Imagine this: You are severely injured in a car accident, you go to the hospital and undergo countless procedures, therapies, and treatments, you are told that you cannot work in your condition, and so, to cover the cost of your medical and living expenses, you file a personal injury claim. That is pretty standard protocol for car accident victims. What is not standard protocol is for the hospital at which a victim received the treatment to place a lien on the personal injury settlement, and for said hospital to collect on that lien when the money is awarded. Yet, Texas law allows just that.

Texas Hospital Lien Law

According to Sec. 55.002 LEINS, a hospital may place a lien on a cause of action or the claim of an individual who was treated at said hospital for injuries caused by an accident that was caused by a negligent person. However, the statute stipulates that in order for a lien to apply, the person must have sought care within 72 hours of the accident. The lien extends to a hospital or medical facility that the injured party is transferred to for treatment of the same injury.

Why Hospitals Do Not Just Bill Health Insurance Providers

You may be wondering why your hospital does not just bill your medical insurance provider. That is the same question many accident victims have, and it is one that has a very simple yet unsatisfactory answer. Hospitals would rather not bill insurance providers because doing so decreases their bottom line.

Most people do not anticipate being involved in a car, truck, or personal injury accident and so therefore, most people are not financially prepared to deal with the aftermath. From sky high medical expenses to missed work, the financial consequences caused by a car accident can be devastating. Fortunately, the U.S. court system allows accident victims to pursue compensation from the liable party via a legal cause of action. However, at an already financially difficult time in the average victim's life, it can be impossible for him or her to pay for an attorney. A contingency fee arrangement effectively resolves that problem.

What is a Contingency Fee?

A contingency fee arrangement is one in which a Dallas personal injury lawyer accepts a client's case without charging a retainer or hourly fee. Rather, the lawyer's fee is an agreed upon percentage of the final settlement or judgement that the lawyer wins for your case. Any expenses accrued during your case, such as the cost of an expert witness, is typically covered by the attorney from money he or she has won from another case and reimbursed via your earnings. If your lawyer is unable to obtain a settlement, you do not owe him or her anything.

If you were injured by somebody else's negligence in Dallas, Texas, you may be prepared to file a personal injury lawsuit. While you have every right to do so, you should know that Texas personal injury damage caps may affect the outcome of your case or your ability to file a claim at all. A damage cap limits the amount of money a person can win in a personal injury case, making some cases not worth fighting.

If you want to know if damage caps apply to your case, and if you want to know whether or not your personal injury claim is worth pursuing, call Clark Law Group for a case evaluation.

Claims Limited by Damage Caps

Not all personal injury claims are limited by damage caps in Texas, so before you assume the worst, know that caps may not apply to you. Those cases that are limited by damage caps include the following:

When you choose your child's daycare, you do so with great care and deliberation. You read the reviews, perform a background check on the teachers, ask friends and family about their thoughts, and meet with school administrators multiple times. By the time your child's first day rolls around, you feel comfortable and confident that your child is in great hands. But then you learn the ugly truth the hard way. One or more of your child's caregivers are not who they said they were. They are child abusers.

Child Abuse Statistics in Daycare Facilities

Sadly, millions of children are neglected, abused, sexually abused, and emotionally traumatized each year. These instances of abuse do not just happen in the home, either. According to studies and reports conducted by ChildWelfare.gov and NCJRS.gov, daycares are responsible for approximately 1,760 childhood fatalities due to abuse and neglect and approximately 2,500 sexual assault cases over a three-year span. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Development, 90% of American daycares are considered to be 'fair' or 'poor,' with only 10% providing high quality care. Data gathered in 2006 from 39 states found that 5,321 daycare providers were abusing and neglecting children in their care.

If your child is the victim of daycare abuse or neglect, fight back on their behalf and help put an end to the harmful behavior. Call Clark Law Group to learn more about your legal options. A daycare abuse lawyer can help you seek justice for your family.

'You think of a doctor as God and that he's going to fix everything.' Those are the words spoken by Bernice Gomez, 63, who went into her surgery thinking that surgeon Dr. Sujeet Acharya and the team at Texas Oncology were going to remove the cancerous tumors on her adrenal glands and make everything better. Gomez was diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoma in the summer of 2016 and went in for her operation on November 14 of that same year. The surgery 'took longer than expected,' but according to the team, it was successful. In fact, according to sources close to Gomez, Acharya told the family that 'the adrenal gland and tumor were completely removed and that she was cancer free.' So, if that was the case, why was Bernice still in pain?

Surgery Gone Awry

Gomez said that after the surgery, she told the oncology team that she was in so much pain, she did not think she was going to make it. 'I was in so much pain, and I couldn't breathe,' she shared with CBSDFW. According to her, the pain was likely someone 'continually stabbing you.' After living with the excruciating pain for a few weeks, Gomez decided to get the second opinion of another doctor. It turns out that Gomez's tumors had not, in fact, been removed, as she had been told. However, nearly half of her pancreas had been and, as a result, pancreatic fluid was leaking into her body.