How do I choose the right lawyer for my truck accident lawsuit? What are 3 tips for a successful truck accident lawsuit? What is my truck accident case worth? These and other frequently asked questions are answered by double board certified Houston personal injury attorney Richard LaGarde. Over the past 30 years he has successfully represented many victims of truck accidents in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Mr. LaGarde is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both Civil Trial and Personal Injury Trial law, a distinction achieved by less than 1/2 of 1% of Texas attorneys. Below are Mr. LaGarde’s answers to these and other frequently asked questions. By clicking on the + symbols, you can get Mr. LaGarde’s answers.
Truck Accident FAQs
Q: What are 3 tips for a successful truck accident lawsuit?
A: The first tip for a successful truck accident lawsuit.
If you have been injured in a truck accident lawsuit, the first and most important thing for you to do is to get to a doctor who can treat your symptoms and help you get better. That should always be your first priority. As an attorney, I can only get you proper compensation if we both know the true extent of your injuries and what, if any, pain and disabilities you will have in the future as a result of your accident. With the tremendous forces involved in a truck accident, it has been my experience that doctors often overlook injuries that are hard to diagnose. For example, I have seen a larger than expected number of truck accident victims who suffered traumatic brain injuries that are not diagnosed by treating physicians. For a list of signs and symptoms of brain injuries related to truck accidents, click >here<.
A: The second tip for a successful truck accident lawsuit.
The second thing you should do for a successful truck accident lawsuit is to find a lawyer who has experience in handling a large number of truck accident lawsuits. The trucking industry is heavily regulated by federal law. As a result, there are numerous requirements for truck maintenance, driver qualifications, driver rest periods, and truck operations that are potential sources of liability for trucking companies and truck drivers. Unless your lawyer is familiar with those regulations and trucking industry practices, he or she may miss opportunities to prove fault on the part of the company or its driver. After more than 30 years of representing truck accident victims in both Texas and Louisiana, I am familiar with industry custom and practice as well as the state and federal regulations that apply to trucks and truckers. Give me a call for a free and confidential discussion of your options. Or, if you prefer, fill out the Contact Us box here on our website. I am happy to answer your questions and to give you what advice I can about your potential case.
A: The third tip for a successful truck accident lawsuit.
If you have a serious truck accident injury, I recommend that you hire a serious lawyer who is a board-certified specialist in handling personal injury cases. If you had a serious life-threatening illness, you would look for a doctor who is a specialist in treating that type of illness. If you have a serious personal injury case that could forever change your life, why wouldn’t you want to hire a lawyer who is a specialist in handling personal injury cases? I am board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both personal injury and civil trial law. That’s a distinction achieved by less than 1/2 of 1% of Texas attorneys. You deserve to have a board-certified personal injury specialist on your side. If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, call me today and we can discuss what your options might be. We can’t undo what has happened. But you might be entitled to compensation for what you’ve been through. Call me today and we can have a free and confidential discussion about your case.
Q: How much will a truck accident lawsuit cost me?
A: It doesn't cost you anything to talk with me about your case.
I offer free consultations. If you have a question about your truck accident case, call me today for a free and confidential no-obligation consultation. Call me today at my Houston number, (713) 993-0660 or my Florida number (239) 500-6040, or my toll free number 1 (866) 524-2733. If you prefer, fill out the Contact Us Form at the top of this page and I will send you a quick answer to your question.
A: We handle truck accident cases on a contingent fee basis.
When you hire LaGarde Law Firm to represent you, we work on a contingency fee basis, which means that we are paid a percentage of the award or settlement that we win for you. We only get paid if you get paid. We only collect a fee for your truck accident claim if and when we obtain compensation for you. If we do not obtain a recovery for you, you do not owe us a fee and you do not need to reimburse us for court costs and expenses we have advanced on your behalf. Most clients find that this is a beneficial fee structure for several reasons.
When someone has suffered an injury, he or she may have medical bills and lost time from work. This is not a good time to have to pay an additional fee to a lawyer. The contingency fee system helps give you peace of mind that your attorneys are motivated to win your case and obtain the highest amount of compensation possible. Our attorneys spend time and money working on your case, and we are only compensated if we are successful. This means that if we agree to take your case, we intend to win.
As we do not charge a fee unless we obtain compensation for you, there is no reason to avoid calling us and consulting with us about your rights. Consultations are free of charge, and there are no upfront costs or hourly fees. Call us today.
For more details as to how a contingent fee agreement works, watch the video below. After you have watched it, feel free to call me if you have questions about contingent fee agreements.
How do I choose the right lawyer for my truck accident case?
Q: What is my truck accident case worth?
A: The value of a case depends on these factors.
Each case is unique. A case may be worth more or less depending on a number of factors, including the following:
the severity of your injury;
the facts surrounding your injury and the likelihood you can prove liability on the part of the defendant;
whether you are partially at fault in causing your injury;
whether your injury is permanent or temporary;
whether your injury will prevent you from returning to work;
whether your injury will result in a decrease in your future earning potential;
the size of your past and future medical bills;
the insurance company’s reputation for settling cases out-of-court;
the reputation and experience of the insurance company’s defense attorney;
the types of juries where your case is filed; and,
the propensity of the particular judge in your case to permit certain evidence to be considered by the jury.
If a lawyer tells you up front that he can get you a certain amount of money for your case without first considering all of these factors, that lawyer is either inexperienced or dishonest. If you want to have a free and confidential discussion about some of these factors and how they affect the value of your case, give me a call today.
Q: Will my case need to go to trial?
A: The odds are you will not need to go to trial.
The overwhelming majority of cases are settled out-of-court before trial. I believe in preparing a case as though it is going to be tried. If a case is properly prepared for trial, it is more likely to settle out-of-court than a case that is not properly prepared for trial.
Q: Who will gather the evidence to prove up my truck accident case?
A:We ensure your case is fully investigated.
As in other auto accident cases, it takes careful investigation to uncover all the evidence in a truck crash, 18-wheeler fire or explosion. The investigation may not always be properly conducted by law enforcement. Trucking operators are often large and powerful corporations with skilled attorneys ready to defend them against lawsuits. If you are the victim of a truck accident, you need an attorney with the experience and skills to gather and preserve evidence, aggressively defend your rights, stand up to powerful corporate interests and pursue your case as far as it must go.
Richard LaGarde is double-board-certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both personal injury and civil trial law, and has offices located in Houston, Texas, and Lafayette, Louisiana. His specialization and experience, combined with the LaGarde Law Firm’s individual attention to all clients, may be exactly what you need to recover damages for your injuries and to get your life back in order.
Attorney Richard LaGarde is double board certified in personal injury and civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has over 30 years of experience in handling truck accident injury cases in Texas and Louisiana. He is the former President of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association and the Houston Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.