Texas – January 5, 2020
In 2019 there were 12,897 injury crashes in Texas with 15,843 people sustaining a serious injury. Insurance is necessary to pay injury-associated damages and wrongful death legal actions arising out of car accidents. Contact an experienced attorney in Texas for guidance after personal injury, or the loss of a loved one caused by an auto accident. They can assist with the valuation of damages.
- Compensatory damages include an award of money to compensate for actual economic losses, based on property damage, and/or injury. Total awards include economic damages for present and future loss of earnings, medical bills, future medical care, household expenses and non-economic damages for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of companionship.
- Texas law limits punitive damages to two times the amount of actual damages up to $750,000 in total damages, or $200,000, and a unanimous jury must find that the defendant acted maliciously, or showed indifference to the safety of other people. An accident attorney can explain the possibility of punitive damages based on individual cases.
Obvious damages.
Texas insurance companies and judges may be more inclined to award higher damages when they can easily ascertain the damages. In many cases, if a vehicle involved in an accident does not show much damage, it may be more difficult to build a case to prove injury to its passengers. Arguments against individuals who claim significant bodily injury when a vehicle shows minimal damage may include pre-existing conditions, or a predisposition to injury that is worse than someone else. Frame damage to a vehicle is a clear indicator that the impact may have been stronger than what appears on the exterior of a car and an experienced accident attorney can make certain that vehicle damages are expertly investigated and reported as evidence.
Hidden injuries.
Texas accident victims should seek medical counsel after an accident regardless of obvious personal injury. In many cases, a person who does not believe they were injured and has no injury noted by the naked eye, may have sustained significant damage, including brain injury, spinal injury, or other internal damage. Medical personnel must run diagnostic testing to determine if the accident victim has been cleared of these possible injuries. Traumatic brain injury, concussions, or other brain conditions should be ruled out after a car accident to prevent further harmful losses to the victim. A personal injury lawyer will use these reports to build a case for damages.
If a death was the result of a car accident between two, or more automobiles, multiple insurance policies will need to be reviewed for coverage limitations. Legal action can be taken for a wrongful death action where negligence will have to be proven, and degrees of fault assigned.
Hire an attorney.
Contact a professional attorney in Longview Texas at the Cooper Law Firm for a free consultation, as they can research specific case facts and interpret the law to support a case’s best outcome toward compensation for car accident injuries and related fatalities.
Cooper Law Firm
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2222
Longview, TX 75606
Physical Address: 501 N Third St,
Longview, TX 75601
Telephone ; (903) 297-0037
Toll-Free: 1-855-297-HURT (4878)
Facsimile: (903) 236-0035
Sources:
https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot-info/trf/crash_statistics/2019/01.pdf
https://www.tdi.texas.gov/consumer/auto-insurance.html
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.601.htm#601.051
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/SDocs/CIVILPRACTICEANDREMEDIESCODE.pdf
