Read Our Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions

When it comes to trusting someone to handle your case and get you justice and compensation, it is important to ensure that you have an attorney you can trust. Raul Guajardo fights for those who have suffered injuries and even death due to others’ negligence. He has a long list of successes and the experience to back it up. Raul attended both college and law school in Texas and worked at the District Attorney’s Office before starting his own practice. He is dedicated to protecting the McAllen, Texas community from avoidable harm and injustice, and has the tools to hold those who violate their duty of care accountable for their actions. If you still want to know why you should hire Raul Guajardo to represent you, call and schedule a consultation.

If you have been injured in South Texas, our law firm wants to hear from you. If you have suffered a serious injury or loss and the accident was not your fault, you shouldn’t have to pay for the consequences. Raul Guajardo will fight to get you the justice and compensation that you are entitled to when someone else’s negligence causes you or a loved one harm. Whether you have been injured in a car or truck accident, suffered a slip-and-fall injury, been injured at work, or while using a defective product, our lawyers will go to bat to hold the liable party accountable and get you the compensation that you deserve. If you have been injured, contact Raul Guajardo today to schedule a consultation and find out how much your personal injury claim is worth.

If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, it can be hard to know where to turn for support or how to recover financially. For many people, the best option is to bring a personal injury lawsuit. However, without a lawyer, they may end up accepting a low-ball insurance settlement. Did you know that insurance companies automatically offer higher settlements to people in car accidents who have an attorney representing them? This is because they know it will cost them more to go to court than it will to offer a reasonable settlement. Likewise, many employees who are injured at work find that their claims are denied until they get a lawyer on the case for them. An attorney will fight to make sure that you get the maximum compensation that you are entitled to following an accident or injury that never should have happened in the first place.

Raul Guajardo attended both college and law school in Texas and has spent his career fighting for those injured in McAllen. His law firm is dedicated to helping people get back on their feet and holding accountable those who negligently caused them harm. While some lawyers may just see dollar signs, ours sees an opportunity to make injured people whole, and that’s just what personal injury law exists to do. While no amount of money can keep an accident from happening, a personal injury claim can make you financially whole after someone else’s negligence caused an accident or injury that should never have happened in the first place. Our law firm will fight to get you the compensation you need to get back on your feet and move forward in life. Contact us today to find out how we can help.

Cada día, millones de camiones manejan por las carreteras de los Estados Unidos entregando todo tipo de productos, desde aceite hasta productos comestibles. Anualmente ocurren alrededor de 500,000 accidentes camioneros y alrededor de 5,000 de estos mismos resultan en fatalidades.

Cuando eres una de las personas involucradas en un accidente con un camión de 18 llantas, es importante saber qué es lo que pasara. Las víctimas de accidentes con camiones de 18 llantas pueden tener muchas inquietudes. A continuación se muestran las respuestas a las preguntas más comunes que se les hacen a los abogados de McAllen especializados en accidentes con camiones.

• ¿Quién puede ser el responsable en una demanda por accidente con camiones?

Esto depende de los factores de cada caso individual, pero las partes responsables pueden incluir: el conductor del camión, la compañía camionera y la empresa manufacturera de los camiones o partes de los camiones.

• ¿Qué tipo de compensación puedo recibir de un reclamo por accidente camionero?

La cantidad a la que tienes derecho a recibir después de un accidente con un camión de 18 llantas depende de varios factores, tales como qué tan severas son las lesiones que recibiste. Puedes recibir una compensación por daños incluyendo salarios perdidos, cuentas médicas, dolor y sufrimiento y daño de propiedad.

• ¿Qué hago si alguna compañía de seguros me ofrece un arreglo económico?

Es muy común que la compañía aseguradora de la empresa camionera ofrezca un arreglo rápido. Mientras pueda parecer más sencillo aceptar su oferta y cerrar el caso, es importante no aceptar el arreglo antes de que un abogado experto revise tu caso.

Las compañías aseguradoras se crean para generar dinero – no para ayudar a las personas. Tienen su resultado final en mente, no tu salud y bienestar. Un abogado puede evaluar su oferta y hacerte saber si es razonable por los daños que sufriste.

• ¿Si tuve culpa en el accidente, aún puedo presentar una demanda?

Víctimas de accidente que sienten que tuvieron culpa parcial por el accidente camionero no ven muy seguido sus opciones legales. Sin embargo, en muchos casos, aún pueden recibir una compensación. Antes de tomar una decisión, es importante hablar de tu caso con un abogado especializado en accidentes camioneros.

