Item: Law Office of Doug Goyen
Rating: 5
Author: Socorro V.

Liability Issues in Auto Accidents

Attorney Doug Goyen Our firm has years of experience successfully negotiating and litigating car accident injury cases in order to obtain the highest possible compensation for our clients. The most common type of personal injury claim is made by victims of car accidents, motorcycle accidents, and truck accidents. These claims are typically based on the negligence theory.

In most Texas vehicle accidents, the injured party, known as the plaintiff, must prove the defendant’s negligence in order to seek compensation. Furthermore, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant’s negligence was the actual and proximate cause of the accident as well as the plaintiff’s injuries. Contact one of our Dallas accident attorneys to assist you with this process. Call the Law Office of Doug Goyen at (972) 599 4100 to help with your personal injury case or claim.

Call For A Free Case Review (972) 599-4100

LIABILITY CONCERNS IN TEXAS AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS

Who was to blame? In personal injury cases, the legal term for this question is “liability”. You must first establish that the other person was liable and “at fault.” Your Dallas personal injury attorney will assist you in this by demonstrating how the other party was negligent. In the law, negligence is divided into four parts: 1) duty – there is a duty; 2) breach – there was a breach of that existing duty; 3) causation – that the breach caused damages; and 4) damages – what were the harms and losses caused by the breach.

Every case is unique. The same actions that are considered negligent in one situation may not be considered negligent in another. Insurance companies are notorious for using excuses like “act of God,” “phantom driver,” “unavoidable accident,” “contributory negligence,” and others to avoid paying a claim that most people would think should be a no-brainer that the insurance company should cover.

Acts of God are typically weather-related – in other words, God caused the accident, not their driver, who was driving too fast for the wet roads – it was God’s fault for making the road wet (I don’t endorse this argument, just letting you know it’s a common defense theme of insurance companies – I believe that if you go out on the road in ice, you should drive slow enough that you don’t slide – an accident). Our lawyers work as a North Texas attorney, Wichita Falls injury attorney, Plano accident lawyer, and Dallas injury attorney and are familiar with weather pattern defenses. If you drive in certain weather conditions, you are aware that you must exercise greater caution – if you do not, and you cause a personal injury, you and your insurance company are liable).

Phantom drivers are those who allegedly swerved into, bumped into, or cut into the lane of the at-fault driver, causing him to make the sudden lane change, rear-end you, or do whatever he did. They are referred to as “phantom drivers” because no one else saw them and they did not stop. So there is no evidence other than the defendant driver “claiming” that this “phantom driver” caused the entire incident, not him.

Accidents that were unavoidable are those in which the defendant driver claims that he did everything that anyone else in his situation would have done. The accident was simply…unavoidable. The roads were extremely slick. The curve in the road obstructed his vision. The glare from the water blinded him (also see Act of God), the traffic stopped so abruptly that no one could have stopped in time – it was simply unavoidable…

Contributory negligence occurs when the defendant claims that you contributed to your own injury in some way. You could have slammed on the brakes to avoid him as he sped through the red light. You should have seen him approaching from behind and moved out of the way so he didn’t rear-end you. You should have seen him turn left in front of you without warning and slowed your vehicle enough to avoid the collision. To avoid a collision with him, you could have swerved into the oncoming lane of traffic. All of these are instances where the defendant driver’s insurance company attempts to argue that you somehow contributed to your own injury.

Call For A Free Case Review (972) 599-4100

Every situation is distinct. Personal injury attorneys can assist you in navigating the insurance company’s defenses. Personal injury cases are rarely as simple as they appear. You will require the services of an attorney who is familiar with the North Texas court systems and settlement values. If you require the services of an automobile accident attorney, please contact us immediately for a free consultation. (972) 599 4100 is our phone number.

FREE CASE REVIEWS

If you are looking for a Dallas automobile accident lawyer, call (972) 599 4100. We offer free phone consultations. We also provide a free strategy session. The strategy session includes a summary of your case, legal issues involved, and legal issues we identify as being critical to maximizing the compensation owed.

THERE IS NO FEE IF WE DO NOT WIN

You owe us nothing if we are unable to recover. We charge a contingency fee structured to take a percentage of what we recover. As a performance-based contract, the better we do for you, the better we do for ourselves. This aligns our interests in the case with our client’s interests.

DIRECTIONS TO OUR OFFICE

Law Office of Doug Goyen
15851 Dallas Pkwy #605
Addison, Texas 75001
(972) 599 4100 phone
(972) 398 2629 fax

Directions to our office: We are on the southbound side of the service road to the Tollway. Stay on the Dallas North Tollway until you come to the Keller Springs exit. Take the Keller Spring exit. Stay on the service road on the southbound side and go just past Keller Springs. Our office is the 2nd building south of Keller Springs, located on the service road to the North Dallas Tollway in the Madison Business Center on the 6th floor.

By Doug Goyen, douggoyen@goyenlaw.com

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★★★★★

You want a great lawyer who keeps you informed on whats going on speaks with you personally and gets the job done call Doug Goyen. He is excellent & very professional you wont go wrong choosing him!! Thanks again for all your help Mr. Goyen! Socorro V.

Very efficient staff. I am VERY pleased with this firm. Gina W.

Very professional job handling my accident claim. I had some ER bills, and some visits to my ortho after (and various other bills that kept coming in). I was afraid I was going to get stuck owing money, but Doug Goyen took care of the case and had everything paid, including compensating me for the injury. Great lawyer IMO. I felt like my case was taken care of very well. Thx!! Bernard M.

Doug is a great attorney. He took care of my auto accident claim promptly, and answered any questions I had. I also had one of my hospital bills go into collections for non-payment. I was able to contact Doug a year after the accident, and received a copy of the check the hospital claimed they didn’t receive. I highly recommend this guy. David J.

The Law Office of Doug Goyen helped me recovery every bit I was owed on my claim. Very happy I used them. They knew what they were doing, and kept me informed. I felt taken care of the whole way. You wont go wrong using them. Arthur H.

Mr. Goyen helped me take on my own insurance company, the great and mighty Allstate. My prior firm basically dumped me, with a permanent injury because the case didn’t meet their financial guidelines for a settlement. I was a bicycle rider hit by a car driver at an intersection, and Allstate was the company on BOTH SIDES OF THE CLAIM. My own insurance company tried to throw me under the bus to limit their payout! Without Mr. Goyen’s help, I would have been left with NOTHING! I had thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills, unable to receive treatment to correct the issue. He was unafraid and helped me get the best settlement I could … I am tremendously thankful! Pamala M.

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