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According to the Texas Department of Transportation, in 2021, the State of Texas reported 552,224 motor vehicle crashes throughout the entire state. Based on the reportable motor vehicle crashes, the State of Texas experiences:
In 2021, Harris County, Texas alone had a total of 114,674 reported motor vehicle crashes. Car accidents are often caused by negligent or distracted drivers whose behavior leads to avoidable crashes. If you’ve been involved in a car accident that was caused by someone else’s actions or negligence, the attorneys of Lakhani & McGrath can help you seek the justice you are owed.
Even seemingly minor car accidents can result in major personal injuries. Injuries people sustain in car accidents can drastically vary, but some of the most common injuries are the following:
After an auto accident, your primary concern should be your own health, and everything else can wait. It’s important that you and your family get the medical care you need. Before you worry about anything else, take care of yourself physically and emotionally. If you do not have health insurance or cannot afford to pay for your medical care out of your own pocket, the team at Lakhani & McGrath can help you locate medical providers that will treat patients without health insurance.
If you’ve been in a car crash, seeking the compensation you need to cover your losses can often be difficult and there is no one single solution. Most losses sustained in a car accident can be categorized as economic damages, which are meant to compensate victims for damages that have a specific cost, and non-economic damages, which are meant to compensate people for damages that cannot be calculated. Economic losses can typically include the following:
Non-economic losses can typically include the following:
Depending on the facts related to your case, and your own insurance, this could entail filing a claim with your insurance company, filing a claim with the other driver’s insurance company, or filing a lawsuit in court. No matter the details of your accident, it is always best to file a claim as soon as possible, as each type of claim has its own set time limits. As a result, it is advisable to consult with an attorney for advice on how to proceed forward with the claim. Many car accident cases are simple and straightforward, but it can only help you to enlist the aid of an experienced personal injury attorney. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a car accident, do not hesitate to call the attorneys of Lakhani and McGrath for a free consultation.
As car accident attorneys, our goal is to help you seek the appropriate compensation for any injuries you or your loved ones have sustained from the collision.
Getting into an accident with tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers, semis, big rigs, or other large commercial vehicles can be disastrous and bring your life to a complete standstill. With an incredible weight of up to 80,000 pounds, all it takes is one false move by the driver to endanger the lives of everyone around them—including you and your loved ones. A dramatic difference in size compared to the average passenger vehicle, which typically only weighs around 5,000 pounds.
Considering the much heavier weight and overall mass of these vehicles, it can take big rigs almost 720 feet, or about two football fields, to stop. If conditions are rainy and streets are slick, or if a truck’s brakes are poorly maintained, the stopping distance will be even longer. So, it’s not surprising that these collisions often cause catastrophic injuries and even death.
Across the United States, there are over 400,000 accidents that involve large trucks every year, with an average of 10 deaths per day. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) studied 120,000 large truck crashes and found that 87% of the accidents were caused by negligence of the truck driver. Some of the negligent activities found by FMCSA consisted of the following:
The claims are complex, and the drivers are not usually Texas residents and the companies that own these commercial vehicles are generally out of state corporations. Further, there are multiple parties involved, including:
These companies carry high-limit insurance policies and have their own teams of attorneys ready to protect their best interests – meaning you’re at huge disadvantage if you try to face them on your own. Call the attorneys of Lakhani and McGrath for a free consultation.
If you or a passenger is seriously injured, don’t try to move. Call 911 immediately, follow the instructions of the phone operator, and wait for help to arrive.
If no one is seriously injured, take a few deep breaths and do the following:
Typically, when a drunk driver causes a car wreck, he or she will obviously be the one at fault. However, a bar, tavern, or restaurant that serves or sells alcoholic drinks can also potentially be liable under Texas’ Dram Shop law for the wreck caused by the intoxicated driver. The purpose of Texas’ dram shop laws is to protect the public from the potential danger of over-serving alcohol to patrons. When bars, restaurants, liquor stores, or even gas stations sell alcohol to an intoxicated person, the consequences can be serious or even fatal. In 2021, Texas reported 25,283 car accidents involving a driver operating his vehicle under the influence of alcohol with 1,077 fatalities occurring in those crashes. Of the overall total, Harris County, Texas reported 4,140 car crashes involving an intoxicated driver with 158 reported fatalities and an additional 320 reported crashes involving serious injuries.
