There is no set formula for calculating the damages owed in a personal injury lawsuit in Texas. Instead, the amount awarded to a plaintiff is decided by the jury. This is why it is crucial that you enlist the help of a qualified Houston personal injury lawyer with the resources and knowledge to precisely calculate and explain the severity of your injuries.
What Types of Damages Can Be Pursued in a Personal Injury Case?
Personal injury damages fall into two primary categories:
- Compensatory. Damages that are meant to provide compensation to the injured plaintiff for tangible losses caused by an accident or injury.
- Punitive. Extra damages that are intended to punish a defendant for particularly negligent or reckless behavior while also serving as a deterrent to the greater society.
Most personal injury claims will deal just with compensatory damages while the plaintiff pursues recovery for their lost damages. Some of these losses are easy to calculate, including medical expenses and lost income. However, other non-economic damages can be harder to determine.
A qualified Texas personal injury attorney will be able to explain the full extent of any non-economic damages and demonstrate the value of those damages to a jury.
What are the Most Common Forms of Damages Recovered in Personal Injury Claim?
The most common damages recovered in personal injury cases include the following:
- Lost Income. You may be eligible for compensation related to the effect that an accident or injury has had on your income or wages, including wages lost due to time spent in a hospital, rehabilitation, or the loss of a job caused by disability.
- Loss of Earning Capacity. Similar to lost income, loss of earning capacity intends to recover wages that were lost resulting from an accident or injury, but whereas lost income is focused on salary or wages that have already been lost, loss of earning capacity seeks losses based on future income.
- Medical Bills. Damages nearly always include the cost of medical treatment associated with an accident or injury. Damages can also include reimbursement for treatment you have already received as well as compensation for the approximate cost of medical treatment required in the future.
- Property Loss. If any of your property sustained damage or was lost due to a personal injury accident, your lawyer will pursue reimbursement for repairs or compensation based on the reasonable market value of any lost property.
- Pain & Suffering. If your injury resulted in pain or serious discomfort, you may be eligible for pain and suffering damages. This can include pain experienced at the time of the accident, pain experienced right after the injury, and any ongoing pain that can be connected to the injury or accident.
- Loss of Enjoyment. These damages are intended to quantify the loss of enjoyment in everyday pursuits, including hobbies, exercise, and other recreational activities.
- Emotional Anguish. Not all injuries suffered in an accident are physical. If your accident or injury had any psychological effect and resulted in anxiety, depression, or sleep loss, you may be eligible for damages related to emotional distress or anguish.
- Loss of Consortium. Usually applied in wrongful death cases, loss of consortium damages can also be pursued when a severe injury has resulted in a loss of companionship or an inability to maintain a sexual relationship. Children may also pursue a case for loss of consortium if the resulting injuries have reasonably blocked the victim’s ability to provide care, nurturing, or comfort.
How Will an Experienced Texas Injury Attorney Pursue My Case?
In order to reach a successful outcome with your personal injury claim, your lawyer will have to construct your case in a way that precisely demonstrates any economic and non-economic damages that you have suffered. This will require the aid of legal expertise, financial resources, and experienced support staff.
West Loop Law and the Law Office of Nhan Nguyen, MD, JD has the legal and financial resources needed to properly develop and handle your case in the most effective efficient manner possible. To us, client satisfaction is our priority, and our team of personal injury lawyers in Houston makes sure every single client is treated with respect, is kept informed with the most up-to-date information relevant to their case, and is made comfortable throughout the whole legal process as we work to secure the compensation they deserve.
We are continually exploring carrying out new and groundbreaking solutions in the areas of case management, client interaction, and information security. Our lawyers are accessible to clients from anywhere through satellite technologies, live streaming, and jet services. If you are unable to come to our offices, our attorneys can come to you. Case files and information can also be accessed at the click of a mouse, allowing for information to be exchanged between our legal team and to other legal professionals.
In personal injury lawyers, it can be extremely important to enlist the help of expert witnesses with specialized knowledge on certain subjects relevant to your case. Nader Nhan, MD, JD, Nader Rabie, JD, and the rest of our legal team have years of combined legal experience finding the best expert witnesses across the country. Our firm retains some of the most accomplished experts for each unique case, from crash reconstruction experts to health care professionals. Every expert undergoes an in-depth examination process before ever being involved in one of our client’s cases.
West Loop Law & the Law Office of Nhan Nguyen, MD, JD
The attorneys at West Loop Law and the Law Office of Nhan Nguyen, MD, JD have years of experience representing crash victims across the state. It is our goal to provide our clients with the best legal representation available. Our experienced Houston car wreck lawyers are dedicated to defending your rights in personal injury matters, in cases related to defective products, recalled drugs, child injuries, and car crashes.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact our offices immediately at 713-840-7200 to see what we can do for you.
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