Helping you with your injury

Many times, prospective clients indicate to us that they need help with their personal injury cases. Often times the problems is that people think that they can handle their own legal problems, simply because they have seen it on television. The fact of the matter is, they cannot.

Lawyers go through intensive training and develop skills with time that the lay person cannot posses by watching television. If you think about it, insurance companies have top lawyers representing them. With that in mind, you should too.

We received a call today that the person wanted help. They wanted us to answer one question because the statute of limitations was tomorrow, so they needed advise. They mentioned numerous legal terms that were irrelevant to what they wanted to accomplish. We told them they did not need advise, they needed a miracle.

Our San Antonio law firm handles injury cases against negligent people. We often fight insurance companies to negotiate settlements on behalf of our clients. In every situation, the insurance companies tries to negotiate a case in order to minimize their exposure. Since we know that, we are able to use that tool for our client's advantage.

We also handle cases against police departments that have deviated from their principle duty to serve and protect. Although police forces enjoy what is called "qualify immunity," many times they have exceeded their authority which violates people's constitutional rights, and that is when we come in.

Please, if you have been injured in San Antonio, you need a lawyer that can handle your case. Do not do it alone. We offer free initial consultations in order to evaluate a case and give our clients the best possible answer.

Give us a try, and you will see the difference that our law firm has to offer.

Our law firm provides....

Our law firm provides personal service to our community and the public at large. If you have a problem with your insurance, we can help. We will get you the compensation that you deserve based on your injuries.

If you or your love one suffered a trauma, we can help. Our attorneys can handle cases that involve wrongful death, accidents, injury, and many more. Come see us, and one of our lawyers will take your case to a resolution.

A lawyer should be a compassionate individual and knowledgeable. Every attorney should be respected by peers and community. The Baez Law Firm, P.C. has those kinds of lawyers and staff members.

When people are involved in car accidents, they come see our personal injury attorneys that work with our firm. From small fender benders to large car accident, our team is here for you.

Our motto is simple, "we care about your legal needs!" We are San Antonio's premier law firm that handles your case with respect and dignity. Our lawyers handle car accidents, personal injury, family law, business law, criminal law, and many more areas of law.Including referal to other websites.

Insurance Coverage Matters

For the most part, before an attorney gets started in filing a claim, the availability and the total amount of insurance coverage will be a major factor in deciding whether the claim can go forward. Typical insurance issues people with serious injuries face are: 1) no insurance coverage (Uninsured motorists), 2) insufficient insurance coverage (underinsured Driver), or 3) Denial of claims, Bad Faith/Tough/Difficult Insurance Companies.

Our law firm The Baez Law Firm, P.C. specializes in providing our clients with the best representation through Texas in relation to car accidents. Our firm will handle your claim from beginning to end. Now, a further explanation of policies are in order.

1) Uninsured Driver. In many cases the driver who is legally responsible for the accident has absolutely no insurance of any kind. In these circumstances it is usually extremely difficult for a person who is injured in the crash to get anything close to appropriate compensation. If the injuries are catastrophic or fatal an attorney will hire an investigator to look for other parties responsible- other insurance "umbrella" policies, related homeowners owners or family members, companies etc but they often come up empty and the the injured person has no way to recover any damages. Because there are so many uninsured drivers you should always buy "uninsured motorist coverage" under your own auto insurance policy.

2) Underinsured Driver. In the event of a very serious injury or death the majority of drivers will have inadequate insurance coverage, usually the minimum required by state law often only around $20,000. This often means that the worst drivers carry the least insurance because they cannot afford the high premiums resulting from their poor driving records. You should always purchase underinsured motorist coverage if it is offered, so in the event you are injured by a another driver without proper insurance you can collect against your own insurance company.

3) Insurance Denial of Claims and Bad Faith. In order to save money insurance companies will often stretch and use imaginative arguments to deny claims. Sometimes these claims denials or defenses are so beyond being reasonable that they amount to what is called legal bad faith- when an insurance company improper fights a legitimate claims or denies one. In most cases these matters are handled through litigation in the courts.

If you have been injured in an accident, contact our law firm for a free initial consultation with one of our attorneys.

Statute of Limitations in Personal Injury Cases

After being in a car accident an injured person should hire an attorney and begin the legal process as soon as possible. Waiting will usually weaken a potential claim through loss of evidence, loss of fresh memories and disorganized paperwork and medical records and the inability of the attorney to direct the process. Waiting too long may result in the case being completely barred by the statute of limitations of the state where the accident took place.

Surviving a car accident

Even the best defensive driving classes and split-second decisions may not prevent you from becoming the victim of a life-threatening auto accident, but like the Mercedes Benz commercial says " you need to be ready in case it happens." According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the annual number of fatal collisions hovers around 40 thousand. As a driver, you should continually educate yourself and exhibit attentiveness and self-control on the roadways so you're more prepared to survive an auto accident.

