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What a personal injury lawyer does comes down to this: the lawyer represents people who were hurt because someone else was careless, and handles the claim from the first review of the facts through settlement or trial. The job reaches well beyond the courtroom. It includes investigating the accident, collecting medical records, dealing with insurance adjusters, putting a value on the claim, negotiating, filing suit when a fair offer never comes, and seeing that your settlement check reaches you with the liens handled.
This post walks through each stage in the order it happens, using the way The Law Office of Joe Brad Brock works with injured people in Corpus Christi and across South Texas. You will see the whole job, from the first consultation to the final paperwork, before you make any decision about your own case.
What Is a Personal Injury Lawyer?
People who ask what a personal injury lawyer is usually want to know who will stand on their side after an accident. A personal injury lawyer is a civil lawyer who represents injured people, which is called the plaintiff side. The lawyer builds a claim on negligence or other wrongful conduct and brings it against the person, business, manufacturer, property owner or driver responsible for the harm. The goal is compensation for medical bills, lost income and the other ways the injury has changed daily life.
The need is large in Texas. In 2024, 251,977 people were injured in Texas motor vehicle traffic crashes, which works out to one person every two minutes and five seconds. In those same crashes, 4,150 people died and 18,218 people sustained a serious injury.
Joe Brad Brock represents clients across the firm's practice areas: car accidents, truck and 18-wheeler accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, Uber and rideshare accidents, wrongful death, oilfield and refinery injuries, product liability, slip and fall and premises liability, and dog bites. The laws that apply, the evidence required and the parties involved change with each kind of accident, and a personal injury lawyer knows which rules fit which case.
Reviewing Your Case and Explaining Your Options
The first step is a free consultation. You tell the lawyer what happened, and the lawyer looks at how the accident happened, who may be responsible, the extent of your injuries, the available evidence and the damages you have suffered. Those five points show what legal options you have and how strong each one is. While the case review is underway, you can begin treatment right away with the medical professionals you need, since getting healthy is part of the plan from the start.
Texas rules shape those options, so the lawyer explains them in plain terms. Texas generally gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, and the same two years apply to a wrongful death claim. Shared fault also matters. Under Texas law, a claimant may not recover damages if their percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent. At 50 percent or less, you can still recover, and your compensation is reduced by your share of the fault.
Insurance companies often point at the injured person to shrink a claim, so the lawyer reviews the evidence early to see where fault really sits. If the lawyer takes your case, the work moves straight into the property damage, the investigation and the insurance companies, which the next sections cover.
Investigating the Accident and Gathering Evidence
Evidence is easiest to collect right after an accident, so the investigation starts early. When the case calls for it, the firm begins gathering surveillance footage of the incident, taking witness statements and collecting physical evidence that can strengthen your claim. Police reports are requested and read alongside everything else. Video is often recorded over on a schedule, and vehicles get repaired or moved, which is why the first weeks carry so much weight.
Some cases need more than records and photographs. A crash involving a commercial truck, a defective product or an industrial site can raise technical questions, and the lawyer can bring in experts to answer them. An accident reconstruction specialist, an engineer or a medical expert can explain to an adjuster, a mediator or a jury what happened and why. Investigation, evidence gathering and expert involvement are central to how the firm prepares a case.
The medical side follows its own timing. Once you have finished treatment with all of your medical providers, the lawyer starts gathering the records, bills and documentation of lost wages that prove your injuries and your losses. Waiting until treatment is complete gives the lawyer the full picture of what the injury required, including any care you will need in the future. Until then, your job is to follow your doctors' advice and recover.
Readers who want more detail on each type of proof can read the firm's guide to what evidence matters most in a Texas personal injury claim, which covers official reports, medical records, photographs, witness accounts and financial records.
Handling the Insurance Companies for You
Once you hire a lawyer, the insurance companies deal with the lawyer. The firm handles communication with insurers on your behalf so you can focus on your recovery. Adjusters may sound friendly, and their responsibility is to protect the insurance company's financial interests.
After an accident, you may receive three kinds of requests. A recorded statement can be used later to question details of your account. A medical authorization can give the insurer wide access to your health history. An early settlement offer can arrive before anyone knows the full extent of your injuries, and accepting it can prevent you from recovering more if your injuries turn out to need future treatment. The lawyer reviews each request and answers it for you.
The lawyer also reviews which insurance is in play. Texas requires drivers to carry liability coverage of at least $30,000 for injuries per person, $60,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage, and those limits can fall short of a serious injury. Every Texas auto policy includes personal injury protection, known as PIP, unless the policyholder rejects it in writing. Insurers must also offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which likewise has to be rejected in writing to be left off. Your own PIP and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage can matter a great deal when the at-fault driver carries little or no insurance.
The firm also takes on the practical problems that follow a crash. It works to get your vehicle repaired quickly or, if the vehicle is totaled, to secure its fair market value. At the same time, it works to arrange a rental car while repairs are underway or while the total loss payment is pursued.
