After suffering a tragic incident such as paralysis, brain trauma, or loss of limb, your entire future hangs on the strength of your legal case. These claims involve complex medical, technical, and legal issues that go far beyond ordinary personal injury cases—and you need the expertise of a skilled Texas catastrophic injury law firm.
With over 60 years combined experience, Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group has a track record of securing life-changing recoveries for severely injured clients. We combine aggressive investigation, top-tier experts, and deep knowledge of negligence law to maximize your compensation. Our lawyers’ strategic, detail-focused approach ensures that no piece of critical evidence is overlooked and no defense tactic goes unchallenged. Here are just a few examples of how we’ll systematically prove negligence in your Texas catastrophic injury case.
Establishing Duty of Care
Every personal injury claim starts by proving that the defendant owed a duty of care. In cases involving negligence, this is defined as:
- The existence of a duty of care. This means someone has a legal responsibility to act safely and avoid causing harm to others, like following traffic laws or a business keeping their property safe. For example, all motorists must follow safety laws under Texas Transportation Code §545.401.
- Breach of that duty. When someone fails to meet that responsibility, such as driving recklessly or ignoring dangerous conditions.
- Damages. The injured person must show they suffered real harm, like medical bills, lost income, or pain and suffering.
- Causation. Finally, it must be clear that the breach directly caused the injury, not something else.
To begin to prove negligence in your case, the attorneys at Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group meticulously review traffic statutes, corporate safety policies, industry regulations, and other guidelines to firmly establish the defendant's duty.
Proving Negligence With Specific Evidence
But general allegations about a breach of duty of care aren’t enough—your case must have specific facts. For example:
- In motor vehicle and commercial truck collisions, our team obtains black box data, phone usage logs, and dashcam video.
- If you have a medical malpractice case, we serve detailed expert reports under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §74.351, pinpointing exactly how a health care provider or hospital deviated from accepted standards.
- For oil rig, offshore, and other industrial accidents, securing evidence such as OSHA violation reports, incident logs, and co-worker depositions is crucial to your case.
Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group’s catastrophic injury attorneys quickly send preservation letters to prevent spoliation of crucial evidence and often employ forensic investigators immediately after an incident.
Causation: Linking Breach to the Catastrophic Injury
Texas law requires proving that the defendant’s actions directly caused the injury. Our firm relies on top-tier medical experts, neurologists, and biomechanical engineers to create unbroken, credible links between the negligence and the injuries.
For example, in a trucking accident case resulting in spinal cord injury, we support the foundation of your case with crash reconstruction analysis and medical imaging studies to refute any claims of "intervening causes."
Anticipating Comparative Fault Defenses
Because Texas applies a modified comparative fault system, our skilled Texas catastrophic injury attorneys aggressively preempt blame-shifting defenses, such as documenting seat belt use and safe driving behavior in serious auto collision cases or demonstrating hidden hazards and inadequate warnings to establish premises liability.
As former insurance company defense attorneys, we follow through with prompt and thorough case preparation that aims to keep fault below the 51% fault threshold and preserve your right to full recovery.
How Our Fort Worth Catastrophic Injury Lawyers Assess Damages in Your Claim
It’s not just the medical bills that matter—it’s the loss of independence, livelihood, and quality of life. Every type of loss must be carefully proven with expert evidence to secure the compensation you deserve.
Our meticulous legal team at Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group builds comprehensive damages models to fully capture the scope of your family’s economic and non-economic losses and to withstand scrutiny from insurance companies and the defense. Here are just a few categories we’ll address.
Major Economic Losses
- Medical expenses. Costs for past treatments and future medical care, proven by doctors and life care planners.
- Lost income. Past lost wages and reduced future earning capacity, as shown by economists and vocational experts.
- Assistive needs. Costs for equipment, home modifications, and personal care services, documented by medical specialists and life care planners.
Major Non-Economic Losses
- Pain and suffering. Physical pain and emotional distress, supported by medical and psychological experts.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. Impact on hobbies, activities, and daily living, proven through psychological evaluations and personal testimony.
- Loss of relationships. Harm to family and marital bonds, shown through expert reports and witness testimony.
- Disfigurement or impairment. Permanent scarring or loss of function, documented by physicians and rehabilitation experts.
When catastrophic injuries occur, you need more than just basic legal representation: you need relentless advocates who understand the high stakes. The attorneys at Dortch Lindstrom Livingston Law Group deliver focused, aggressive representation that leaves no stone unturned in proving negligence in your catastrophic injury case under Texas law.
