Can other state laws affect my Personal Injury Claim in Texas?

October 22, 2018 - Personal Injury

Injury outside of Texas

If you are involved in a personal injury claim, first of all, you should speak with an attorney. Preferably in your home state or county where the injury took place. Second, continue reading because the choices and outcomes are based on specific conditions related to the injury to establish proof of fault.

Reyna Law Firm help clients recover from injuries that occur in Texas, and in other states. Our experience and knowledge of the jurisdiction rules, injury laws, and legal criteria make a difference in settling the case.

We’ll make sure the court has jurisdiction over the claim when filing a lawsuit. If you intend to sue a particular individual, an organization or enterprise, the state of filing must have jurisdiction over the defendant.

Personal Injury Laws

Personal injury law involves an injury caused by a failure to provide reasonable care. The description of reasonable care varies from case to case. If a plaintiff is successful, damages, medical expenses, lost wages, and legal fees may be part of the compensation or settlement.

Types of injuries:

  • Truck Accidents
  • Motor vehicle accidents
  • Oilfield site injuries
  • Workplace injuries
  • Slip and fall incidents

Shared Fault

Some states along with Texas have shared fault rules that allow a defendant to argue that the plaintiff is at fault or partially responsible for the event leading to the injury. The legal terms used are pure comparative negligence, pure comparative fault, and modified comparative fault.

States adopting the 50 percent modified comparative fault law use it to determine the percentage of responsibility or negligence for each party. If your fault in the accident is proven to be less than 50 percent, you still have the right to compensation for your injuries. However, if the defendant demonstrates you were 50 percent or more responsible for causing the injury, your claim could be denied.

In State or Out of State Claims

In 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a seven percent increase in fatal injuries. More than three percent of these incidents affected full-time workers.

Transportation work injuries represented the most common and fatal incident during the same timeframe, accounting for 40 percent of personal injury accidents. Two other work-related injuries are exposure to harmful substances or environments with an increase of twenty-two percent.

In the State of Texas workplace accidents involving heavy equipment and machinery carry the highest rate of injury. Although workplaces are monitored and required to train employees, injuries still occur.

If you work out-of-state for a Texas-based employer, and your injury fits the same or acceptable condition stated in the Texas Workers’ Compensation, it’s most likely you are covered. Compensation is governed by the Texas Labor Code, section 406.075 citing the methods of recovery under another jurisdiction.

Injuries occurring in the State of Texas at an employer’s place of business fall under the state’s jurisdiction. Other elements to justify the claim must corroborate the injury happened within one year of being hired, or you worked in Texas for ten days or more before you sustained the injury.

There are important laws and legal principles for winning a personal injury case in Texas.

Texas imposes statutory limits on the time you have to file a lawsuit after suffering an injury. Timelines depend on the type of case you intend to file. Reyna Law Firm are ready to answer questions and help decide how best to proceed. Contact Juan Reyna today, he will sit down with you and work with you to create an excellent legal plan of action to get you the best possible outcome in your case.

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