Texas personal injury law, answered straight.

Nothing up front. Kent works on a contingency fee: you pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you. The first consultation is always free, the firm covers all case expenses (medical record requests, expert witnesses, deposition fees) while your case is pending, and our fee is a percentage of the recovery — agreed in writing before we start. If we don't win, you owe nothing.

Most cases settle in 6 to 18 months. Simple soft-tissue claims with clear liability and one defendant can resolve in a few months. Serious-injury cases that require expert depositions, accident reconstruction, or significant ongoing medical treatment take longer — sometimes 18–36 months. Cases that go to trial in Collin or Dallas County typically take 12–24 months from filing to verdict. We give realistic timelines after we review the police report and your medical records.

1) Get medical attention the same day, even if you feel fine — adrenaline masks injuries and gaps in treatment hurt your case. 2) Photograph the scene, vehicles, and visible injuries. 3) Get the other party's insurance information, but don't give a recorded statement to anyone. 4) Don't accept a quick settlement offer from the other side's insurance — it's almost always less than the case is worth. 5) Call us for a free consultation before you sign anything.

Probably not. About 95% of personal injury cases settle before trial. But the credible threat of trial is what produces fair settlements — insurance companies pay more when they know your lawyer is willing and able to actually try the case. Kent's 30-year courtroom record means defendants and their insurers take the threat seriously. We will not push you toward trial unless you want to go.

Texas follows modified comparative fault with a 51% bar. As long as you are 50% or less at fault, you can still recover — your award is just reduced by your share of responsibility. Insurance companies routinely try to over-blame our clients to push them above the 51% bar. That's exactly the fight we're built for. We've handled many cases where the initial 'fault assignment' from the police or insurer was wrong.

Yes — we handle injury cases throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, including all of Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson, Parker counties. Our office is in McKinney, but we travel to clients, hospitals, and homes throughout DFW. Common service-area pages: McKinney, Plano, Frisco, Allen, Dallas.

A fair settlement compensates several distinct categories: medical expenses (past and future), lost wages and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, property damage, and in egregious cases punitive damages. The total depends on the strength of liability evidence, the at-fault party's insurance limits, and the venue. Anyone who quotes a number on the first call is guessing. After we review your records, we provide a realistic range.

This is one of the most common situations in serious-injury cases. Your own auto policy almost certainly has uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage that fills the gap — Texas requires insurers to offer UM/UIM, and most policies include it. We pull your declarations page and stack coverage where we can. If there are commercial defendants involved (truck, employer, vendor), their policies are typically far higher than personal-auto minimums.

After settlement, the funds go into the firm's trust account, we pay the medical liens (negotiated down where possible), deduct case expenses and the contingency fee, and the balance goes to you. Total time from settlement agreement to client check is typically 30–60 days for routine cases. Cases involving Medicare or Medicaid liens take longer because federal lien resolution has its own timeline.

Not dead, but harder. Insurance companies argue that gaps in treatment mean your injury wasn't really caused by the accident. We've handled this scenario many times — it requires explaining the gap (you tried to tough it out, you didn't have insurance, you were taking care of family). Honest explanations work. Don't wait any longer to get evaluated, and tell the doctor exactly when and how you were hurt.

No. Insurance defense investigators routinely scour Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X for posts that contradict your injury claims. A photo of you at a family BBQ — even with you sitting still — can be used to argue you weren't really hurt. Don't post about the accident, your injuries, your case, or your activities until the case resolves. Tell family members the same.

Politely decline and refer them to your lawyer. Anything you say to the at-fault driver's insurance carrier — even seemingly innocent things like 'I'm feeling a little better today' — gets recorded and used to reduce your settlement. They are not on your side. Their only job is to pay you as little as possible. Once you have a lawyer, all communication goes through us.