CALL (800) 863-5312 to get in touch with our Lubbock accidental shooting injury lawyers
Many people in the United States use guns for recreation or for self-defense. However, owning or handling a gun comes with a lot of responsibility to avoid injuring others. Victims of accidental shootings might not know what to do after they are injured, but Lubbock accidental shooting injury lawyers are able to help victims of shooting accidents seek maximum compensation.
If you or a loved one were injured in an accidental shooting in Lubbock, call a Zinda Law Group accidental shooting lawyer (800) 863-5312 to schedule your free consultation.
How an Lubbock Accidental shooting lawyer can help you
If you sustained injuries from an accidental shooting in Texas, you may be facing doctor’s appointments and medical bills. Perhaps you are worried that filing a lawsuit will create an even bigger burden than you are prepared to handle. However, if you allow too much time to pass before you file suit, you could miss your opportunity altogether.
The statute of limitations in Texas is two years, which means you have two years after the day of an accident to file your claim against the person or company that harmed you in a personal injury case. Ease your stress by finding an attorney to help you file your complaint, engage in discovery, negotiate a settlement, and seek the compensation you deserve.
John (Jack) Zinda
Founder / CEO
Over 100 years of combined experience representing injured victims across the country.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationFiling Your Complaint
The first step of a lawsuit is the complaint. The plaintiff, who is the victim in a personal injury case, files the complaint against the defendant, who is the person or company responsible for the plaintiff’s injury. The complaint includes the plaintiff’s claims against the defendant along with the remedy that the plaintiff seeks. If the plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which a court can grant relief, the court may dismiss the victim’s complaint.
If the defendant is represented by an attorney and you are not, the defendant has access to legal defenses and counterclaims for which you may not know to prepare. A personal injury lawyer can help you file with the correct court, ensure that you are meeting all of the rules of civil procedure, and make your case.
Neil Solomon
Partner
Real results matter. We do not get paid unless we win your case.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationEngaging in Discovery
The second step of the lawsuit is discovery. Legal discovery is the stage at which parties uncover the important facts of the case by exchanging the information they have gathered, conducting depositions, and answering interrogatories. At this stage, provide as much information about your injuries as possible. Your documentation of your doctor visits, the treatment you received, and the cost of your care show the extent of your injury and why you deserve compensation.
Importantly, discovery prevents the parties from surprising each other if they were to go to trial by compelling the parties to share information with one another. An experienced attorney knows how to show that the facts favor your version of the accident and that if the case goes to trial, a jury will rule in your favor based on the evidence and witness statements. Even though most cases settle, it is the prediction of how a jury would rule that drives negotiations and settlement offers.
Jason Aldridge
Attorney
Standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ready to answer in your time of need.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationNegotiating Your Settlement
Once you have filed your claim and undergone discovery, you enter the third step of your lawsuit, which is negotiation. Much could go wrong at this step without a lawyer, since the defendant and the defendant’s attorney will likely try to convince you to settle for much less than the amount appropriate in your case. Instead, an experienced Texas personal injury lawyer can advocate for maximum compensation so that you can properly recover.
Cole Gumm
Attorney
We are here to ensure you won’t have to face this difficult time alone.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationPursuing Maximum Compensation
The last step is agreeing on the settlement amount. As the client, you ultimately decide whether to accept a settlement offer, but your attorney can help you decide which offers come within the range the attorney would expect based on your case. Although most cases settle rather than go to trial, you can choose to go to trial if you are not satisfied with the defendant’s settlement offer.
The compensation you receive is based on the economic and non-economic damages associated with your injury. Economic damages are for the measurable monetary expenses you incurred, such as your medical bills and missed wages from your time off work. Non-economic damages are for your pain and suffering related to the accident and your injuries. In some cases, courts punish reckless defendants or companies by making them pay punitive damages to the defendant, deterring the defendant from repeating the conduct that caused the accident.
You have nothing to lose by talking to a lawyer in a free consultation at Zinda Law Group.
What is included in a claim for an accidental shooting in Lubbock?
Your accidental shooting claim will most likely fall under the umbrella of personal injury. Personal injury law, sometimes called tort law, is civil law intended to help victims of someone’s action or failure to act. The legal theories under personal injury are intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability.
Accidental gunshot cases generally fall under two theories: negligence and products liability. Each claim has its unique set of elements, and you must show in your complaint how your case meets each element.