Valuing Your Claim and Negotiating a Settlement
After treatment ends and the evidence is in, the lawyer puts a figure on the claim. Economic losses are the ones with receipts and pay stubs: medical bills, future treatment, lost income, lost earning capacity and property damage. Non-economic losses are harder to count and just as real: pain and suffering, emotional distress and the impact on daily life.
Some cases also involve exemplary damages, which can apply when a defendant's conduct amounts to gross negligence. Texas caps exemplary damages at the greater of two times the economic damages plus the non-economic damages found by the jury up to $750,000, or $200,000, with exceptions for certain felony conduct such as intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter.
With the value in hand, the firm drafts a settlement demand letter. The letter lays out the facts of the incident, the defendant's negligent actions, your property damage, your lost income, potential future loss of earning capacity, your injuries, the medical treatment you received, your current and potential future medical expenses, and general damages such as pain and suffering, emotional distress and the effect on your daily life.
After the insurance companies review the demand letter, negotiations begin with their adjusters. The lawyer answers each counteroffer with the evidence behind the claim and works to secure the highest possible offer on your behalf.
Every settlement ends with a release. Once you accept an offer and sign it, the claim is closed for good, and you generally cannot return later for more. For that reason, an early offer gets weighed against the full value of the case, including future treatment and lost income, before anyone signs.
Filing a Lawsuit and Going to Trial When Needed
Most claims end in a negotiated settlement, and some negotiations stall. If the insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation, the lawyer can file a lawsuit. Filing opens a formal court process, and many cases settle somewhere along it. A national survey of state courts found that about 3% of general civil cases were decided by a judge or jury, so a lawsuit leaves plenty of room for a settlement.
The next stage is discovery, where each side learns what the other has. Discovery includes written questions, requests for documents and depositions, which are recorded question-and-answer sessions under oath with the parties and witnesses. Your lawyer prepares you for your deposition so you know what to expect and how to answer clearly and truthfully.
Many cases then move to mediation, where a neutral third party helps both sides weigh the risks of a verdict and look for a settlement. The mediator does not decide the case. A lot of lawsuits settle at this point because both sides have seen the evidence and understand what a trial could bring.
When a case does not settle, it goes to trial before a judge or jury. Each side makes an opening statement, presents witnesses and experts, and offers documents and photographs. The judge or jury then decides who is responsible and what damages to award. A personal injury lawyer's job at trial is to present the evidence gathered since the first day of the case in a clear and organized way.
The Law Office of Joe Brad Brock prepares every case for trial from the beginning, so the insurance company knows the firm is ready. When a fair settlement cannot be reached, the firm pursues litigation.
Closing Out the Case: Liens, Your Check and Final Paperwork
This stage gets little attention in most explanations of the job, and it decides how much money ends up in your hands. After you accept a settlement offer, the insurance company prepares a settlement release and sends it to you for your signature. The firm returns the signed release to the relevant insurance companies, and they issue the settlement check and send it to the firm's office, where it is promptly processed and deposited.
Then the firm turns to medical liens. Health insurers, medical providers and programs such as Medicare can have a right to be repaid from your settlement for the treatment they covered. The firm works to reduce all of the medical liens tied to your case, including any from Medicare, and aims to settle them for the lowest possible amounts. Every dollar cut from a lien adds to your final net settlement.
After all liens have been satisfied, you receive a settlement distribution sheet. It outlines every payment to be made from your settlement and lists every payee. You review the sheet and sign it, and your signature officially closes out your case.
How a Personal Injury Lawyer Gets Paid
The firm handles personal injury cases on a contingency fee. In plain terms, your consultation is free and you pay no upfront attorney fees. The firm advances the costs of pursuing your claim when appropriate, and it is paid only if it recovers compensation for you, through either a settlement or a verdict. This arrangement lets anyone, whatever their finances, obtain experienced legal representation after a serious accident.
Texas sets rules for these agreements. Under Rule 1.04(d) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, a contingent fee agreement must be in writing. It must state how the fee is determined, the percentage for settlement, trial or appeal if they differ, which expenses are deducted from the recovery, and whether expenses come out before or after the fee.
The same rule requires the lawyer to give you a written statement of the outcome at the end of the matter. If there is a recovery, the statement shows the amount remitted to you and how it was calculated. Together with the distribution sheet, that paperwork gives you a full accounting of where every dollar went.
When to Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer
Earlier is better, for three reasons. Evidence fades as footage is overwritten, witnesses forget details and the scene changes. Insurers start building their file right away, which gives the other side a head start. The Texas filing deadline also runs from the date of injury, and it is generally two years for a personal injury lawsuit.
Texas restricts how lawyers can reach accident victims. A lawyer who telephones or visits someone known to have been in a car accident to solicit them as a client can generally be disciplined under the State Bar rules, and a written personal injury solicitation cannot be sent before the 31st day after the accident. A reputable firm waits to be contacted.
The Law Office of Joe Brad Brock represents injured people across Corpus Christi, Nueces County, the Coastal Bend and South Texas, and you work directly with the attorney from your first consultation until your case is resolved. When you are ready to talk through what happened, you can use the firm's contact page to ask for a free case evaluation.
