Injury Law FAQs

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

Questions answered

• Is lane splitting legal in Texas?. No. Since 2023, Texas Transportation Code § 545.0605 bans lane splitting and filtering. What a ticket means and how it affects an injury claim.
• Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in California?. Under CCP 377.60, the spouse, domestic partner, children or other heirs can sue, plus some dependents. See who qualifies and the deadlines.
• How long do you have to sue over a defective product in Texas?. Texas gives you two years from the injury to sue over a defective product, and most claims are cut off 15 years after sale. Exceptions explained.
• Who is at fault in a T-bone (broadside) crash in Washington?. In a Washington T-bone crash, fault usually falls on the driver who failed to yield. How RCW 46.61, case law and comparative fault decide it.
• What is the difference between assisted living and a nursing home in Washington?. Washington nursing homes must keep a licensed nurse on every shift; assisted living need not have one. Licensing, staffing, inspections and your rights.
• What does Washington’s Lystedt Law require after a youth sports concussion?. Washington’s Lystedt Law pulls a youth athlete with a suspected concussion until a licensed provider gives written clearance. What it means for a claim.
• Is Texas a One-Bite State?. Texas has no civil dog bite statute. Owners are strictly liable when they knew a dog was dangerous, and negligence claims cover the rest, with a two-year deadline and shared-fault rules.
• How Long Do You Have to File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Washington?. Most Washington wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within three years of the death. Here is who can sue and how medical, government and workplace deaths change the timeline.
• Can You Sue for Emotional Distress in Texas?. Texas has no stand-alone claim for negligently caused emotional distress, but car crash victims can recover mental anguish damages with their injury claim, and close relatives who witness a serious injury may have a bystander claim.
• What Is California’s 3-Foot Passing Law for Bicycles?. California Vehicle Code § 21760 requires drivers to give cyclists at least 3 feet when passing and, since 2023, to change lanes when another lane is open. Here is how the rule works and how a violation affects an injury claim.

Brain injury

• Can you get disability for a TBI?
  Yes. Social Security pays disability benefits for a traumatic brain injury when the injury keeps you from working and is expected to last at least a year or result in death, and it evaluates TBI under listing 11.18 of its Blue Book. You may qualify for SSDI through your work record, SSI based on low income and assets, or both.
• What are the danger signs of a head injury?
  Call 911 or go to an emergency department right away if, after a blow or jolt to the head, someone has a headache that gets worse and does not go away, repeated vomiting, slurred speech, weakness or numbness, a seizure, one pupil larger than the other, confusion or agitation, or cannot stay awake. These are the CDC’s danger signs, and some head injury symptoms do not appear for hours or days.
• How long do brain injury cases take to settle?
  A brain injury case usually should not settle until doctors can say whether the symptoms will last, and that can take months or more than a year. If a lawsuit is needed, the court’s schedule adds more time, and the filing deadline sets the outer limit: generally two years in California and Texas and three years in Washington.
• How much is a brain injury case worth?
  No one can give an honest dollar figure for a brain injury case until doctors know how the injury will affect the years ahead. The value is built from your medical costs and future care, the earnings you lost or will lose, the change in your daily life, the strength of the proof of fault, the insurance available and the damages rules of the state where the case is filed.
• How do you prove a traumatic brain injury in court?
  You prove a traumatic brain injury in court by showing it is more likely true than not that the accident caused a brain injury and that the injury caused the losses you claim. Because scans are often normal after milder injuries, that proof usually comes from several sources at once: emergency records, a doctor’s diagnosis, testing of thinking skills and people who knew you before.
• Is a concussion a traumatic brain injury?
  Yes. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke calls a concussion “a type of mild TBI,” and the CDC describes mild TBI and concussion together as injuries caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, or by a hit to the body that makes the head and brain move quickly back and forth. In a legal claim, a concussion is a brain injury.
• Can you make a claim for a mild traumatic brain injury?
  Yes. A mild traumatic brain injury caused by someone else’s carelessness supports a claim for medical care, lost income and the way the injury changed your daily life, the same as any other injury. These claims are often disputed because scans tend to look normal, so they rise or fall on consistent medical records and on evidence of how symptoms have lasted.

