Injury Cases The Anderson Law Firm Does Not Accept

The Anderson Law Firm does not take every case presented to us. Sometimes we turn a case down because it simply does not pass our Three-Legged Stool Test, but that's not always the situation. At times, a case seemingly passes our test but other reasons prevent us from accepting it. We try to give guidance to each and every person who calls us. We'll also refer matters to other qualified lawyers when it's appropriate. The following are cases we do not accept:

Injured Party at Fault
If you are primarily at fault for your accident, we will not accept your case. Stated another way, the accident must be the fault of the other person. If the injury is your own fault, then it fails the liability part of our Three-Legged Stool Test.

Intentional Acts
If you've been injured by the intentional act of another person, we will not be able to work on your case. The reason for this is that normal insurance policies exclude intentional acts and only cover negligent acts. As such, if you've been harmed by an intentional act it's not likely that there's any insurance coverage available to compensate you.

Property Damage Only
If you were not injured in an accident, but instead only your motor-vehicle sustained damage, we won't be able to accept your case. We only handle cases involving bodily injury. (But our firm will assist our injury clients with their property damage claims as a courtesy while handling the bodily injury portion of their case.)

Slip and Falls
This is a very common type of personal injury claim and can result in serious injury, such as broken bones. However, due to the difficulty in establishing liability, we will in all likelihood not be able to take your case. The law in Texas makes it hard to prove that the property owner is responsible for your injury if you fall on someone's property. Stated generally, the law requires that a property owner had to "know or should have known" of the dangerous condition which caused your fall. The most common example of this type of claim is a fall due to a wet substance on the floor at a store or business. A claimant must prove that the store "knew or should have known" about the wet condition on the floor and did not act upon such knowledge. The difficulty you will encounter is proving this knowledge. Essentially, you must prove how long the wet substance was on the floor. If it was on the floor very long, obviously the store "should have known" about the condition. However, it's virtually impossible to prove how long the wet condition existed.

Attorney Mark A. Anderson has handled a select few slip and fall cases in the past and has had some success for his clients. However, these cases are very difficult to win. If we can't win, we can't make our clients happy, and we want happy clients. As such, we generally do not take slip and fall cases. As an exception, we will certainly consider your case if the defendant created the condition, such as mopping a floor but not putting up a warning sign. In that type of situation, the property owner certainly knew about the condition as they were the ones who created the condition. We find the chance of succeeding in these cases is much higher than on a typical slip and fall action.

Food-Caused Illnesses
If you've become sick due to eating bad or contaminated food at a restaurant, we won't be able to handle your case. Generally, the damages in these types of cases are relatively minor. While food poisoning is not something that any of us care to endure, for the most part, food-illnesses do not last very long and require minimal medical treatment.

Medical Malpractice
In the past, we've represented many victims of medical malpractice. These cases were always difficult and expensive to pursue, but we always felt it was worth the effort because we were able to achieve quite a bit of success for our clients and their families. However, in 2003 the Texas Legislature passed significant tort reform as it relates to medical malpractice cases. Since then, we have not taken any medical malpractice cases. Basically, our legislature changed the law to limit the amount of damages that could be recovered by an injured party due to medical malpractice. This limitation, combined with the incredible expense and time it takes to pursue this type of action, it does not make economic sense for me take on these types of cases anymore.

Statute of Limitations Deadline
Texas law requires that you must file a lawsuit within two years of the date of your injury or your right to bring a claim will expire. If you call us right before the statute of limitations is about to expire, we will not be able to help you. We need time after we receive your initial call to investigate your case and decide if it's one we can win. Most investigations cannot happen overnight. This is why it's so important that you don't wait until the last possible moment before you contact me or any other injury attorney to help you with your case. If you have a valid personal injury claim, do not put it on the back burner. Do yourself a favor by contacting a lawyer as soon as possible.

Free Consultation

For a free consultation on your injury claim, call the Anderson Law Firm at 817-294-1900 or contact us online.

References:

Injury Cases The Anderson Law Firm Accepts
Three-Legged Stool Test