Texas has passed certain statutes that govern the liability of establishments with respect to the service of alcohol. These statutes control what is known as dram shop liability and can potentially allow an injured party to hold a restaurant, bar, nightclub, liquor store, or gas station responsible for injuries or death caused by the service of alcohol. Texas’ Dram Shop law can be found in the Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Code, and states that an entity or who sells alcohol can be held liable for injuries if,
The term “obvious intoxication” is not the same as “legal intoxication.” Texas law provides that anyone 21 years or older with a blood or breath alcohol concentration level of .08% or higher is considered legally intoxicated. However, a person can still be legally intoxicated without being obviously intoxicated as required under the Texas Dram Shop Act. Proving a drunk driver was obviously intoxicated can be a difficult and complex process. There are different types of evidence that can establish the obvious intoxication of an individual such as the amount of alcohol consumed, rate of consumption, appearance, or behavior of the person purchasing the alcohol.
If you have been involved in a car accident with a drunk driver the attorneys at Lakhani & McGrath can assist you with the full investigation of your claim and gather the necessary evidence to prove your case at trial. Contact the attorneys at Lakhani & McGrath for a free consultation.
Have you or a loved one been injured on the job? Whether a work-related injury is minor or catastrophic, you are entitled to receive appropriate care and compensation. Some of the most common types of work accident cases include:
Some of the factors that typically lead to workplace accidents include:
You may be wondering what your rights are. Don’t assume your employer will willingly take care of your medical bills, damages, and loss of time off work. This is often not the case! Many times, your employer will refuse to pay for your medical bills and may even refuse to give you your job back when you recover from your injuries. Texas does not require most private employers to have workers’ compensation insurance coverage.
Employers not providing workers’ compensation insurance coverage are referred to as non-subscribers.
The distinction between workers’ compensation and non-subscribers is very important.
Workers’ compensation is an insurance program managed by the State of Texas. It provides benefits to people who are injured or become ill on the job. It is a “no-fault” program, meaning that workers are entitled to benefits after a workplace injury without having to prove who caused the injury. They are covered from their first day on the job. The idea of the insurance is that workers can get benefits without a court battle, but the tradeoff is that you can’t sue your employer for your injuries when they carry workers’ compensation insurance. However, when an employer’s intentional conduct has caused workplace injuries, that employer may be sued to recover damages.
Texas employers may voluntarily opt out of workers’ compensation by purchasing insurance from a private insurance company, self-insure if they meet specific requirements, or group together with other private employers to self-insure through the Texas Department of Insurance.
Even if your employer tells you they have insurance, it pays to find out if they are a non-subscriber and speak to the attorneys at Lakhani & McGrath before you sign any documents other than the required accident reports. Texas law is very generous in nonsubscriber cases, if the employer is found to be just 1% at fault in causing the injury, the employer is on the hook for 100% of the damages.
For employers that provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage, Texas law limits the employer’s liability for work-related injuries of employees. Non-subscribers are not given these legal protections. This means that if an injured employee files suit and can prove that the injury was due to the employer’s negligence, the non-subscriber could be subject to high damage awards, including punitive damages and damages for pain and suffering. The employer might also be required to pay defense-related legal expenses, such as attorneys’ fees.
Non-subscribers also lose certain common-law defenses, including:
These are the basic steps you should take to document your accident or injury:
If you have suffered a workplace injury or loss of a loved one, Lakhani & McGrath can help you navigate the legal maze necessary for putting your life back together while you and your loved ones focus on healing.
Property owners have a responsibility to ensure their property is safe for visitors as well as themselves. If a property owner fails to ensure their property is safe for visitors – for instance failing to display wet floor signs after mopping the floor or a construction crew fails to properly display appropriate warning signs to warn people of potential hazards – they can be held liable for any injuries caused as a result of their failures.
There are multiple factors that can potentially affect the outcome of a premises case. The status of the injured person can greatly influence what a person has to prove to recover compensation at the time of trial. For instance, if a potential plaintiff is trespassing on someone else’s property and gets hurt, that individual is unlikely to recover damages for their injuries. However, if the property owner has a reason to believe or knows trespassers are common on his or her property, he or she could still be held responsible for not taking the necessary steps to warn the trespassers of the potential dangers on the property.