Spinal cord injury and paralysis

• Does a spinal cord injury qualify for disability?
  It can. Social Security reviews spinal cord injuries under listing 11.08 of its Blue Book, which covers complete loss of function, or serious limits in movement or in physical and mental functioning, lasting three consecutive months after the injury (SSA Blue Book). A person who falls short of the listing can still qualify by showing the condition prevents substantial work for at least a year.
• How much is a spinal cord injury case worth?
  A spinal cord injury case is worth what the evidence proves the injury will cost over a lifetime, in medical care, lost earnings and the loss of a normal life, limited in practice by fault and by the insurance available. There is no standard figure or formula, and the rules on medical bills, fault and damage limits differ between California, Texas and Washington.
• How do you sue for a spinal cord injury?
  You sue by filing a negligence or product liability lawsuit against the people or companies whose conduct caused the injury, before your state’s deadline: generally two years in California and Texas and three years in Washington. If a city, county or state agency may share the blame, a written claim usually has to be filed first, in as little as six months.
• What is the number one cause of paralysis?
  Stroke is the number one cause of paralysis in the United States, accounting for 33.7% of cases in a national 2013 survey, with spinal cord injury second at 27.3% (Armour et al., AJPH). Among spinal cord injuries alone, vehicle crashes come first, causing 37.1% of new traumatic injuries since 2015 (NSCISC 2026).
• What qualifies as a spinal cord injury?
  A spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord itself, the column of nerve tissue that carries messages between the brain and the body (NINDS). Doctors classify it by where on the spine the damage sits, whether some signals still get through (incomplete) or none do (complete), and a grade from A to E on the ASIA Impairment Scale.

Neck, soft tissue and emotional injuries

• How much compensation can I get for stress and anxiety after an accident?
  No formula or fixed dollar amount applies to stress and anxiety after an accident. If the crash also injured you, anxiety is part of the pain-and-suffering damages that a jury values from the evidence. If you were not physically hurt, you need a claim that fits narrower emotional distress rules, and those rules differ between California, Texas and Washington.
• How much is a neck injury claim worth?
  There is no set dollar amount for a neck injury claim. Its value depends on the diagnosis, the care you needed and will need, the pay you lost, who caused the crash and how much insurance covers that driver, all measured under your state’s damages rules. A strain that clears up in a month and a disc that needs fusion surgery make very different claims.
• How do soft tissue injury claims work?
  A soft tissue injury claim asks the person who caused your accident to pay for damage to muscles, ligaments or tendons, such as a sprain, a strain or a deep bruise. Insurers often contest these claims, so the treatment records you build from the first days after the accident do most of the proving.