Negligence
Under a claim for negligence, the victim must show that the defendant shooter owed them a duty of care and breached that duty of care. The victim must also show that the defendant shooter caused the victim’s injury and that the victim can be compensated for the injury.
Anyone who handles or stores a gun owes those around him or her the level of care that a reasonable person would use to handle and store a weapon. This typically means storing the gun out of the reach of children and keeping it unloaded when not in use. Even if the person who owns the gun did not fire it, he or she could be held liable under a theory of negligence if he or she failed to store the gun safely.
The victim must have also received a compensable injury caused by the defendant. It may not be enough under a theory of negligence to file a claim if the defendant merely waived the gun in a way that momentarily frightened you—though you may have a claim under a different legal theory. If you or your loved one were shot, you possibly sustained a compensable injury.
Product Liability
The second legal theory for an accidental gunshot case is product liability, which holds the manufacturer of a product strictly liable for the damage the product causes, regardless of the manufacturer’s level of care or intention. For a product liability case, the plaintiff must show that the product was defective when it left the defendant’s hand and that the defect caused the plaintiff’s injury. The defect might be in the product’s design; the defendant’s failure to properly warn the plaintiff of the danger of the product; or the plaintiff’s faulty manufacturing.
There are limitless circumstances under which any of those kinds of product liability defects could apply. Speak with an accidental shooting lawyer to learn which specific legal theory best fits your case. Your attorney might advise you to file using more than one legal theory if he or she believes it increases your chances of getting the highest possible amount of compensation.
Read More: Product Liability Lawyers
What kinds of accidental shootings can a lawyer help with?
Texas is the state with the most deaths caused by accidental gunshots. Why are these sometimes-fatal accidents so prevalent? The gun’s safety features may have been defective, the design of the gun may have been flawed, or the gun may have lacked effective warnings and labels.
There are several scenarios through which a shooting can occur, which include:
Child Accessing a Gun
Over 4.6 million children in the United States live in homes with unlocked guns, which means they have access to guns and could fire them and injure or kill someone. Additionally, approximately 31% of accidental gunshot deaths could have been prevented if parents had used childproof safety locks and loaded chamber indicators. Unfortunately, over a third of victims of gunshot accidents are aged zero through nineteen. These statistics illustrate the importance of securing firearms away from children at all times.
Improper Handling
Some accidental shootings occur if a gun is improperly handled. The person handling the gun may have not been familiar with gun safety protocols, may have accidentally fired while cleaning the gun (13.5% of accidental gun deaths) or while hunting (13.8% of accidental gun deaths), or may have just been careless.
A victim can probably file a personal injury claim for all of those examples of the defendant improperly handling a gun. Discuss with a lawyer whether your accidental shooting in Texas falls within one of these circumstances.
Handling a Gun Under the Influence
Almost one-fourth of accidental gun deaths occur because someone was under the influence of drugs or alcohol while handling a gun. Alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the accidental gun deaths of around 15% of zero to nine-year-old children and around 47% for twenty to twenty-nine-year-olds.
Firing Range Accidents
Similar to how a parent is responsible when their child shoots an improperly stored gun, a firing range could possibly be held liable for an accident at a firing range. As with all the other hypothetical situations in this article, check with a lawyer if you were accidentally shot in Lubbock at a firing range.
Preventing an accidental shooting in Lubbock
Gunshot accidents are highly preventable, and this starts with proper storage. The CDC emphasizes the importance of the safe storage of firearms if you keep a firearm in your home. Simply storing a firearm out of reach of children or adults is not effective in preventing the unauthorized use of a gun by a child or adult. It is best to lock the gun in a box, drawer, or cabinet and to store bullets in a separate place to avoid unauthorized use.
If you have questions about gun safety, take a gun safety course to learn the best ways to handle your gun and use your gun’s safety features.
Speak with our Zinda law group Lubbock accidental shooting injury lawyers
If you or someone else was accidentally shot in Colorado, Zinda Law Group lawyers are here to help. Our team has the knowledge and resources necessary to help you seek the maximum amount of compensation available for your physical injury, emotional distress, property damage, and more. We have extensive experience in getting our clients in Lubbock, Texas, the justice they deserve, and we may be able to help you as well.
Contact us today at (888) 436-2443 to schedule your free consultation. In addition, you will not pay us a thing unless we are successful in winning your gunshot case. That is our “No Win, No Fee Guarantee.”
Meetings with attorneys are available by appointment only.
Jason Aldridge
Attorney
We have successfully represented clients in a wide variety of cases across the country.
Available 24 / 7|Free Consultation
