How Long Do Premises Liability Claims Take to Be Resolved?
That is a very tough question to answer, because there are so many variables. Number one, you have to have a competent lawyer who knows what to do, who can do it, and has the resources to do it the right way. The second question is: How severe are the injuries? If it is a soft tissue injury that takes only six weeks to resolve, then the medical care is defined, and rather limited. This way you can gather all that information quickly. In the case that I was telling you about with the skylights, it might take a year or two just to complete medical treatment. One thing I left out in answering your question about what a person should do, obviously, the first thing you do is take care of yourself medically, and all the legal issues will follow from there.
Get all the best medical care that you can get, and have all the appropriate medical care that is prescribed by the doctors, and indicated by your condition. Therefore, in the case of a very complicated medical situation, obviously we cannot go to court until we know the resolution of that, or at least have a good prediction from the medical staff. It can be based on where the patient is at a given point in time, and the doctors can tell us within a reasonable probability what the future medical care will entail. Therefore, in the case of severe injuries, the case will most likely take longer to develop. Once the lawsuit is filed, probably one year is reasonably average to think that litigation could be concluded.
Why Is It Critical to Hire an Experienced Attorney to Handle a Premises Liability Claim?
Clear liability is not a given even in these cases. The company or the insurance carrier on the other side of your case is going to have investigators, adjusters, and attorneys who work for them every day and know what they are doing. None of those people is ever going to admit that a given case is a case of clear liability. You have to prove it. The only way to prove it is with somebody who knows how to prove it. The statistics are interesting. Yes, you are going to give up a big chunk of your recovery; you are going to pay a big chunk of your recovery to your attorney at the end of the case, sometimes it is a third or forty percent, and in some types of specialized cases, it might even be fifty percent. The question is, will you be paying your attorney, forty percent of what?
The answer to that is statistics show attorneys representing claims on average for the same case will settle for five times as much when you are represented by an attorney over an individual trying to handle their own case. Many people think they know how to do what an attorney does. Sometimes they are right and they can perform some of the functions. However, on the other side, there is going to be a lawyer who went to four years of college, and three years of law school, and who is every bit as professional as your surgeon who operates on your back. You certainly do not want to perform surgery on yourself.
While it looks easy on TV as all I do is stand up and argue my case in front of the jury, and get the point across. There is nothing easy in this business, and we work hard every day to prosecute, and develop these cases. I am sure that most people could do my job if they have my experience. Another person with my experience could probably do just as good a job–if they have the experience. If not, it is more likely they will get a very poor result.
Additional Information Regarding Premises Liability Claims in Texas
In law, we talk about words, and we use words that are not familiar to most people. Premises liability is one of those terms that has developed over what kind of condition you have to have, and to create liability. I think if you think of it like this, if you use the phrase “Dangerous Condition”, I think that is more descriptive. It will be easier to recognize a potential case. If you just think in terms of dangerous conditions, or dangerous products, then that gives you a better idea about what this area of the law is all about. It is when somebody is injured by a dangerous condition, and that is what we specialize in. We will be happy to talk to you about your potential case anytime.
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