We have collected information helpful for you, the driver, in order to survive a car collision, if it ever happens.

Step 1: Ready yourself mentally before you get on the road. Since you'll generally have little time to contemplate a course of action when faced with an oncoming collision, it is important to remain focused at all times. Turn off your cell phone, put away your hairbrush and turn down your radio. Be mindfully present when you're driving--not distracted.

Step2: Have your mechanic test and service your restraint and safety systems on an annual basis. Airbags and seat belts save countless lives each year, but only if they are in proper working order. If you purchase a used car, have the integrity of the safety systems evaluated before you begin to drive the car regularly.

Step3: Service your brakes, tires, transmission and suspension systems according to dealer recommendations, and sooner if you suspect a problem. Your car will only react as well as its systems are maintained. Driving with worn brake pads and bald tires may cause an accident to become serious, or even fatal.

Step4: Remain upright, gripping the steering wheel tightly at 10 and 2 o'clock and bracing yourself for a collision. Do not allow your body to go limp, as you need increased muscle tone and rigidity to protect your organs, spinal discs and skeletal system. It is better to suffer from sore muscles than a ruptured spleen or spinal fracture following an accident.

Step5: Get out of the vehicle and move away from the area if you can walk on your own. If you begin to smell smoke or see flames, run away from the car immediately to avoid an explosion. Your ability to survive may depend on your speed in extricating yourself from the vehicle and the accident scene.

Step6: Bail out of your vehicle immediately if it is headed toward or floating in a body of water. Once an automobile sinks below the water's surface, the doors and windows become nearly impossible to open due to the intense water pressure. If your door is stuck shut, kick out a window to exit the vehicle.

Step7: Resist the urge to duck toward the steering wheel before a collision. Upon impact, your head may strike the wheel and render you unconscious. In addition, if your vehicle is equipped with airbags, you could sustain serious burns from the airbag explosive or other damage due to the airbag's facial impact.

Step8: Sit at least 10 inches away from the steering wheel if your vehicle is equipped with an airbag. If you're seated closer, the airbag could break your ribs, or cause lung damage or other serious internal conditions. If you are too short to reach the pedals without moving the seat forward, purchase pedal extenders.

Step9: Adjust your headrest so it sits just above your ears. If your headrest is too low, you could incur serious or fatal cervical damage when your head impacts the rest.

Step10: Wear your seatbelt properly. Do not put the chest harness behind your back, as wearing only your lap belt subjects the spine to serious trauma upon collision impact.

This steps will help you prevent an accident; however, if you are involved in one, then please contact our law firm for help. Visit our website: http://www.thebaezlawfirm.com or http://www.sanantoniopersonalinjurytriallawyers.com for a free case evaluation.

Insurance law and terminology for the state of Texas

In the state of Texas, the law mandates minimum automobile liability insurance coverage for automobiles registered in the state. This includes property damages and personal injury coverage, which we will now discuss. Depending on the terms of the individual policy, liability insurance typically covers the cost of property damage, including the cost of repair or replacement for any property damaged as the result of an accident (property damage). Liability insurance also pays medical bills and lost wages as a result of bodily injuries incurred in an accident (personal injury).

Texas law requires that each car registered in the state have a minimum of $20,000 in insurance coverage for one person injured in an accident, and a minimum of $40,000 for all persons injured in an accident. These are considered (policy limits). In addition, Texas requires a minimum $15,000 in coverage for property damage.

Conversely, Texas law does not mandates coverage of policies, when you are involved in an accident with an uninsured, underinsured, or hit-and-run driver. The rationale is that every car, according to the law, should have its own coverage, hence, why have it. Such coverage typically pays medical bills and lost wages for you and your passengers, in a case where you cannot collect these damages from the driver at fault for the accident, and we highly encourage each consumer to get it.

Insurance companies are allowed to offer Texas drivers a choice between purchasing auto insurance for the traditional fixed installment at an annual rate, and the more innovative cents-per-mile rate. On the other hand, under the traditional system a car owner purchases insurance at an annual rate irrespective of the frequency with which the owner uses the car, under the cent-per-mile system, an owner pays for coverage only for those miles driven. Consult with your insurance company to see what type they offer to you.

Texas designed this system to make compulsory insurance more affordable, thereby reducing the incidence of illegally uninsured motorist. A cents-per-mile rate works in this way: An insurance company assigns your car to one of its rate groups according to your zip code, car use and type, driver type, and other information about your household. Your car might be put into a group paying $500 a year.

When the insurance company determins that the average miles a year for cars in your group was 10,000, the alternative mile rate for your group would be 5.0 cents a mile. If you chose the mile rate instead of the annual rate, you might initially buy 2,500 miles for $100 (= 5.0¢/mi. x 2,500 mi.) plus a nominal expense fee. The insurer would add these miles to your car's current odometer reading to determine the mileage at which coverage would end. Before you drive all these miles, you would have to buy more miles to remain legally insured.