Settlements, fault and the claim process

• How is fault determined after an accident in California, Texas and Washington?
  Fault is decided as a percentage. Insurance adjusters estimate each person’s share during the claim, and if the case goes to trial, a jury assigns percentages that add up to 100. In California your share lowers what you recover with no cutoff, and Washington does the same except in some alcohol or drug cases. Texas also lowers it, but a share above 50 percent ends the claim.
• Do injections increase your settlement?
  Injections do not raise the value of a claim by themselves. They add a medical bill and a record of what a doctor found and tried, and that record can help show how serious and lasting an injury is. The law pays only for reasonably necessary care, so the decision to have an injection belongs to you and your doctor, based on your health.
• What are compensatory, general and special damages?
  Compensatory damages are the money awarded to make up for what an injury cost you, and they come in two kinds. Special damages are losses with a price tag, such as medical bills and lost pay, while general damages cover harm with no receipt, such as pain and emotional distress. Punitive damages are a separate category meant to punish, and each state limits them.
• How do lawyers calculate settlements?
  Lawyers calculate a settlement by adding up the losses records can prove, such as medical bills, future care and lost earnings, then estimating pain and suffering and adjusting for fault, proof problems and the insurance available. No statute or court sets a formula. The result is a reasoned estimate of what a jury could award and what can actually be collected.
• How are pain and suffering damages calculated?
  No formula calculates pain and suffering. A jury picks the amount it finds reasonable from the evidence of how the injury has changed your life and how it will likely affect you later. Insurance adjusters try to predict that jury number when they negotiate, so the proof you gather is what moves an offer.
• How much of a $100k settlement will I get?
  You keep what is left of the $100,000 after the attorney fee in your written agreement, the case costs, and every lien and reimbursement claim. If the case went into a lawsuit, costs for depositions and experts can be larger, and several providers may each hold a lien that needs its own payoff. The example below shows how those pieces add up.
• How much of a $25,000 settlement will I get?
  You get what remains of the $25,000 after the attorney fee in your written agreement, the case costs, and any liens or payback claims for your medical care. In the hypothetical example below, with a one-third fee, $750 in costs and $6,000 in reduced medical claims, about $9,900 would reach you. Your real figure depends on your own agreement and bills.
• How much of a $50,000 settlement will I get?
  From a $50,000 settlement, you keep what is left after the fee in your written agreement, the case costs, and repayment to whoever paid for your medical care. At this size, a health plan, Medicare, or Medi-Cal or Medicaid often holds the biggest claim, and state and federal rules shrink many of those claims before you are paid.
• Is Texas a no-fault state?
  No. Texas is an at-fault state, so the driver who causes a crash is responsible for the harm, and every driver must carry liability insurance of at least $30,000 per person, $60,000 per crash and $25,000 for property damage. Texas does add one no-fault piece: personal injury protection (PIP), which your own insurer pays regardless of fault unless you turned it down in writing.
• What happens at a deposition in a personal injury case?
  At a deposition, the other side’s lawyer asks you questions under oath while a court reporter takes down every word, often in a conference room or by video. Your own lawyer sits beside you and can object. In California questioning is generally capped at seven hours, and in Texas each side gets up to six hours with a witness.
• What happens if you deny a settlement offer?
  If you reject a settlement offer, that offer usually ends and your claim goes on through more negotiation, a lawsuit or a trial. What you risk depends on the kind of offer. An informal offer from an adjuster carries no penalty when you say no, but a formal offer made under a statute or court rule can move court costs onto you if your final result is not better.
• What is a policy limit and how do I find the other driver's limits?
  A policy limit is the most an insurance policy will pay for a covered loss. To learn the at-fault driver’s limits, you or your lawyer ask that driver’s insurer in writing, but we found no statute in California, Texas or Washington that requires the insurer to tell you before a lawsuit. Once a lawsuit is filed, the limits can be obtained through discovery in all three states.
• What is a subrogation letter?
  A subrogation letter is a written notice from an insurer or health plan that paid for a loss and now claims the right to be paid back. If you were hurt, it usually comes from your own auto insurer, your health plan or Medicare and says it expects repayment from your injury claim. If you caused the crash, it comes from the other person’s insurer and asks for its money back.

Dealing with insurance companies

• What should I expect from Allstate after an accident?
  Expect your claim to be handled by Allstate Insurance Company or another company in the Allstate group, such as National General, through an adjuster who investigates and then pays, offers or denies. State rules set deadlines for each step, and in 2024 Washington’s insurance regulator fined Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company after finding delays in some auto claims it reviewed.
• What should I expect from Farmers Insurance after an accident?
  After a crash, a Farmers claim representative contacts you, reviews the coverage and may ask you and others for more details. If Farmers insures the other driver, its own claims FAQ says you would have to wait until it decides its customer was responsible before it works with you on repairs. California, Texas and Washington each set deadlines for how fast it must respond.
• What should I expect from GEICO after an accident?
  GEICO will take your claim by phone, online or in its app, assign an adjuster and investigate. If GEICO is your own insurer, state rules generally give it 10 to 15 days to acknowledge the claim and require written reasons for a denial. If it insures the driver who hit you, its adjuster works for that driver, and no law we found makes you give it a recorded statement.
• What should I expect from Mercury Insurance after an accident?
  Expect a Mercury representative to take down the details of the crash, explain the coverage and possibly record the interview, which Mercury says it may do to speed up the claim. Most of Mercury’s business is in California, where state regulations set firm claim deadlines. Mercury also writes auto policies in Texas, but its latest annual report does not list Washington.
• What should I expect from Progressive after an accident?
  Progressive will take the claim at 1-800-776-4737, online or in its app, even from people it does not insure, and an adjuster will investigate and make an offer or a decision. If you or the other driver used Progressive’s Snapshot program, the company’s own privacy statement says that driving data may be used to help resolve the claim.
• What should I expect from State Farm after an accident?
  State Farm will open a claim by phone at 800-SF-CLAIM (800-732-5246), online or in its app, investigate, and then accept or deny it. As your own insurer it must decide within 40 days of proof of claim in California, 15 business days after it has everything it asked for in Texas, and 30 calendar days after notice of the claim in Washington.
• What should I expect from USAA after an accident?
  If a USAA member hit you, you can file a third-party claim with USAA without being a member, and USAA reviews the crash, decides who is responsible and pays covered losses. If USAA is your own insurer, state law adds firmer deadlines and remedies, including an 18% interest penalty in Texas, where USAA is based.

