How Our Dallas-Fort Worth Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You Calculate Damages Recoverable by Law
Suffering an injury can turn your world upside down, leaving you with medical bills, lost income, and emotional pain. Experienced personal injury lawyer Warren Armstrong understands what you're going through. He will guide you through the process of calculating the damages you're entitled to by law and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Understanding Texas Damage Caps in Personal Injury Cases
In Texas, damage caps are laws that limit the amount of compensation a person can receive in certain personal injury claims. These caps mainly apply to non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium, especially in medical malpractice cases. For instance, in medical malpractice claims, non-economic damages are capped at $250,000 per defendant, with an overall limit of $500,000 when multiple defendants are involved. However, there are no caps on economic damages, like medical bills.
In claims against government entities, damages are capped at $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, and $100,000 per accident for injury to or destruction of property.
Factors That Affect Your Compensation
Two main factors influence the value of a personal injury settlement: the long-term effects of your injury and the policy limits.
- Long-term effects. Injuries that require ongoing care and/or result in a loss of earning potential will result in the largest settlement offers. This includes traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, organ damage, and amputations.
- Policy limits. Regardless of the severity of your injury, your ability to recover compensation will depend on the policy limits of the at-fault party. For example, in one of our personal injury cases involving a balcony railing failure that caused spinal fractures, the insurance policy limit of $300,000 was quickly reached. Similarly, in another one of our cases involving an ATV accident that resulted in head and neck injuries, we also reached the $300,000 policy limit.
Refer to our case results to learn more about how we've been able to help injury victims like you get the compensation they need to move forward.
Types of Personal Injury Damages You Could Recover
If you’ve been injured because of someone else’s negligence, understanding the different types of damages you can recover is crucial. Damages you may be entitled to by law include the following:
- Medical expenses. From hospital stays to surgeries, medications, and physical therapy, your medical bills can pile up quickly. We’ll make sure every penny of your medical costs, including future care, is factored into your claim.
- Lost wages. If your injury caused you to miss work or reduced your ability to earn an income, you deserve compensation for those lost wages. This includes income you have already lost and any future earnings you're unable to make due to your injury.
- Pain and suffering. It’s not just about the physical pain—emotional distress counts too. Pain and suffering damages aim to compensate you for the discomfort and emotional trauma you’ve endured.
- Property damage. If the accident that caused your injuries also damaged your personal property, you could be entitled to compensation for those losses. For instance, you might recover the costs of repairing your vehicle if it was damaged in a crash.
- Out-of-pocket expenses. You may also be eligible for reimbursement of any extra costs you’ve had to cover because of your injuries. This could include expenses like hiring someone to help with housekeeping if you’re unable to do it yourself or paying for home health services if your injuries have left you with permanent disabilities.
- Loss of consortium. This refers to the compensation a spouse can seek when their partner’s injuries affect their marriage, such as the loss of companionship, affection, or support.
Calculating Damages to Determine Fair Compensation
Calculating non-economic damages is more subjective than calculating economic damages, which are based on actual expenses. Non-economic damages focus on your pain and suffering, and their value depends mainly on the severity of these experiences. There are two common methods for calculating these damages:
- Multiplier method. Based on the severity of pain and suffering, a number between 1.5 and 5 is chosen, which is then multiplied by the economic damages to determine the total amount.
- Per diem method. A daily rate is set for pain and suffering, and this rate is multiplied by the number of days you endure these hardships to calculate the total.
Understanding the full extent of your damages requires experience and access to valuable resources. Our personal injury lawyer will document all your losses meticulously and collaborate with professionals to project future expenses accurately. This involves:
- Thorough documentation. We will gather all the necessary paperwork—medical records, pay stubs, and expert opinions—to build a strong case.
- Medical expert consultations. We collaborate with medical professionals to clearly understand your injury’s long-term effects and future medical costs.
- Economic analysis. If your injury has impacted your ability to earn, we’ll work with economic experts to calculate your financial losses accurately.
- Precedent research. We look at similar cases to understand how courts have valued injuries like yours, helping us set a fair compensation target.
- Negotiation skills. Armed with a solid understanding of your case’s worth, our personal injury lawyer will negotiate fiercely with insurance companies to secure the compensation you deserve. If a fair settlement cannot be reached, we’re ready to take your case to court and fight for you.