The insurer may wish to purchase additional insurance coverage beyond compulsory insurance. In many cases, the owner of an automobile, may be held personally liable for any damages in excess of the insurance coverage. Purchasing additional coverage could protect your personal assets in case of a suit.

The following are the basic terminology used by insurance companies used when dealing with aditional insurance coverage. Basic Reparations or Medical Payments Coverage, Collision Coverage, and Comprehensive Coverage. Basic Reparations Coverage covers bodily injury and medical expenses of an at-fault driver who does not have medical insurance. Collision coverage pays for damages incurred by the at-fault driver in accidents involving collision. Finally, Comprehensive Coverage pays for damage to a vehicle not caused by collision, including damages caused by theft, vandalism, flood, fire, and explosion.

If you have been injured as a result of an accident, please contact our firm so that we can explain to you your legal rights. We specialize in any type of accident, including but not limited to auto, truck, airplane, boat, motorcycle, car, bus, rollovers, roof crush injuries, death, brain injury, multiple trauma, broken bones, fatal injuries and more. Please call us (210) 979-9777 or visit our website http://www.thebaezlawfirm.com or http://www.sanantoniopersonalinjurytriallawyers.com so that we can set you up a free initial consultation with our attorneys. We are The Baez Law Firm, and "we care about your legal needs!"

What is a personal injury case, and how we handle them?

Normally, personal injury cases are legal disputes that arise when one person suffers harm from an accident or injury, and someone else might be legally responsible for that harm. However, in Texas, the term "comparative negligence" or shared responsibility can be an issue to be resolved during a case, that may determine whether you have a personal injury case. There are two ways that personal injury cases can become handled; first, through civil court proceedings (or lawsuits) that seek to find others legally at fault through a court judgment or; second, such disputes may be resolved through informal settlement (or negotiations) before any lawsuit is filled. In Texas, the latter is the most common way of handling a personal injury case.

Lawsuits, in a personal injury case, typically start when a private individual (the plaintiff) files a civil complaint against another person, business, corporation, or government agency (the defendant), alleging that they acted carelessly or irresponsibly in connection with an accident or injury that caused harm. This action is commonly known as "the filing of a lawsuit."

Negotiations are usually among those personally involved in the accident, their insurers, and attorneys representing both sides. A settlement commonly takes the form of negotiation, followed by a written agreement in which both sides forgo any further action (such as a lawsuit), choosing instead to resolve the matter through payment of an agreeable amount of money and a release of liability.

Usually, personal injury cases involve some type of injury as well as property damage. Our law firm handles both aspect of your case. The personal injury aspect of it, may show in different forms. From neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, leg pain, spasms, contusions, pinch nerves, whiplash, and soft tissue injury, to broken bones, broken neck, amputations, lacerations, eye injury, multiple fractures, impaled objects, roof crush injuries, tire blowouts, car ejections, brain injury, severe trauma, and death.

If you have been a victim of an accident, and have a personal injury case, please contact The Baez Law Firm, P.C. so that an experienced attorney can handle your case . Visit our website http://www.thebaezlawfirm.com/ or http://www.sanantoniopersonalinjurytriallawyers.com so that we can start helping you on your case. Our principal office is located in San Antonio Texas, but we can handle your case anywhere in Texas.

It is important to know that before you meet with our attorneys for the first time after you've been injured, collect any documents you have relating to your accident and injury and place them in a folder or large envelope. Here's a list of some of the documents and other pertinent information to take with you to our lawyers, if applicable to your case.

Name and address of any ambulance service you may have used;

Name and address of any emergency room where you were initially taken;

Dates you were admitted to the emergency room and the hospital;

Names and business address of all doctors who have examined you;

Names and addresses of any chiropractors you may have consulted;

Names of all people who were involved in the accident;

Names and addresses of witnesses to the accident;

Dates you missed work because of the accident;

Name and telephone number of each insurance adjuster you have talked to;

List of people you have talked to about the accident or your injuries.

The following documents will help our attorneys handle your case better:

Accident report, or case number as given to you by the police;

Copies of any written statements;

Your automobile insurance policy if you were injured in a car accident along with the declarations page or coverage certificate that sets forth what kinds of coverage you have purchased and what the policy limits are;

Your home owner's or renter's policy, along with the declarations page or coverage certificate;

Medical or disability insurance policy or coverage certificate;

Other policies, including medical, hospitalization, veterans insurance;

All correspondence you have received from any insurer about the accident or your injuries;

Medical bills.

Again, our law firm is willing and able to help your case come to an end, either through litigation (lawsuit) or by negotiations. Let a team of experts handle your case, so that you can focus on doing what you do best. Contact us, and you will see how we put our knowledge to work for your advantage. Call our main office
(210) 979-9777 or visit our website. You will see why we say, "we care about your legal needs!"