Traffic rules and crash evidence

• How do bicycle accident claims work?
  A cyclist hit by a careless driver can claim against that driver’s liability insurance for medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering, and can often add benefits from the cyclist’s own auto policy. The claim rests on proof of what the driver did wrong, the fault rule of the state where the crash happened, and how much insurance is available.
• How can I get a police report after an accident in Austin?
  For a crash Austin police worked, use the “Crash Reports via LexisNexis” link on APD’s website or buy the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (CR-3) from TxDOT for $6, or $8 certified. APD’s Report Sales Unit at 812 Springdale Road also sells copies of the public portion of police reports. Body camera video, 911 audio and photos need a separate public information request.
• How can I get a police report after an accident in Dallas?
  For most Dallas crashes, you buy the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (CR-3) from TxDOT’s online Crash Report Online Purchase System for $6, or $8 for a certified copy. Search by the name of someone involved, and allow up to 14 days for the report to appear. Video, 911 audio and other Dallas police records take a separate open records request.
• How can I get a police report after an accident in Houston?
  If Houston police worked your crash, you can get the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (CR-3) online, by mail with a $6 check, or in person at HPD’s Records Division at 1200 Travis once HPD’s 5 to 8 days of processing pass. If a deputy, a constable or a state trooper handled it, start with TxDOT’s online crash report system.
• How can I get a police report after an accident in San Antonio?
  You can buy a San Antonio police crash report online through TxDOT, mail SAPD’s crash report form to its Records Office, or pick one up at SAPD headquarters, 315 S. Santa Rosa, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bring the SAPD case number or two identifying details. A crash worked by a Bexar County deputy or a state trooper is sold through TxDOT.
• How do I get a police report after an accident in Seattle?
  If you were involved in a crash Seattle police handled, ask SPD’s Public Request Unit for the collision report, usually ready about 5 to 7 business days later, without filing a public disclosure request. You can also buy it from the Washington State Patrol’s online collision report system for $10.50, since WSP is the custodian of every collision report in the state.
• How do you get traffic camera footage in Dallas?
  Usually not from TxDOT, because its Dallas highway cameras stream live and, according to a 2025 Texas House committee analysis, TxDOT keeps no archive of the footage. Video of a Dallas crash more often comes from Dallas police cameras, DART buses, and businesses or doorbells nearby. You request it under the Texas Public Information Act or with a preservation letter, as soon as you can.
• How do you get traffic camera footage in Houston?
  You usually can’t get it from Houston TranStar, because TranStar says it does not record video or save images from its cameras. Crash video in Houston more often comes from HPD, METRO, nearby businesses and neighbors’ doorbells. You ask for it under the Texas Public Information Act or with a preservation letter, and you start right away, because some Houston recordings are kept only for months.
• How do you get traffic camera footage in Los Angeles?
  Usually you can’t get it from the traffic cameras, because Caltrans says its freeway video is not recorded and a 2013 City Council committee report said LADOT’s signal cameras did not record images. Crash video in Los Angeles usually comes from police, LA Metro buses, businesses and doorbells, and you ask for it with a Public Records Act request or a preservation letter sent within days.
• How do you get traffic camera footage in San Antonio?
  In most cases you can’t get it from TransGuide, because the TxDOT highway video it shows is live and, according to a 2025 Texas House committee analysis, TxDOT keeps no archive. San Antonio crash video more often comes from SAPD body and dash cameras, VIA buses, and businesses or doorbells nearby, and you request it under the Texas Public Information Act or with a preservation letter sent at once.
• How do you get traffic camera footage in Seattle?
