Texas leads the nation in semi-truck fatalities. We are a big state with a lot of commerce and tons of
highways. Grayson County, where our main office is located, unfortunately gets more than its fair share
of catastrophic injuries with our major highway corridors, continuing growth, and lots of heavy industry
and highway construction.
What is surprising is that the folks who need help the most—the ones who have been seriously injured
or who have lost a loved one—so often wait way too long before contacting an experienced personal
injury attorney. It’s tough—you’re injured, you’re grieving, you’re not quite sure what to do. But our
firm has the resources, knowledge, and experience to hold these trucking/commercial companies
responsible. Just in the last six months, we have recovered over $3,000,000 for our clients who suffered
serious death or injuries from a commercial vehicle. Joan Ballard, who has been with the firm since
2012, is board certified in personal injury trial law. I am a longstanding member of and have served on
the boards of directors of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and Dallas Trial Lawyers Association. We
have won plenty of awards, but what we concentrate on is simply doing our best for our clients and
helping them through this difficult process.
It infuriates me when I see the insurance companies taking advantage of members of my community
because they are not getting the help they need after being seriously injured or losing a family member.
I worry:
- Are they even going to get representation? Incidents involving semis or commercial vehicles are
serious. It is nothing anyone should try to handle on their own. I had a client who opened her door
one evening to find a fast-talking insurance company employee promising immediate money if she
signed away her rights relating to a truck wreck that had just seriously injured her and her husband.
He talked an injured, elderly woman into accepting a check for pennies of the dollar of what that
case was worth. In a rare sequence of events, we were able to rescind that release and get them
more, but it was a minor miracle. Typically, once you sign a release, that’s it and there is nothing
anyone can do. - Are they going to wait too long? We understand the grief and turmoil of losing a loved one, but an
experienced local personal injury attorney will act immediately. I had a client whose husband was
killed in a wreck, but the JP listed the cause of death as heart-related issues on the death certificate.
Luckily, she hired me early on and I was able to get it corrected. Otherwise, you can bet the
insurance company would’ve latched on to that as a reason to avoid compensating her fully. We
need to do things immediately, like putting the commercial party on notice not to alter or destroy
the vehicle, or not to do a download on the computer because they could “inadvertently” damage
the information it contains. There are literally dozens of things we do IMMEDIATELY for our clients
that only an experienced personal injury attorney would know to do. - Will they become victims of barratry? You may not realize, but when an “investigator” or someone
working for a law firm shows up uninvited and asks you to sign a contract with their firm, it’s illegal!
Yet, there are plenty of “big Dallas firms” that still do it. If their first action is to make you the victim
of a crime, do you really think they’re going to start treating you well after that? What’s worse is
the clients have no idea. They think these lawyers are on top of it, but the only rush is to get you to
sign an illegal contract. If an attorney or investigator reaches out to you first, that is a HUGE RED
FLAG. - Are they going to get a lawyer who is clueless when it comes to plaintiffs’ personal injury work? I
get calls from other attorneys with friendly questions about “one-off personal injury
representation” and it literally makes me shudder. They don’t even know what they don’t know!
Personal injury law is our main area of practice and everything we do relates to trial work. Being
board certified in personal injury trial law means that my partner Joan is required to devote at least
25% of her practice to only personal injury. Other firms work with us because we know what we’re
doing. We have the resources and experience to take on the big insurance companies and we do it
every single day. - Do they know how helpful it is to have local representation? There are lots of great Dallas attorneys
and I know many of them through my position in the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association. But a local
attorney knows who to call when the death certificate is incorrect and has probably worked with
the investigating officer before. Heck, I may have even previously chatted the officer at my bar 1880
Icehouse. A Dallas attorney is probably not going to drive up to Grayson County to visit the scene or
come talk to you at TMC or WNJ. If you want to be more than a number, choose local! Same
professional experience, but so much more when it comes to local knowledge and attention for you
and your case.
Frankly, there is not a firm more qualified to handle your catastrophic injury or the death of a loved one.
Not here, not Dallas, not anywhere in Texas. Our entire team is ready and available to help you through
this process. No matter who you hire, I absolutely want you to take advantage of our free consultations.
I’m happy to talk with you regardless of what you decide. We only get paid if you do, so the
representation won’t cost you a dime out of pocket, either. We do absolutely everything we can to help
with every part of your case, but I can’t do anything if you don’t reach out.
