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Houston Personal Injury Lawyer

Houston Personal Injury Lawyer

A personal injury case in Texas comes down to two questions: who’s responsible, and what can be proven about the harm. Everything else, the adjuster’s calls, the request for a recorded statement, the lowball first offer, the talk about “pre-existing conditions,” is the insurance company working on those two questions before you have a lawyer. We represent injured people and families in Houston in car and truck wrecks, falls and unsafe property, maritime and offshore injuries, and wrongful death cases. Jay Blass Cohen also defends criminal cases, including DWIs, and that background is an advantage when the person who hurt you was drunk or high.

Call (713) 664-4000. The consultation is free. We work on a contingency fee, so there’s no fee unless we recover money for you, and if we don’t recover, you don’t owe us for case expenses either.

How a Houston injury case actually works

The first weeks. Evidence disappears fast. Video gets recorded over, vehicles get repaired, witnesses move, and federal rules only require a trucking company to keep its electronic logs for six months. We send preservation letters, get the reports and the photos, find the witnesses, and put every insurance carrier on notice. From then on, the insurance companies deal with us, and you don’t talk to the other side’s adjuster.

Treatment. Your job is to get better and follow your doctors. The insurer will treat any gap in care as proof you weren’t really hurt, and Texas limits what you can recover for medical bills you’ve already run up to what was actually paid or is still owed by you or on your behalf (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.0105). How your bills get paid matters, so we plan for it from the start.

The demand. When your treatment is complete, or your doctors can tell us what the future looks like, we put the medical records and bills together with proof of lost income and make a demand. Most cases settle, but they settle for what they’re worth only when the insurer believes we’ll try the case if it doesn’t pay.

The lawsuit. If the insurer won’t pay a fair number, we file suit. In Harris County that usually means one of the civil district courts at 201 Caroline. Then comes discovery, with depositions and expert testimony, and eventually a trial setting that puts real pressure on the other side.

What you can recover

Economic damages cover medical bills past and future, lost wages and lost earning capacity, out-of-pocket costs, and property damage. Non-economic damages cover pain, mental anguish, physical impairment and disfigurement. In a wrongful death case, the surviving spouse, children and parents can recover their own losses, including loss of companionship and financial support (§ 71.004). And when the defendant acted with gross negligence, like a driver who chose to drive drunk or a company that knew about a deadly hazard and ignored it, a jury can also award exemplary damages. That takes clear and convincing evidence and a unanimous jury (§ 41.003), and in most cases Texas caps the amount (§ 41.008).

Texas uses proportionate responsibility. If you’re found partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage, and if you’re found more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing (§§ 33.001, 33.012). The insurance company knows that rule better than anyone, which is why so many of its questions are really about blame.

Deadlines

Most injury claims have to be filed within two years of the injury, and a wrongful death claim within two years of the death (§ 16.003). Claims against a government entity, like a city truck or a Metro bus, need written notice much sooner, usually within six months of the incident (§ 101.101), and the City of Houston’s charter requires a sworn notice within 90 days. Medical malpractice claims need written notice to each doctor or provider at least 60 days before suit (§ 74.051) and an expert report within 120 days after each defendant answers, or the case gets thrown out (§ 74.351). Most maritime injury claims, including Jones Act cases, have three years under federal law (46 U.S.C. § 30106; 45 U.S.C. § 56), but some maritime deadlines are much shorter. If you’re close to any of these deadlines, call now.

Results

We recovered a $2.95 million settlement for a client rear-ended by a commercial truck driver who was following too closely, $300,000 for a client whose hand was injured by a defective blender, and $100,000 for a client hit by a driver who ran a red light. We also secured compensation for a passenger hurt when another car hit the Uber our client was riding in. See all of our settlements and verdicts. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

The cases we handle

See our pages on car accidents, 18-wheeler accidents, drunk driving accidents, premises liability, maritime injuries and wrongful death. The full list is below.

Injured in Houston? Call Blass Law

Jay Blass Cohen was born and raised in Houston and has practiced here since 2009. We take the insurance company on from the first day and prepare every case as if it’s going to trial, because that’s what makes an insurer pay what a case is worth.

Call (713) 664-4000. If you were hurt this week, call now.

Real Results for Our Clients

$2.95 Million
Semi-Truck Accident
A commercial truck driver following too closely rear-ended our client’s vehicle. We secured this settlement given the trucking company’s clear negligence.
$300,000
Product Liability
Our client suffered a hand injury from a defective blender. We held the manufacturer accountable for the dangerous product defect.
$100,000
Car Accident
Our client was struck by a driver who ran a red light. With liability clear, we secured a full settlement for medical treatment and pain and suffering.
$70,150
Car Accident
Our client was passing through an intersection when another driver ran a red light, causing a serious collision.
$50,000
Rideshare Accident
Our client was a passenger in an Uber when another vehicle struck the car. We secured compensation for the injuries sustained.
$30,000
Car Accident (Policy Limits)
Our client’s vehicle was struck when another driver failed to yield. We recovered the full amount available under the at-fault driver’s policy.
$30,000
Car Accident
Our client was rear-ended by another driver while driving down the road.
$30,000
Motorcycle Accident
Our client was riding when another driver failed to yield while exiting a private lot, causing a collision.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. See all case results →

Where a case is filed shapes how fast it moves. Our Harris County civil court directory lists every civil district judge, the floor at 201 Caroline, and the coordinator who handles settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Reviewed by Jay Blass Cohen, founder of Blass Law PLLC, ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, certified Drug Recognition Expert, and SFST instructor, serving Houston since 2009. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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