  Often you can’t, because the city says SDOT archives traffic camera video only in narrow cases and deletes it within ten days, and WSDOT says it does not store footage from its freeway and intersection cameras. Video of a Seattle crash more often comes from police body cameras, King County Metro buses, businesses and doorbells, and you ask for it under the Public Records Act within days.
• Is jaywalking illegal in California, Texas and Washington?
  Crossing outside a crosswalk is still regulated in all three states, but since January 1, 2023, California police may stop a pedestrian for it only when a reasonably careful person would see an immediate danger of a collision. Texas and Washington still require a pedestrian outside a crosswalk to yield to vehicles. A pedestrian hit while jaywalking can often still recover damages.
• What is the legal alcohol limit for driving in California, Texas and Washington?
  For drivers 21 and older, the legal limit is a blood or breath alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent in California, Texas and Washington. Commercial drivers face a 0.04 line, and drivers under 21 can break the law at much lower readings, down to any detectable alcohol in Texas. A driver under 0.08 can still be charged if alcohol impaired their driving.
• What are the most dangerous freeways in Los Angeles?
  Counted by crashes per mile, the northbound 110 between the 105 and the 101 ranked worst of 24 Los Angeles freeway segments in a July 2018 Crosstown analysis, at 162.8 crashes per mile in one year. Counted by deaths, a 2024 ConsumerAffairs study of 2022 federal data, reported by ABC7, put the 10 Freeway in Los Angeles County eighth in California, with 14 deaths.
• What are the most dangerous intersections in Los Angeles?
  The city’s own answer is Florence Avenue and Vermont Avenue, which ranked first for all travel modes in LADOT’s January 2024 Vision Zero Safety Study, scored from 2017 to 2021 collisions plus traffic factors. Counted by raw crashes, Slauson Avenue and Figueroa Street led a 2025 Crosstown analysis of LAPD data, with 66 serious collisions from February 2021 to February 2025.
• What is the average motorcycle accident settlement?
  There is no average that fits your case, and any figure you see online lumps road rash together with fatal crashes. A motorcycle claim is worth what your injuries cost you now and in the future, reduced by any share of fault the evidence puts on you, and limited in practice by the insurance that can pay.
• What are the motorcycle helmet laws in California, Texas and Washington?
  California and Washington require every motorcycle rider and passenger to wear a helmet. Texas requires one too, but exempts riders and passengers 21 or older who have completed an approved motorcycle safety course or are covered by health insurance that pays for motorcycle crash injuries. In all three states, a missing helmet can become a fault argument in an injury claim, but only for injuries a helmet would have prevented or reduced.
• Is Pacific Coast Highway dangerous, and what should you do after a PCH crash?
  The Malibu stretch has a long record of serious crashes: the Assembly Transportation Committee’s 2024 analysis of SB 1297 counted 49 people killed and 209 seriously injured on PCH in Malibu from 2012 to 2023. After a PCH crash, get medical care and the report from the agency that responded, and keep in mind that a claim against Caltrans over the road generally must be presented within six months.
• What are the bicycle laws in Texas?
  Texas gives a person on a bicycle the rights and duties of a driver, plus a short list of bike-specific rules in Transportation Code Chapter 551. Riders slower than traffic generally keep to the right, need a brake and, at night, a white front light and a red rear reflector or light, and state law sets no helmet requirement.
• What are the bicycle laws in Washington State?
  Washington gives a person riding a bicycle on the road the rights and duties of a driver, with bike-specific rules in RCW 46.61.750 through 46.61.790. Drivers must pass a cyclist at a safe distance, at least three feet where practicable, and since October 1, 2020 a rider may treat a stop sign as a yield sign.
• Who has the right of way at a 4-way stop?
  At a 4-way stop, the driver who stops first goes first. If two drivers arrive at about the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right, in California, Texas and Washington alike. Every driver must make a full stop and yield to vehicles already in the intersection and to pedestrians crossing.

