Sustaining a personal injury can be a devastating experience. A personal injury may not only result in medical bills, but may also contribute to missed time at work because of lengthy recovery periods, significant pain and suffering, and other negative consequences.
Fortunately, those injured by the actions or negligence of someone else may file a personal injury claim to recover damages. The types of personal injury damages may vary from case to case. This guide is meant to help you understand the types of personal injury compensation to which you may be entitled.
In certain cases, yes, there is a maximum amount of personal injury damages you may recover. While you may recover as many economic damages as is applicable to your case, and there is no noneconomic damage cap in Texas, there are limits on punitive damages. If you receive exemplary or punitive damages, there are certain caps of which you should be aware.
When a government worker or agency harms another individual because of their negligence, the government may be liable for the government worker’s actions. Plaintiffs with claims against the government, however, are subject to some different rules and limitations.
In Dallas, TX, there was 3,553 serious injury crashes for the year 2012 according to the Texas Department of Transportation. These accidents may have resulted in claims or lawsuits against the at-fault driver to recover appropriate damages. But to collect compensation for damages, injured accident victims must be sure they take action within the necessary time period.
The statute of limitations dictates by when injured parties must take legal action, and it can vary by state. Texas has a two-year statute of limitations during which car accident victims need to take legal action. Failure to follow the proper time limits may bar the car accident victim from recovery.
When filing a personal injury claim, whether, for a car accident, slip and fall, or product defect, you might be entitled to a host of compensatory damages, depending upon the details of your case.
Below, we discuss some of the monetary damages that are included in personal injury claims, but it’s not an exhaustive list. If you are filing a claim, you’ll want to run your case by an attorney to ensure that you have accounted for all of the personal injury damages for which you are eligible. There are likely items that you may forget to include (such as your gas costs to and from your medical appointments), and you don’t want to risk shortchanging yourself.
There are times when injuries sustained in an accident are so severe, the individual is unable to act on his or her own behalf when it comes to pursuing legal action. Therefore, a family member might have to learn how to file a personal injury claim for the victim. It’s important to understand who can do this and how it works.
When someone else’s careless or reckless actions cause injuries, that person holds accident liability. The party must have owed the injured party a duty of care, and the victim must establish that a breach of this duty led to damages. Determining who is at fault can be fairly easy in many personal injury cases, but in other circumstances, it may require some deeper investigative work.