you understand how to make the most of your legal rights.

The Inherent Biases That a Texas Motorcycle Accident Victim Must Deal With on the Road to Fair Injury Compensation

The difference between motorcycle accidents and car accidents goes much deeper than the obvious ones. Aside from the great differences in the amount, and degree, of injuries a motorcyclist must deal with after an accident at 30 miles an hour, as opposed to passengers in a car or pickup at that same speed, motorcycle accidents are falsely believed to be the same as car accidents in legal terms when this is simply not the case. More about Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyer here

Many in our industry believe, and reasonably so, that a motorcycle rider who is injured in an accident starts with a huge disadvantage because the insurance companies have a negative bias toward motorcyclists by default. This bias quickly becomes apparent the moment an injured biker files a claim.

This inflexible thinking can cloud motorcycle accident cases and make settling them with an insurance company or litigating them in civil court much more complex than passenger car accidents. Because you can be certain that if they end up in a trial, the lawyers for that insurance company will make certain they hammer this very bias home to a receptive jury. Not long ago, a motorcycle rights group conducted a poll that showed that 85 percent of the general public automatically assumed that a motorcyclist was at fault the second they heard about an accident involving a biker and an automobile or truck.

A lot of such preconceptions are historical when you consider how the motorcyclist has an almost mythical hold on society dating back to when Marlon Brando rode across movie screens in the cult classic 50’s film The Wild One, and Peter Fonda’s seminal film Easy Rider a generation later. That view is reinforced every time you see some ninja rider weaving in and out of freeway traffic at 80 miles an hour, It’s a small wonder that bikers are seen as wild, care-free members of a reckless subculture who have little regard for their safety or anyone else’s.

It makes no difference that many motorcycle riders are now are little more than weekend riders who have 30+ year careers and can afford this now expensive hobby. And the truth is that many now daily use smaller motorcycles and scooters as economical transportation. With the cost of gas these days, it’s a very practical solution for them. That doesn’t sound like Marlon Brando or Dennis Hopper now does it? When you stop and think about it for a moment, there’s an awful lot of real-life evidence to counter such preconceived thinking about just who today’s motorcyclist really is.

Did You Know?
Our lead attorney has been fighting for Motorcycle Accident victims` rights for over 30 years. Call us to discuss your case.

But that doesn’t stop insurance adjusters from using this prejudice against motorcyclists to automatically deny their claims. The facts of an accident just as often show the motorcyclist was a victim of somebody else’s driving negligence; usually, the driver of the car or truck wasn’t paying attention. We have to watch out extra hard for motorcyclists because they’re often hidden by larger vehicles and not always that easy to see. But the insurance adjuster is banking that he can trick the jury into overlooking the facts due to the image of a reckless biker in their minds, or suggest to an inexperienced motorcycle accident lawyer that this prejudice will prevent a successful civil case and it’s a good idea to settle for ten cents on the actual dollar.

And since the burden is on you, the injured motorcyclist to prove your charges, it’s also on you to disprove an insurance company’s claim that you, a “devil-may-care biker,” who are not by definition reckless, and that you were in fact, operating your bike safely at the time of the wreck that injured you. This is why you need a seasoned Texas motorcycle accident lawyer who knows how to refute these prejudices and use the facts to win your just damage compensation.

Combine this double standard with the fact that most adjusters assigned to motorcycle accident cases are senior adjusters who are chosen for their aggressive track record and it becomes apparent you are facing quite a challenge in trying to get a fair deal if you attempt to do this without an experienced personal injury lawyer in Texas.

Why are Insurance Adjusters so Aggressive When Dealing With Motorcycle Accident Claims?

We’ve spoken of the “cultural popularity” when it comes to blaming those who operate “non-traditional” vehicles such as motorcycles for any accidents they are involved in. That bias makes many feel that motorcyclists should automatically accept this “high-risk” behavior as part of their lifestyle. That preconception is warmly embraced by insurance companies as another excuse to not pay accident claims, which is the real business that insurance companies are in.

The simple reason for this is that they are trying to save money. Accidents that would be considered moderate by car standards often result in major injuries for motorcyclists as we have already said. This means that the average motorcycle injury claim will cost the insurance company more money than the average car accident injury claim. Insurance companies try to maximize profit by paying out as little money as possible. As such, they assign these aggressive adjusters to battle motorcycle accident victims to force you to accept as little as they can get away with. In many cases, they will use tricks such as recorded statements to use against you in court or offer you a paltry payoff before the full extent of your injuries has been learned to reduce, or eliminate, the amount of rightful money that they have to pay you.

Our clients have learned the best way to deal with sneaky insurance adjusters is to not deal with them at all: simply let us handle them. None of our clients talk with insurance adjusters. We take care of that because when we do, adjusters cannot hang you with your innocent words.

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Truck Accident Attorneys – Personal Injury Lawyers

Truck Accident Attorneys – Personal Injury Lawyers

Posted on by Albert Bolhuis

This Blog was brought to you by The Carabin Shaw Law Firm – Personal Injury Lawyers Odessa

Truck Accident Attorneys – Personal Injury Lawyers

Recent U.S. studies by the National Transportation Safety Bureau indicated that nearly 18 percent of single-vehicle heavy truck accidents are fatigue-related. Additional research indicates driver fatigue to be a significant cause of about 20 percent of commercial truck accidents, and more than 50 percent of long-haul drivers have succumbed to sleep while driving. More information here
Current regulations require truck drivers to cumulatively drive no more than 11 hours in a 14-hour period, followed by ten consecutive hours of rest. In fact, many trucks are equipped with electronic on-board recorders that track the time a vehicle is stopped. However, the logs cannot specifically track whether a driver was sleeping during that time. Got Injured In An Accident – CALL SHAW
How to avoid exhaustion on the road
Even with recommended rest, driving long distances can have a hypnotic effect on the most experienced truck drivers. The following tips can help truck drivers avoid an accident and remain alert on the road:

*Take numerous breaks. Even ten minutes walking around at a rest stop can clear your head during a long haul. Using this time to drink a caffeinated beverage can help as well, but never count on it to counteract the full effects of exhaustion.
*Keep your eyes moving. Keeping your eyes on the road is not limited to just looking at the road in front of you. You need to be aware of conditions all around your truck, and shifting focus can help keep you stay mentally alert.
*Avoid intoxicants. Even if you remain under the legal blood alcohol content limit, any alcohol can make you drowsy. If you are going to drive, do not drink alcohol at all.

Following legal regulations can help you avoid accidents caused by sleep deprivation. But always be aware that the tedium of truck driving—especially at night or when traffic is light—can easily lead to exhaustion. Only you alone can judge your own mental condition. If you need additional sleep or a break to remain alert, pay attention to those needs.

Your safety is important
As a truck accident attorney, I have seen the devastating results of a trucking accident. No matter how tight your delivery schedule may be, always remember that your cargo cannot get to its destination on time if you have an accident. Stay alert, and stay safe.