Pedestrian accidents

• What is the most common cause of pedestrian accidents?
  Darkness and mid-block crossings stand out in the federal data: in 2024, 76 percent of U.S. pedestrian deaths happened in the dark and 73 percent away from intersections, according to NHTSA. Alcohol, drivers who fail to yield, roads without sidewalks and hit-and-run drivers also appear again and again, and each one calls for different proof in an injury claim.
• Who is at fault when a car hits a pedestrian in a crosswalk in Texas?
  The driver usually is, because Texas law requires drivers to stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk where no signal is operating, and to stop and yield to a pedestrian crossing lawfully with the signal. A pedestrian who darted out or started on “Don’t Walk” can share the blame, and in Texas a share above 50 percent ends the claim.
• What happens if a pedestrian is hit in a crosswalk in Washington?
  Washington drivers must stop and remain stopped while a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk is on, or within one lane of, the driver’s half of the road, so a driver who hits someone in a crosswalk is usually at fault. Any share of blame on the pedestrian lowers the award without barring it, unless an impaired pedestrian is found more than 50 percent at fault.
• Is it always the driver's fault if they hit a pedestrian?
  No. Drivers in California, Texas and Washington must use due care toward people on foot, but pedestrians have legal duties too, and a jury can split the blame between both. What that split does to your claim depends on the state: California and Washington cut your award by your share, while Texas bars recovery once your share passes 50 percent.
• What is my pedestrian accident case worth?
  Nobody can give you an honest figure until the medical records, the bills, the fault evidence and every insurance policy are on the table. A pedestrian claim is worth what your injuries cost you now and later, reduced by any share of fault the evidence puts on you, and limited in practice by the insurance and assets available to pay.

Slip and fall

• How long does a slip and fall lawsuit take?
  There is no set length, because a slip and fall case moves at the pace of your medical recovery first and the court’s calendar second. Once a lawsuit is filed, California’s goal is to resolve every unlimited civil case within 24 months, and Texas sets an 18-month standard for civil jury cases, though these are targets that a single case can run past.
• Is it worth suing for a slip and fall?
  It can be worth suing when the fall caused a real injury and you can show the owner knew or should have known about the hazard. It is often not worth it when you healed within days or there is no way to prove notice, because the time and cost of a lawsuit can outweigh what it could recover.
• How long after a fall can you claim compensation?
  For a fall on private property, you generally have two years to file a lawsuit in California and Texas and three years in Washington. If a city, county, state agency or other public body owns the property, the clock is much shorter: California generally requires a written claim and Texas generally requires notice within six months, and Washington requires a claim before any suit.
• What evidence is needed for a slip and fall case?
  A slip and fall case needs evidence of four things: a hazard on the property, the owner’s knowledge of it (or a good reason it should have known), a failure to fix it or warn you, and an injury caused by the fall. Video, inspection logs, your photos and your medical records usually supply that proof, and the video is often the first to disappear.
• Can you sue for a slip and fall with no witnesses?
  Yes. You can bring a slip and fall claim even if nobody saw you go down, because courts in California, Texas and Washington accept indirect proof as well as eyewitness accounts. The harder question is usually whether you can show the owner knew or should have known about the hazard, and that tends to turn on video, store records and how long the hazard was there.
• What should I do after a slip and fall?
  Get medical care first, then report the fall to the owner or manager, photograph what you slipped on before it is cleaned up, and write down the names of anyone who helped. In the days that follow, keep your shoes and records, hold off on recorded statements to the owner’s insurer, and have a lawyer ask the owner in writing to keep its video.

Falls at grocery stores

• Can I sue if I slip and fall at Albertsons?
  You can sue Albertsons after a fall when a hazard in the store caused it and you can prove the store knew, or should have known, about that hazard. What counts as enough proof depends on the state, and Albertsons stores in California, Texas and Washington each answer to different rules.
• Can I sue if I slip and fall at Food 4 Less?
  Yes. You can sue Food 4 Less if a hazard in the store caused your fall and the company knew about it, or would have found it with reasonable inspections. Cases like this often turn on the store’s sweep records and its video, so what the store did in the hour before you fell often matters more than the fall itself.
• Can I sue if I slip and fall at H-E-B?
  Yes, you can sue H-E-B after a fall in one of its Texas stores, but Texas sets a high bar: you generally must show the store knew of the hazard or that it sat there long enough to be found. In the H-E-B appeals described below the shoppers lost, most often because they had no proof of how long the hazard was there.
• Can I sue if I slip and fall at Northgate Market?
  Yes. If you fell at a Northgate Market because of a spill, debris or another hazard the store knew about or should have found, you can bring a claim against the company that runs the store. California law decides the case, and the key question is usually how long the hazard was on the floor before you fell.
• Can I sue if I slip and fall at Ralphs?
  Yes, you can sue Ralphs after a fall when a dangerous condition caused it and Ralphs knew or should have known about it in time to fix it or warn you. Seeing the hazard before you fell does not automatically end the claim in California; your own carelessness lowers the recovery by your share of the fault.
• Can I sue if I slip and fall at Safeway?
  You can sue Safeway for a fall if a hazard in the store caused it and you can show Safeway knew or should have known about it. Two unpublished Washington appeals involving Safeway turned on the store’s inspection routine and the timing of the spill, so the evidence gathered in the first days can matter a great deal.
• Can I sue if I slip and fall at Smart & Final?
  Yes. You can sue Smart & Final if a condition in the store caused your fall and the store either created it or should have found and fixed it. If an employee put the hazard there, such as stock left in an aisle or a freshly treated floor, California law does not make you prove the store knew about it.
• Can I sue if I slip and fall at Vons?
  Yes, you can sue Vons over a fall if you can show a dangerous condition caused it and the store knew or should have known about that condition in time to fix it or warn you. A fall by itself is not enough, and a California appeal involving a Vons bakery shows how a case can end when the shopper cannot prove what was on the floor.