• ¿Cuánto tiempo tengo para presentar un reclamo?

En Texas, el estatuto de limitaciones para presentar un reclamo por accidente camionero es de 2 años. Eso significa que si no presentas la demanda dentro de 2 años después de tu accidente, es posible que no puedas presentar un reclamo. Mientras que hay muy raras excepciones a esta regla, lo mejor es conseguir ayuda de un abogado especializado en accidentes camioneros en McAllen lo más pronto posible después de tu accidente, en lugar de esperar hasta que ya sea muy tarde.

Si has resultado herido en un accidente que involucra un camión de 18 ruedas en McAllen, Texas, Contacta a Raúl A. Guajardo hoy mismo para agendar una consulta gratuita.

Statute of Limitations in the State of Texas

Texas Personal Injury Attorney

I have helped hundreds of men and women in South Texas receive total remuneration for their injuries. My practice proudly serves clients in Edinburg, McAllen, Brownsville, Rio Grande, Raymondville, as well as Hidalgo, Starr, Willacy, and Cameron counties. Call (956) 686-1977 to schedule an appointment.

You may be entitled to compensation even if you were partly to blame for the accident.

Texas laws follow a modified comparative negligence rule. That means that if you are in an accident and you are found to be primarily liable (51 percent or more) for the accident, then you will be unable to recover any damages from the other parties. However, if you are found to be less than 50 percent responsible for the crash, then you may still recover compensation. Your compensation will be reduced by the amount that you are at fault.

An Example of How Comparative Negligence Works

Comparative negligence is best illustrated by an example. Imagine that you are driving above the speed limit and you go through an intersection. Another driver makes a left-hand turn at the intersection and hits you. During the course of a lawsuit against the other driver, the other driver is found to be 80 percent at fault for the accident, and because you were speeding, you are found to be 20 percent at fault for the crash. The total amount of compensation is determined by a jury to be $100,000. The rules of comparative negligence mean that your compensation will be reduced by $20,000—a 20 percent reduction in the amount that you are owed. The damages awarded to you by the court should be $80,000 in this example.

Who Decides Percentage of Fault?

The amount of liability attributable to each party may be negotiated during settlement talks with the insurance company. If an agreement cannot be reached, then the court will decide the percentage of liability attributable to each party based on the facts of the case. An experienced lawyer can help present the facts of the face clearly so that a fair agreement about the percentage of liability can be reached during settlement negotiations or can be decided by the court. If you have any questions about your own liability or about the fair damages that you should receive after a Texas car crash, please contact us today via this website or by phone to schedule an initial consultation.

If you feel that you have a legitimate claim that entitles you to compensation for a personal injury that happened to you as a result of someone else’s negligence, then it is recommended that you take steps to pursue that claim as soon as possible after the incident. The sooner you start the legal process, the better chance of success you will have at being granted a favorable settlement or judgment.

Should You File a Personal Injury Case Yourself?

You can file a claim on your own behalf. However, before you do so, we encourage you to consider your options very carefully. It has been shown that you are much more likely to win your claim if you have a well-educated and experienced personal injury lawyer representing you. Not only are you more likely to win the case with legal representation, but you will also be more likely to be awarded a higher settlement amount.

It is also important to keep in mind that the party you are interested in filing a personal injury lawsuit against is probably going to surround themselves with legal counsel, especially if an insurance company is involved. Insurance companies have adjusters and lawyers on staff whose sole purpose is to get your personal injury claim denied or to settle it by paying you as little money as possible. It is one of the main reasons why it is so important for you to have legal representation in a personal injury case.

Legal consultations at the Law Office of Raúl A. Guajardo are free, so before you decide to go it alone, take the time to sit down and talk with an experienced personal injury lawyer at our firm and let us give you legal insight into your case. You will probably end up being surprised by how much you did not know and how many different ways we can help you.

5 Steps to Filing a Personal Injury Claim and Getting Resolution

There are several steps that may be a part of the legal process to solve your claim. It is a lot more complicated than just filing some papers and going to court. A large majority of personal injury lawsuits never see the inside of a courtroom.

We will go over the major steps in the process and how they can play out. Keep in mind that these are just the major steps; some additional steps may be required and there can always be negotiations, which may cause you and your lawyer to repeat a step.

