Car Accidents

Whether or not your vehicle is totaled in New Mexico depends on the total loss formula. This is where the insurer determines if repairing the car would be uneconomical based on the cost of repairs versus the cost of salvage/scrap.

If your vehicle is deemed totaled, the insurer should provide a total loss payment. You should discuss how insurers determine the cash value of your vehicle with your lawyer and how you can negotiate for the best possible payment.

If your vehicle is underivable after the crash, talk with your attorney about a loss of use claim. This claim specifically seeks compensation for the days you cannot drive your vehicle.

A number of variables, including speed, angle, placement of the collision, and crashworthiness of your vehicle can result in a range of physical injuries from a car accident, such as bumps and bruises, to catastrophic injuries and even death.

Our family firm has helped people suffering from all types of injuries, including facial disfigurement, broken bones, whiplash, herniated discs, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and paralysis. We have helped families who have lost a loved one in a traffic fatality.

We know that physical harm is not the only consequence. You may experience significant psychological trauma from the collision or emotional anguish like anxiety, a phobia of driving or being in a car, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other psychological and emotional effects.

We hire the necessary experts to help evaluate and prove your damages in each of these areas.

If your spouse, parent, or child passed away in a car accident, you should talk with an attorney about pursuing a wrongful death claim under the Texas or New Mexico wrongful death statutes.

Relatives can typically pursue compensation for the loss of their loved one’s income, services, companionship and society, and the family member’s emotional distress.

• In New Mexico, you have three years from the date of your loved one’s death to file a wrongful death claim.
• In Texas, you have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

A survival action is a legal claim that arose when an injured person was alive but was unable to pursue the action prior to their death. For example, if a loved one is seriously injured in a crash but lived, they could pursue a personal injury claim. If your relative then passed away, the personal injury claim survived their death, and the relative’s estate can then pursue the personal injury claim and certain compensatory damages suffered while the relative was alive.

Texas recognizes the separate survival claims of the decedent in the Texas Survival Statute and wrongful death claims of the spouse or children in the Texas Wrongful Death Act. However, New Mexico is different. If your loved one passed away, even if they initially lived for weeks or months, you would only pursue a wrongful death claim.

To obtain compensation for your physical, psychological, and financial injuries, you need proof.

Proof of injuries can come from pictures, your own testimony, medical records, and a medical expert’s testimony. Proof of the pain and suffering and mental anguish arising from injuries can come from your own testimony, friends’ and family’s observations, and mental health care records.

Proof of economic damages includes medical bills and receipts. However, proof of future medical expenses may require a medical expert’s testimony. Proof of reduced earning potential may come from a vocational expert and/or economist.

To calculate potential damages, our car accident lawyers work closely with you, your medical providers, and experts. We help you keep track of your expenses and financial losses throughout the personal injury claim process. This paperwork is essential in calculating economic damages.

When it comes to valuing your non-economic damages, we will utilize an appropriate method, such as a multiplier. In some circumstances, we use a per diem (daily rate) for your pain and suffering.