Dog bites

• What is the payout for a dog bite?
  There is no standard payout for a dog bite. A claim’s value depends on the injury and how long its effects last, including scarring, surgery, infection and emotional harm, on who is legally responsible, and on how much insurance stands behind the owner.
• What evidence do you need to win a dog bite claim?
  A dog bite claim needs proof of whose dog it was, where the bite happened and what the bite did to you, plus, in some states, proof of what the owner knew about the dog. The bite report, the quarantine record, photos of the wound, your medical records and the owner’s insurance details supply most of that proof.
• What is Washington's dog bite law?
  Washington makes a dog’s owner liable when the dog bites someone in a public place or someone lawfully on private property, even if the dog had never shown aggression before (RCW 16.08.040). Provocation is a complete defense, injuries without a bite need a different legal theory, and most injury claims must be filed within three years.

Work injuries

• Can you sue your employer for a work injury?
  Usually not. In California, in Washington, and in Texas when the employer carries workers’ compensation, comp benefits replace a lawsuit against the employer, with narrow exceptions such as a willful assault or a deliberate intent to injure. A Texas employer without comp can be sued for negligence, and in all three states you can sue an outside company or person who caused the injury.
• Can you sue a third party after a construction accident?
  Yes. You can usually collect workers’ comp from your own employer and also sue another company whose negligence caused the injury, such as a general contractor, another subcontractor, the property owner or the maker of a defective machine. California limits claims against the company that hired your employer, Texas shields many commercial property owners, and Washington gives the general contractor a site-wide safety duty.
• What is the difference between workers' comp and a personal injury claim?
  Workers’ comp pays medical care and part of your lost wages no matter who was at fault, but it does not pay for pain and suffering. A personal injury claim requires proving someone was negligent, and it can cover your full lost earnings and pain and suffering. After a work injury you may have both, with comp from your employer and a lawsuit against an outside party.

Wrongful death

• What is the difference between a survival action and a wrongful death claim?
  A wrongful death claim pays family members for their own losses from the death, while a survival action carries forward the claim the person who died could have brought if they had lived. The two are often filed together in one lawsuit, but they belong to different people and pay for different harms.
• Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit?
  The answer depends on the state where the death happened. In California, the spouse or registered domestic partner and the children come first, and some people who depended on the person can also sue; in Texas, only the spouse, children and parents; and in Washington, the estate’s personal representative files the case for the family members the statute names.
• What damages are available in a wrongful death case?
  Wrongful death damages pay the family for what the death took from them: the financial support and household help the person would have given, funeral costs, and the loss of their love, companionship and guidance. Whether the family can also recover for grief or mental anguish, or seek punitive damages, depends on whether the case is in California, Texas or Washington.
• What is the statute of limitations for wrongful death in California?
  In California, most wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of death. Different and shorter rules apply when a public agency is involved, where a written claim is generally due within six months, and when the death followed medical care, where the deadline can be as short as one year from when the family learned of the problem.
• What is the statute of limitations for wrongful death in Texas?
  In Texas, a wrongful death lawsuit generally must be filed within two years of the day the person died. A death caused by medical care follows a separate two-year rule that can start before the death, and a claim against a city, county or state agency needs written notice within six months of the incident, unless the agency already knew of the death.