Filing a Complaint or Petition

Your claim officially starts when a complaint or petition is filed in court. This is generally an outline of the case that you will present to the court with details about your case against the defendant. It will also name the defendant of the lawsuit, establish the court’s jurisdiction over the lawsuit, and state your legal claims and supporting facts. Your complaint or petition should include the amount and type of restitution that you seek.

Summons

In the summons, the court notifies the defendant of the fact that he has been sued, the date the matter will be heard, and the location of the court where the matter will be heard. The summons must be legally served on the defendant and signed for by the defendant. The defendant will be directed to respond within a certain amount of time. If the defendant does not respond within the required time, then the defendant will be in default and a judgment may be entered against the defendant.

Answer

This is exactly what it sounds like. It is the defendant’s reply to your lawsuit, and it indicates how the defendant intends to proceed. The lawsuit can start to get complicated here. The defendant may place a counterclaim against you that is similar to your complaint. The lawsuit may also have a cross-claim by another party or the defendant may try to pass the blame on to a third party in an attempt to absolve themselves of any wrongdoing. Often when this happens, the third party then becomes part of the lawsuit.

Settlement

During settlement negotiations, you and the defendant (or your attorneys) may attempt to resolve the dispute. You may go back and forth several times as each party makes offers and the other party responds with counter-offers. If no settlement can be reached, then the case will be resolved in court.

Trial

This is the first attempt to resolve the lawsuit in a courtroom. It will most likely involve selecting a jury, both sides presenting their cases, and a verdict being reached. The process may end here or it may continue through the legal system.

Appeal

If you or the defendant are not happy with the trial results and there is a legal basis for appeal, then you or the defendant may appeal the case to the proper court.

Of course, this process can be a lot more complex than what is written here, but this outline gives a good frame of reference on what to expect from the personal injury claims process. As you can see it can quickly become complicated, which is why most people choose to have legal representation instead of trying to prove their case by themselves. Please contact us directly for a free consultation about your rights and about how we can help you with a personal injury case.

When a car accident, workplace tragedy, or criminal act takes the life of an innocent person, many people can be deeply affected by the loss. Friends, co-workers, and significant others may want to do something to make the responsible party pay for what he or she has done. However, only certain people are eligible to take civil action against a careless or negligent person or business in Texas. We take a look at who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Texas.

Why File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

It may seem senseless to take legal action after the loss of a family member. After all, you know nothing will bring your loved one back, so why go through the pain and difficulty of a court proceeding? We understand your hesitation, but when you lose someone who was a financial provider and loving caregiver because of a negligent person’s actions, you are entitled to recover what you can and to hold that person accountable for his or her actions.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?

In Texas, as in most other states, only those with a legal connection to the deceased may file for damages. The Texas Wrongful Death Act allows for the following family members to sue for damages when a person is wrongfully killed:

• Parents of the deceased
• Children of the deceased, biological or adopted
• Spouse of the deceased

Any of these family members may file, or they may file as a group. Generally, compensation will be given to all eligible family members with the judge or jury deciding how much each party will receive. A wrongful death attorney may be hired to demonstrate the financial and personal losses suffered by his client so that appropriate compensation can be assigned. Siblings, grandparents, and significant others—no matter how longstanding the relationship was—are not eligible to file a wrongful death suit in Texas.

The Law Office of Raúl Guajardo Can Help

If you have lost a parent, child, or spouse in an accident involving negligence or wrongdoing, contact our legal team to learn how we can help. We understand that this is a difficult time and we will handle your case with the compassion and care it deserves. Connect with us through the link on this page, and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.

Yes. When a product does not include sufficient instructions or warnings and a person using the product is injured or made ill as a result, this is known as defective marketing. Even when you have a well-designed and well-made product, if it does not warn consumers of potential hazards, you could have a product liability claim against the manufacturer or distributor.

Examples of Defective Marketing

There are three types of flaws that could lead to a product liability claim: defective design, defective manufacturing, and defective marketing, also known as failure to warn. While the first two claims have to do with how the product was designed and put together, the third claim relates to the way it is packaged and sold. Does it offer sufficient warnings of possible side effects or dangerous uses? Is it targeted to an inappropriate age group? Are instructions for its correct and safe use easy to understand? When there is a failure in one of these areas, a consumer who is injured may have a claim against the manufacturer to recover damages. Some examples of defective marketing claims include the following:

• Prescription or over-the-counter drugs that don’t contain sufficient warning of possible severe side effects.
• Cleaning products that can cause chemical burns but do not include instructions to wear rubber gloves when using the product.
• A toy or child’s product that claims to be lead-free but is not.
• Toys with small parts that do not warn parents to keep them away from young children.
• Television commercials that show a product—such as a car—being used by a professional in a protected environment without informing the consumer of the special circumstances.

