When you’ve been injured in an accident or a loved one has died as a result of one, the impact of such an event can be life-altering. It can feel impossible to put one foot in front of the next, much less navigate the labyrinthian legal process that many must take when injured or facing a wrongful death claim. 

It was the recognition of lives forever changed by the actions of others that lit a fire for attorney George Salinas of the San Antonio firm George Salinas Injury Lawyers. As he stepped into his legal career and witnessed the results of a passionate application of the law to personal injury cases, he knew his heart was in the right place. 

Salinas has emerged as one of the foremost personal injury attorneys in Texas, having built his firm around some simple truths that are often glossed over in an industry of personalities and slick marketing campaigns — integrity, personal connection, and empathy. This approach has allowed him to settle hundreds of lawsuits for the benefit of his clients and garner maximum settlements to help those clients begin their lives anew. 

A good start 

Salinas caught the law bug the way many lawyers likely did: by bearing witness to a high-profile case on television. In Salinas’s case, it was the OJ Simpson trial. 

“In 1994, we moved to a new city, and I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t have any friends, so I had nothing better to do after school than to run home and watch the OJ trial,” Salinas explains. “I probably sounded like a crazy person. I was delivering cross-examination questions and was totally hooked.” 

Following his newfound interest in legal proceedings, Salinas joined his high school’s debate and mock-trial teams, and his ignited passion for the law carried him into college. Salinas attended the University of Texas School of Law, completing legal internships with Judge Fred Biery of the Federal District Court of the Western District of Texas and with Chief Justice Alma Lopez of the 4th Court of Appeals of Texas. He also served as a Policy Analyst in the Texas Senate during the 79th Legislature. 

It was during his stint at a firm defending corporations and insurance companies in personal injury cases that Salinas had his wake-up call. He realized that, while he enjoyed the legal challenge and experience, his heart was not in defending corporate interests. Rather, he wanted to defend the injured parties. 

“When you’re talking about personal injury cases, the final result is a huge component. But I think so much of it involves the journey — they need to feel like they are being taken care of and listened to,” Salinas says. 

This prompted Salinas to become a trial lawyer for a prominent personal injury law firm in San Antonio, where he represented victims and their families in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. During this time, he handled hundreds of cases against insurance companies and corporations throughout Texas, solidifying his reputation as a lawyer who got justice for his clients. 

The emotional impact of personal injury 

The right to a trial by jury is one of the fundamental parts of the law in America, and Salinas takes pride in helping his clients navigate the challenging — and often overwhelming — world of trials. Those seeking justice for an injury or wrongful death through the courts often do not know where to start or what their rights may be. Most clients seeking help from Salinas and his firm are experiencing trauma following a personal injury — a situation that Salinas knows how to handle deftly and professionally.

“Law school doesn’t necessarily prepare you for the emotional aspect of practicing law,” Salinas explains. “In my field, you are dealing with a whole range of loss. It doesn’t help when the system that we have centers largely around businesses like insurance companies. They’re not nonprofits; their objective is not ‘Let me see how I can make this person whole.’ Instead, they are focused on ‘What is the least amount of money I can pay to get this person to sign a release?’” 

Salinas puts a strong focus on empathy, both for himself and the lawyers he hires. It is an attribute that, Salinas feels, one either has or doesn’t. He wants the people he hires to be willing to take the journey to justice with the client, with an empathetic spirit. “We don’t take a case in my office unless we are willing to take that case from A to Z,” he explains. 

Becoming a parent has allowed Salinas to develop a deeper understanding of what is at stake in a personal injury case. “As a father, it’s really difficult,” says Salinas. “How do you compensate someone for not having a mother or father for the rest of their lives? Having to sit down with a family and talk about loss is an emotional process. As a lawyer, you have to be able to put emotion aside. But, at the same time, you have to be able to connect to your client emotionally and explain to a jury why they should do what you’re asking them to do.” 

Salinas and his staff, coming from a place of empathy and understanding, set themselves apart from other personal injury lawyers who often make their firms a cult of personality and less about their client’s needs. “Sometimes, we have to deal with the jurors’ perceptions of who we are as lawyers,” explains Salinas. 

Setting himself apart from the image of an ambulance-chasing lawyer with cartoonish marketing approaches, Salinas has become the go-to lawyer for compassionate representation. 

A team formed for justice  

“The thing I am most proud of as a business owner isn’t one single result or case, but the concept of having built a team that I can trust,” says Salinas. The George Salinas Injury Lawyers focus on hearing clients’ voices and restoring their lives after catastrophic events. 

To Salinas and his team, their clients will always be more than case numbers, and therein lies the difference with this award-winning law office. “Our clients are human beings who have had something unjustly taken away from them. To speak to their loss, we aim to understand their lives and their values,” explains Salinas. 

After many wins and successfully settled cases, Salinas and his team are not content to rest on their laurels. They continue to seek out full justice for their clients. 

“I have a sign above my desk in my office that says ‘Success is never owned, it’s only rented, and the rent is due every day,” Salinas adds. He continues to live by this philosophy, earning his success as a trial lawyer every day and continuing to fight for justice for those who need it the most.