What Damages Can I Claim for Personal Injury in Texas?

A personal injury can change everything. In one moment, you can find yourself no longer able to work, saddled with huge ongoing expenses, and even unable to engage in all the activities you used to enjoy. The good news is that you can be compensated for these losses under Texas law and a qualified attorney can help you get everything that you’re owed.

What Damages Can I Claim for Personal Injury in Houston, TX?

Personal injury damages are generally categorized into three main types: e, non-economic damages, and exemplary (punitive) damages. Each type serves to address different aspects of the harm suffered by the injured party, though punitive damages are very rare.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are tangible, quantifiable monetary losses that result directly from the injury. These damages are intended to reimburse you for everything you’ve had to spend and all your financial losses because of the accident.

Medical Expenses

Medical expenses are usually an important part of economic damages and should include all the costs you’ve incurred from your medical care. This includes expenses for emergency room transport and visits, hospital stays, surgeries, doctor consultations, prescription medications, physical therapy, rehabilitation services, and any medical equipment or devices you have to use.

Your damages should also include compensation for projected future medical expenses if you have long-term or permanent injuries. It can be tricky to properly calculate these, but your attorney will help you to do so and will have experience in this area as well as connections with financial and medical experts who can be called in if necessary.

Lost Wages and Earning Capacity

If you’ve had to miss work and, consequently, lost income, your compensation should cover the earnings you would have received had the injury not occurred. Additionally, if the injury affects your ability to work in the future, you may claim loss of future earning capacity, as well. This calculation should also include things like missed bonuses or bonus opportunities, missed opportunities for overtime (if you can show you would normally have taken advantage of them), and even potentially missed promotion opportunities.

Damage

If your personal property was damaged in the incident, you are entitled to compensation for repairing or replacing the damaged property.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are the intangible losses you’ve suffered, like pain, emotional strain, and more. These don’t have a specific monetary value, and Texas law recognizes that no amount of money can actually make these right, yet they do significantly affect your quality of life and should be included in your compensation.

Pain and Suffering

This includes the actual physical pain you’ve endured as well as the inconvenience and limitations the injury has imposed on your daily activities. The severity and duration of the pain, the type of injury you’re suffering, and the impact it has on your ability to enjoy life will all be considered, and usually the total is calculated either in relation to your economic damages or by the day.

Mental Anguish

The psychological impact of the injury and the emotional trauma you’ve suffered can be profound, and it’s important for this also to be covered in your compensation. To prove this, you’ll usually need to show evidence from mental health professionals, though it can also help if your family and friends can testify to a changed mental state and outlook on life.

Loss of Consortium

Loss of consortium is a technical term referring to a broken relationship between the injured person and their (typically) spouse but occasionally also other family members. Essentially, it means that because of the injury you have now lost the companionship, affection, comfort, and intimacy you would normally have enjoyed.

Disfigurement and Physical Impairment

If your injury caused scarring, required an amputation, or made some other permanent physical change, you may claim damages for disfigurement.

Exemplary (Punitive) Damages

Exemplary damages, also known as punitive damages, are not actually intended for you primarily as the injured party but are actually a way to punish the wrongdoer for particularly egregious bad conduct and to deter others from acting in the same way in the future. In Texas, exemplary damages are awarded only when there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with fraud, malice, or gross negligence. These damages are fairly rare, and be aware that while the rest of your damages are generally not taxable (since they are reimbursements of losses and not income), punitive damages are taxed fairly highly by the IRS.

Factors That Can Affect Your Damage Awards

Comparative Negligence

Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule with a 51% bar. This that anyone 51% or more responsible for an accident is barred from seeking any compensation at all, while those who are 50% or less responsible will have their compensation reduced by the same percentage as their fault.

Let’s say that you are awarded $45,000 in damages, but you are considered to be 15% responsible for the accident (perhaps you were texting at the time someone else ran a red light and hit you). In that case, you would only be able to recover $38,250, which is 85% of your damages.

Proving Your Damages

To prove your damages, you’ll need to provide clear and convincing proof of both economic and non-economic damages. You’ll need medical records, bills, and physician notes outlining your injuries and treatment. You’ll also need your employment records that can prove your wages and losses there, like pay stubs, tax returns, and employer statements.

Estimates or receipts for property repairs and replacements will support you damage claims, and the testimony of mental health professionals and your personal journals documenting your pain, emotional state, and the impact this injury has had on your daily life will all be helpful.

Expert Testimony

Expert witnesses will be very supportive to your case, especially if there are complex issues, like estimating future medical expenses or your loss of earning capacity. Medical experts can help a judge and jury fully understand your injuries and explain medical jargon in helpful ways. Economic experts can work with you and your lawyer to calculate your lost earning capacity, and mental health professionals can assess and testify about the emotional distress and psychological difficulties the accident has caused you.

Dealing With Insurers

Insurance companies are the primary source of compensation in most of these cases, and dealing with insurers means being prepared to negotiate. Remember that insurance adjusters may be quick to offer you settlements that are lower than the actual value of your claim, hoping that you’ll jump at the chance to get some money, even if it’s far below what you’re owed. Never sign anything or accept a settlement without having your lawyer look over it all first.

For experienced help getting all the compensation you’re deserved, contact Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner in Houston, TX today.