How Is Compensation Calculated in a Texas Personal Injury Claim?

A personal injury claim is a request for compensation from the party responsible for an accident, or more often from that party’s insurance company. For most injured people, the first question is what such a claim is worth. However, no fixed figure applies across cases. A broken wrist from a slip and fall calculates very differently than a spinal injury from a highway collision.

“Texas does not apply a standard formula to injury claims. Compensation is determined from documented financial losses, the effect of the injury on daily life, and the share of fault assigned to each party under the state’s comparative negligence rule,” says Harry Fleming, a Texas injury lawyer at Fleming Law Accident & Injury Attorneys. “Under which, if the injured person is found 51 percent or more at fault, they cannot recover compensation at all.”

This lesson will help you analyze potential settlements. Knowing how these aspects of a case fit together will help you better evaluate a potential offer. To learn more about the calculations behind damage awards in Texas, continue reading.

The Two Categories of Damages in a Texas Injury Claim

In personal injury lawsuits in Texas, there are two types of damages: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are losses that were minor or minor. Economic damages are financial losses, such as the cost of medical care and lost earnings. Non-economic damages are physical and emotional injuries and losses, such as pain and suffering.

The combination of economic and non-economic damages is what a personal injury plaintiff in Texas is entitled to recover. An injury victim’s failure to seek an appropriate economic damages award and/or an inadequate non-economic damages award often results in an unsuccessful outcome.

Economic Damages: Determining Your Financial Losses

Of the two main types of damages, economic damages are the simpler of the two to calculate. Generally speaking, the following are recoverable as economic damages:

• The medical expenses incurred because of the injury, including the costs of ambulance transportation, emergency medical treatment, surgery, hospital care, physical therapy, and other treatment and care, including treatment that you may need in the future;
• Your lost wages, including overtime, and other income that you lost because of the injury and your inability to work, as well as the value of any promotions that you lost the opportunity to take because of the injury; and
• The fair market value of the property that was damaged and lost because of the accident.

If you incur expenses because of the injury, you are also entitled to recover those out-of-pocket expenses as economic damages. Examples of out-of-pocket expenses include the costs of taxis and other means of transportation that you took to go to and from medical treatment and care and the costs of medical equipment.

Non-Economic Damages: Valuing Pain and Suffering

Non-economic damages encompass the physical pain and suffering and the emotional distress that you experienced because of the accident. Aside from pain and suffering, non-economic damages may also include the loss of enjoyment of life and other activities, disfigurement, and permanent disability.

Because they are generally hard to assign a monetary value, Texas lawyers and insurance adjusters have developed methods of their own to calculate the losses. The first of these methods is the multiplier method. In this method, the economic damages are multiplied by a number. This number is generally from 1.5 to 5. Factors that determine this number are the nature and extent of the injury. For example, a complete fracture that heals within a few months would be on the lower end of this spectrum, while an injury that results in permanent paralysis of a limb would be on the higher end.

The other method of calculation is the per diem method. This method requires that the date of the injury be documented and the injured person’s condition be described. The injured person is also required to provide documentation of when he/she reached the state of maximum medical improvement. This method requires that a dollar amount be assigned for each day the injured person suffered pain.

How Texas’ Comparative Negligence Rule Impacts Your Compensation

Under the modified version of the comparative fault rule in Texas, an injured person can recover damages even if he/she is found to be at fault. However, the damages are reduced by the person’s fault. For example, in a case where an injured person is found to be 20 percent at fault, the damage award will be reduced to 80 percent of the total damages.

Insurers shift liability to the injured party during negotiations in order to reduce their payout. If an insurer can prove that you are even 1% at fault in a car accident, for example, then they only have to pay out 99% of the claim. If there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate how an accident occurred, then an insurer may argue that an injured party is attempting to collect a claim fraudulently.

The Role of Evidence in Maximizing Your Claim

The evidence the injured party has will impact the amount the insurance company is willing to pay. Evidence from the accident such as pictures or a police report, as well as, witness statements can help support the injured party’s claim. The injured party needs to be diligent about their medical treatment and follow up with their doctor. The insurance company can use a gap in medical treatment to argue that the injured party was not as injured as they claim.

Staying on top of your medical appointments and following your healthcare provider’s treatment plan is important for many reasons. Most relevantly, it helps maintain the medical record as a supportive document for your claim.

Final Thoughts

Calculating a fair settlement in a Texas personal injury case involves more moving parts than most people expect, from calculating medical costs and lost income to determining fault. Getting an accurate number often means having a reputable attorney review the specifics of your case, gather the right documentation, and push back when an insurance company undervalues your claim.

If you were injured in Texas and want to understand what your case might actually be worth, talking to a personal injury lawyer can help you get a clearer, more accurate picture before you agree to any settlement.