In the state of Texas, a person injured on someone else’s property must meet four elements to recover against the property owner or occupier.
If anyone of the elements is not met, the injured person will not be able to successfully pursue a claim against the property owner or occupier under a theory of premises liability.
Common types of premises claims consist of but are not limited to the following:
Again, the common element in all of these examples is a dangerous or hazardous condition on the property that the property owner or occupier knew or should have known about through the exercise of reasonable diligence.
Premises cases are not always simple and straight forward and an experienced personal injury attorney can offer sound advice, which could be the difference between collecting the compensation you are owed or walking away empty-handed. If you or a loved one has been injured on someone else’s property, please contact the attorneys of Lakhani & McGrath for a free consultation to determine what your case may be worth. Our goal is to help you seek the maximum and appropriate amount of compensation for any injuries you or your loved ones have sustained.
There is nothing more devastating than losing someone you love in an accident, especially when caused by another party’s negligence. Emotional suffering and financial uncertainties often follow a family member’s death. No amount of financial compensation can change the devastating event that occurred. If you lost a family member in an accident you believe was caused by another person’s carelessness, recklessness, or intentional misconduct, then you should speak to the attorneys at Lakhani & McGrath about a wrongful death claim. We will ensure your case is handled effectively. Financial recovery cannot bring your loved one back, but it can alleviate some of the stress you face after a sudden loss.
Wrongful death lawsuits allow surviving family members to hold the negligent defendants legally responsible and recover the financial resources needed to provide for themselves and their family members in their loved one’s absence.
The surviving spouse, children, and parents are permitted to file wrongful death claims. If the deceased didn’t have children or wasn’t married at the time of death, the lawsuit can be filed by other family members or the estate itself, through the Executor or Administrator.
A monetary recovery may seem like little consolation, but, unfortunately, the bills continue even in your loved one’s absence and can add stress to what’s already the most difficult time of your life.
A wrongful death suit is often the only way families can hold at-fault parties responsible for their loved one’s death and ensure that they’re able to move forward, financially, in their loved one’s absence.
Under Texas law, victims are entitled to recover economic and “non-economic damages,” which may include the following:
Additionally, you may be entitled to exemplary damages. Exemplary damages punish the defendant for the death caused and discourage carelessness or any other action that may lead to wrongful death.
Living all along the Texas Gulf Coast, Texas residents are all too familiar with the damage that can occur as a result of strong wind or hailstorms. Insurance companies regularly deny or undervalue valid claims for windstorm and hail damage. Even if the evidence is overwhelmingly clear, Texas residents will sometimes have to clear multiple hurdles to recover the proper amount they are owed under the insurance policy. Texas law imposes strict penalties for insurance companies who fail to comply with the Texas Insurance Code regarding notification, investigation, and payment of claims.
If you or your business has sustained structural damage from fire, flood, hail, hurricane, or storm damage, please contact Lakhani & McGrath for a free consultation to ensure you receive what you are owed.
The construction of a personal residence or commercial building is a complicated process involving multiple parties. Most property owners heavily rely on their design professionals and contractors to deliver a safe and properly constructed building. The high costs of today’s construction services reflect these realities. However, the reality is construction projects are usually never perfect, and often the construction process can result in defective and poor workmanship. These potential defects can result in significant financial hardships for property owners relying on their design professionals and contractors.
Some construction defects can be obvious while other defects only become apparent after many years. Some signs of potential defective construction can include but are not limited to the following:
Construction companies and other contractors are required to perform their duties in a good and workmanlike manner while following all of the applicable building codes and construction standards. Most construction defects are the result of these companies and contractors failing to adhere to these standards. Additionally, construction companies and contractors are following architectural and engineering plans which could also potentially contain design defects, which can be typically hard to spot or observe during the construction process.
Successfully bringing and proving a construction defect or design defect claim can be a long and difficult process requiring experienced construction litigation lawyers. Attorneys with experience in litigating construction issues can greatly increase your chance of recovery and make the process much easier and smoother. The attorneys at Lakhani & McGrath have extensive experience dealing with defective construction cases involving residential homes, condominiums, and commercial buildings such as apartment complexes and strip centers. If you have a newly constructed building and it is experiencing issues, you may have a potential claim against the companies that designed or constructed your building, and we encourage you to reach out to the attorneys at Lakhani & McGrath for a free consultation.
