Car crashes, slip and falls, and medical malpractice are just a few examples of accidents that can result in serious injuries. If you have been hurt, and the accident was caused by another person’s negligence, you may be entitled to damages, or financial compensation. Below, our Houston personal injury lawyer explains the types of damages that may be available in your case.

What are Damages in a Personal Injury Case?

Even the highest courts cannot undo the injuries or harm you suffered due to another person’s negligence. The only remedy then, is to award you damages that can compensate for the physical, emotional, and financial harm you sustained. In Texas, there are three different types of damages you may be eligible for. These are economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.

Economic Damages in Personal Injury Cases

After an accident, you will incur many expenses and financial losses. Economic damages are those that have an actual dollar value and so, they are fairly easy to calculate. Common types of economic damages in personal injury cases are as follows:

• The cost of medical treatment and care, including physical, occupational, and rehabilitative therapy,
• Lost income, including wages, salaries, bonuses, and benefits,
• The cost of household services and personal care,
• Out-of-pocket expenses,
• Property damage, and
• In-home care.

If your accident caused a permanent disability, you may also obtain damages for the following:

• Reduced earning capacity, if you cannot return to the same line of work in the future,
• Ongoing medical expenses, and
• The cost of long-term personal care, nursing facility, or in-home care.

A Houston personal injury lawyer will document your expenses and financial losses to ensure you receive the maximum economic damages you are entitled to.

Non-Economic Damages in Personal Injury Cases

While many of the damages you incur will have a quantifiable dollar value, others will not. These damages are known as non-economic damages. Common examples of non-economic damages in personal injury cases are as follows:

• Physical pain and discomfort,
• Mental anguish,
• Emotional distress,
• Loss of enjoyment of life,
• Diminished quality of life,
• Permanent disfigurement or scarring, and
• Disabilities and impairments.

Due to the fact that non-economic damages do not have a concrete dollar value, they are very difficult to calculate. A Houston personal injury lawyer will know how to accurately value your claim so you obtain the maximum compensation you deserve.

Punitive Damages in Personal Injury Claims

The third type of damages available in some personal injury claims is punitive damages. Unlike economic and non-economic damages, these are not meant to compensate you for your losses. Instead, they are intended to punish defendants for certain types of wrongdoing and to deter them from acting in a similar manner in the future.

To receive punitive damages, you must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with gross negligence, malice, or fraud. A case must also have specific circumstances in order for punitive damages to apply, and the burden of proof is also much higher. For these reasons, punitive damages are rarely awarded in personal injury cases.

Factors that Impact Damages in Personal Injury Cases

There are many factors that will impact the amount of damages you receive in your personal injury claim. These include:

• The extent and nature of the injuries you sustained,
• The severity of disabilities and impairments caused by your injuries,
• Whether you can work and earn an income,
• The duration of your expected recovery period,
• The extent to which the injuries have disrupted your life,
• The type of treatment you need for your injuries, and
• If your injuries have adversely affected your ability to maintain and engage in your personal relationships.

Essentially, the more an injury has negatively affected your life, the greater the amount of damages you deserve.

Caps on Damages in Personal Injury Cases

As in many other states, Texas law places a cap, or limit, on the amount of certain damages you can receive. If you were hurt by medical malpractice, non-economic damages are capped at $250,000 from a single medical provider. However, if you were hurt by multiple facilities, you can file a claim against each of them and receive up to $250,000 in each claim. Still, the overall cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice claims is $750,000. There is no cap on economic damages in medical malpractice claims.

When punitive damages are available in a case, they are capped at $200,000 or two times the value of economic damages, whichever is greater.

How Does Comparative Fault Affect Damages?

There are times when accident victims contribute to the accident. For example, you may have been distracted while driving, and you did not see that another driver was not going to stop for a red light. In this instance, you and the other motorist may be found at fault. Distracted driving is not typically viewed as serious an offense as running a red light, and you may be assigned 25% of the blame while the other driver is assigned 75% of the blame.

Under the comparative fault law in Texas, you can still receive damages in a personal injury claim as long as you are less than 51% at fault for the accident. However, the same percentage of your own fault will be reduced from the total damages you receive.

Insurance adjusters often try to shift the blame to accident victims to reduce the total amount of damages they are liable for paying. This is one reason it is so critical to work with a Houston personal injury lawyer who can refute these claims and ensure that you receive the full damages that are rightfully yours.

Call Our Personal Injury Lawyer in Houston Today

After an accident, you may be entitled to a number of different types of damages. At Integrity Law Group, PLLC, our Houston personal injury lawyer can accurately value your claim to determine the full amount of damages you are entitled to and will guide you through the process of obtaining them. Call us today at (832) 280-9576 or fill out our online form to schedule a consultation and get the legal help you need.

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