Nursing homes

• Can a nursing home take your house?
  Generally, no. A nursing home is a creditor like any other, so to reach a house for an unpaid bill it has to sue, win a money judgment and then get past the state’s homestead protection. A separate rule can reach the home after death: if Medicaid paid for nursing home care, the state may seek repayment from the estate.
• Can a nursing home take your Social Security check?
  A nursing home cannot simply take a resident’s Social Security, but when Medicaid pays for the stay, most of the resident’s monthly income, Social Security included, generally goes toward the cost of care. The resident keeps a personal needs allowance, which is at least $35 a month under California law and at least $75 a month under Texas law. Washington sets its amount by rule.
• Can you sue a nursing home for sepsis?
  Yes, when the nursing home’s care fell below the accepted standard and that failure caused the infection, or caused the delay that let it become sepsis. Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection, so these cases are usually about the infection that came first, such as an infected bed sore or a urinary infection, and about how fast staff noticed and acted.
• What does dehydration in a nursing home look like?
  A dehydrated resident may be very thirsty, urinate less, have dark urine, seem tired, dizzy or confused, and have skin that does not flatten right away after a pinch. Many older adults do not feel thirsty until they are already dehydrated. Federal rules require a Medicare or Medicaid nursing home to offer each resident enough fluid to maintain proper hydration and health.
• Does Medicare pay for nursing home care?
  Medicare pays only for a short stay of skilled care. Part A can cover up to 100 days in a skilled nursing facility per benefit period after a medically necessary inpatient hospital stay of at least three days in a row. When custodial care is the only care a person needs, Medicare does not cover it, so long-term living in a nursing home is usually paid some other way.
• How long does a nursing home lawsuit take?
  No law sets a fixed length for a nursing home lawsuit, and we found no official source that publishes an average. The time depends on a series of steps: getting the chart, having it reviewed, meeting each state’s pre-suit rules, dealing with any arbitration agreement, and then the court’s schedule. California lets some residents over 70 ask for a fast trial date.
• How do you report nursing home abuse?
  If a resident is in danger right now, call 911. For everything else, report to the state agency that licenses the nursing home: the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), or Washington’s DSHS Complaint Resolution Unit. Each state also has a long-term care ombudsman, and nursing home staff have their own legal deadlines to report.
• What rights do nursing home residents have?
  Every resident of a nursing home that takes Medicare or Medicaid has federal rights to dignity and self-determination, to be free from abuse, neglect and exploitation, to be free from restraints used for discipline or convenience, to control their own money and records, and to 30 days’ written notice before most transfers or discharges. California, Texas and Washington add their own lists and ways to enforce them.
• What are the signs of malnutrition in nursing home residents?
  The signs families most often notice are weight loss, thin arms and legs, visible bones, weakness, fatigue and a resident who cannot get warm. Others include dry skin, hair loss, low mood or apathy, frequent infections and wounds that heal slowly. Federal rules require nursing homes to keep each resident at an acceptable nutritional status, such as usual body weight, unless the resident’s condition makes that impossible.
• What triggers an APS investigation?
  An Adult Protective Services investigation starts with a report that an older adult or an adult with a disability is being abused, neglected or financially exploited. APS then checks three things: whether the person falls within the ages and conditions it serves, whether the report describes a type of harm it handles, and where the harm happened, because abuse inside a licensed nursing home usually goes to another agency.

Sexual abuse claims

• Can you sue a school for sexual abuse?
  Yes. A public or private school can be sued when its own negligence, such as careless hiring, weak supervision or ignored warnings, helped allow a student to be sexually abused, and schools that take federal money can also face Title IX claims. Public districts have special rules: California does not require its usual government claim for these cases against local districts, and Texas largely keeps school districts out of its tort claims law.
• Can you sue an institution for sexual abuse?
  Yes, in many cases. A school, church, youth program, employer or care facility can be held responsible when it was careless in hiring, supervising or keeping the person who committed the abuse. In California, Texas and Washington, these claims usually turn on what the organization knew or should have known, and what it did once it had reason for concern.
• What is the statute of limitations for sexual abuse lawsuits?
  The deadline depends on the state, the survivor’s age when the abuse happened and the date it happened. For abuse of a child, California has no deadline for abuse on or after January 1, 2024, Washington has none for claims based on intentional abuse on or after June 6, 2024, and Texas generally allows 30 years. Adult survivors face shorter deadlines, though some older claims have been reopened for a limited time.

More answers

See also our burn injury questions, the car and truck accident questions and the longer legal guides.

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Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.