A Houston personal injury lawyer represents people hurt by someone else's negligence, and gets paid only out of what they recover. The Nguyen Law Firm handles injury and wrongful death claims across Houston and Harris County from an office on the Gulf Freeway, in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Consultations are free, available 24/7, and there is no fee unless we win.
Attorney Chi Nguyen has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer and has recovered more than $200 million for injured Texans over more than a decade of practice. Most of that came from cases insurers first valued at a fraction of what they were worth.
At a glance: hiring a personal injury lawyer in Texas
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What does it cost up front? | Nothing. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, and there is no fee unless we win. |
| How long do I have to file? | Texas generally allows two years from the date of injury, and some claims are shorter. |
| What if I was partly at fault? | You can still recover, unless your share of responsibility is greater than 50 percent. |
| Do I have to go to court? | Most claims resolve without trial, but the case should be built as though it will not. |
| What is my case worth? | It depends on injury severity, treatment, lost income, liability, and the insurance actually available. |
What a personal injury lawyer actually does for you
The work is not paperwork. It is building a record the insurer cannot argue with, and refusing the first number they put on the table.
- Preserves the evidence before it disappears. Surveillance video is often overwritten in days, commercial vehicle data is subject to short retention schedules, and witnesses stop answering the phone.
- Finds every policy that applies. The at-fault driver's liability coverage is frequently not the only one, and umbrella and employer policies are rarely volunteered.
- Documents the injury properly. Gaps in treatment and thin records are the two things insurers use hardest to reduce a claim.
- Handles the adjuster. A recorded statement given early, without advice, can cap a case before anyone knows how serious the injury is.
- Protects the net. Hospital liens and health plan reimbursement claims decide how much of a settlement you actually keep.
Cases we handle in Houston
Each of these has its own evidence, its own deadlines, and its own set of defendants.
- Car accidents, including uninsured and underinsured drivers
- 18-wheeler and commercial truck crashes, where federal regulations and carrier records come into play
- Wrongful death claims brought by surviving family members
- Spinal cord and catastrophic injuries requiring lifetime care analysis
- Premises liability and slip and fall injuries
- Pedestrian and bicycle collisions
- Boat and maritime injuries, including Jones Act claims
- Drunk driving crashes, where the bar that over-served may share liability
How Texas law shapes your claim
The deadline is shorter than people expect
Texas generally gives two years from the date of the injury to file suit, under Chapter 16 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Claims against a governmental body carry much shorter written notice requirements, sometimes a matter of months. Waiting also costs evidence, which is usually the greater loss.
Partial fault reduces a claim; it rarely ends one
Under Chapter 33, a jury assigns each party a percentage of responsibility. Your damages are reduced by your own percentage, and you recover nothing only if your share is greater than 50 percent. Insurers lean on this early, because a driver who accepts blame at the scene is cheaper to settle with. See how fault is divided in a multi-vehicle pileup.
The other driver's policy limit is often the real ceiling
Texas minimum liability limits are $30,000 for injury to one person and $60,000 per collision, set by Section 601.072 of the Transportation Code. When the medical bills exceed that, the recovery has to be assembled from other coverage, which is why identifying every applicable policy matters more than negotiating harder on one.
What a case can be worth
Texas allows recovery of economic damages, non-economic damages, and in narrow circumstances exemplary damages. In practice the number turns on the severity and permanence of the injury, the treatment record, lost earnings, the strength of the liability evidence, and the insurance available.
- Medical costs, past and future, including surgery and rehabilitation
- Lost income and lost earning capacity where an injury changes what you can do
- Pain, suffering, disfigurement and mental anguish
- Loss of consortium for a spouse or family, in appropriate cases
Be careful with averages found online. They describe other people's cases, not yours. A useful estimate comes only after the treating physicians know whether the injury is permanent. For background, see our guide to accident compensation and how settlement negotiation actually works.
What comes out of a settlement
The headline number is not what reaches you, and this is the part clients are most often surprised by.
- Hospital liens under Texas Property Code Chapter 55 can attach to the recovery.
- Health plan reimbursement is capped by statute for many plans, and cannot reach some parts of a recovery at all.
- Medicare and Medicaid have their own recovery rules and move slowly.
- Case expenses and the contingency fee are set out on a written settlement statement.
Every one of these should be identified and resolved in writing before a release is signed.
What it costs to hire us
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, which means the fee is a percentage of what we recover and there is no fee if we do not win. The percentage and how case expenses are handled are set out in the written agreement before anything is filed, and you should read that agreement rather than rely on a summary of it, here or anywhere else.
What to do now
- Get evaluated medically, even if you felt able to walk away from it.
- Photograph the vehicles, the scene and your injuries, and keep every document.
- Report the claim to your own insurer, including any UM, UIM, PIP or MedPay coverage you carry.
- Do not give a recorded statement about fault or injuries before you have advice.
- Write down what happened while it is fresh, including names and phone numbers.
- Call before the two-year deadline gets close, because the evidence timeline is far shorter.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have a case?
The test is whether someone else's negligence caused you a harm that can be compensated. If you were injured, someone else was at fault, and there is insurance or an asset behind them, it is worth a conversation. That is what the free consultation is for.
How long will it take?
It depends mainly on your medical treatment. A case should not be valued until the doctors know whether the injury is permanent, because settling before that means guessing about the most expensive part of the claim.
Will I have to go to court?
Most personal injury claims resolve without a trial. Cases still have to be prepared as though they will be tried, because an insurer's willingness to pay is closely tied to whether it believes the file is ready for a courtroom.
What if the insurance company already called me?
They usually call quickly, and they are recording. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other side's insurer. Get advice first.
Do you speak Spanish or Vietnamese?
Yes. The firm works with clients in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
What if I was partly to blame?
You may still recover. Texas reduces damages by your percentage of responsibility and bars recovery only above 50 percent, so an early admission at the scene is not necessarily the end of a claim.
Talk to a Houston personal injury lawyer today
Consultations are free, confidential and available 24/7, and there is no fee unless we win. Contact The Nguyen Law Firm or call (713) 747-7777. You can also read more about attorney Chi Nguyen, browse our case results, or start with the questions clients ask most.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. This page provides general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results depend on the specific facts and law applicable to each case.
Call (713) 747-7777