What You Will Have to Prove to Win a Defective Marketing Claim

These claims are not always easy to win. For one thing, it does not apply to situations where a reasonable person would have been aware of the potential danger. For example, giving a sharp knife to a young child because the knife did not have a warning label telling you not to would not be an acceptable claim. Also, the consumer must have been using the product exactly as it was designed to be used. Using a kitchen cleaning product as a facial cleanser and suffering skin damage, for example, would not justify a failure to warn claim.

Contact a Lawyer If a Product Harmed You

If a product injured you, your first step—after seeking medical treatment—should be to call a product liability attorney. The Law Office of Raúl A. Guajardo helps residents of South Texas understand their rights to a dangerous or defective product lawsuit. Contact us today to learn more.

There is no doubt that working on a Texas oil field is dangerous work. With oil production rates increasing across the country, the rates of injury and death in the oil industry are also increasing. According to a 2012 Houston Chronicle investigation, Texas accounts for about 40 percent of all oil field deaths in the U.S. How are these accidents occurring and what should you do if you are injured? Find out here.

Causes of Texas Oil Field Accidents

Oil fields and oil rigs are dangerous work environments and any number of things can go wrong, especially when employers do not have sufficient safety measures in place. The following types of accidents account for many of the injuries and deaths on Texas oil fields:

• Explosions
• Transportation accidents
• Falls
• Exposure to toxic fumes
• Fires
• Defective equipment

What to Do When You Are Hurt

If you are injured while working on an oil field, it is important that you take the following steps:

1. Seek medical attention. Obviously, if you are seriously hurt, you should seek immediate emergency medical treatment, but even if you feel that your injury is minor, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. If you have to make a claim for compensation with your company, you will want medical records to support you. Follow the doctors’ instructions and make sure you are fully healed before returning to work.
2. Report the incident. Report your injury to your supervisor as soon as you are able. Fill out an incident report and gather witness statements if possible. Also, if you feel that an unsafe work environment caused your injury, consider reporting it to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
3. Call an attorney. It is unlikely that your employer carries workers’ compensation insurance since Texas law does not require it, but you can still seek compensation from your employer for your injuries if he is at fault in any way. A Texas work injury attorney will investigate the accident and pursue compensation on your behalf.

Call the Law Office of Raúl A. Guajardo

If you are injured on an oil field in Texas, call work injury attorney Raúl Guajardo. He will help you understand your rights and fight to get you the compensation you deserve.

Car accidents happen unexpectedly, and those involved are often in shock afterward. It can be difficult to have the presence of mind to take the steps you should take after a car crash, but if you are able to get contact and insurance information from others involved, you may discover that the other driver does not have liability insurance. When this happens, you have a few options.

Your First Step Should Be to Call an Attorney

When a driver who caused a crash does not have insurance, getting the compensation you deserve becomes more difficult. An experienced car accident attorney will make sure every possible source of compensation is investigated, including the at-fault driver’s personal assets and the victim’s insurance policies.

Collecting Compensation From Personal Assets

Drivers in Texas are not technically required to have car insurance, but they are legally responsible for paying for any damage they cause. Most people protect themselves from having to use personal resources by buying insurance. When a driver does not have insurance, an attorney’s first course of action will be to look at his personal assets. If they are significant, the attorney will file a claim for compensation against the driver. Unfortunately, most uninsured drivers do not have personal fortunes to pay your damages.

Looking at Your Own Insurance Policies

If you have car insurance, you probably also have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. In Texas, this coverage is automatically included in every car insurance policy, and you would have to submit a request in writing to reject it. If you do have it, you would file a claim against it, and there should be no difficulty getting the payment. Other coverages you may have in your policy that would kick in in this situation include medical payments coverage and personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. If you have a health insurance plan, it should cover any medical treatments that are not paid for by other insurance sources.

Protect Yourself Financially and Legally

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), around 1 in 8 Texas drivers is uninsured. This means your odds of being in an accident with one are fairly high. Protect yourself by carrying as much uninsured motorist coverage as you can afford and by hiring Raúl Guajardo to represent you when you do not know where to turn for compensation. Connect with us today to learn more.