What Benefits Might I Be Entitled To?

The legal term for carelessness is negligence. People in Texas are required to behave with a basic level of care. In certain situations they must be extra careful, including:

• When there is a great risk of injury (handling explosives)
• When there is  a special relationship (doctor and patient)
• When safety laws require people to be particularly careful (warning labels)

If you have been harmed by someone else’ negligence, you have the right to be paid compensation for your property damages and any bodily injury. The company or person who caused your accident must make you whole.

That means they must take steps (or pay money) to put you as closely as possible into the financial position you were in before the loss.

• Property Damage
  
  An auto mechanic can often repair the car. Even if the vehicle is totaled (damaged beyond repair), it can often be replaced.

• Medical Bills
  
  If you have bills from a doctor or hospital, the person who caused the accident may have to pay fo them.

• Lost Wages
  
  If you miss work, the negligent person or company can pay for your lost wages.

Non-economic damages

Money can address some of your costs like medical bills or therapy.

But with bodily injuries and other losses, money may not really be enough to ‘make you whole’.

You may have permanent physical pain or damage. You may have mental anguish or trauma from the accident. You may be unable to work. In the worst cases, you may even have lost a loved one.

In these cases, the law tries to compensate you by assigning a dollar figure to the damages you suffered. This is not a perfect fix. It is the best that the law and society can come up with to make you whole under the circumstances.

Calculating non-economic damages

In some cases, you can also recover damages for:

• Wrongful death
• Loss of companionship (e.g., a spouse that is paralyzed)
• Emotional distress

To calculate pain and suffering or other damages, the total medical costs are usually multiplied by a number, generally between 1.5 and 5.

The number that is used varies depending on the circumstances of the injury.

For example, if your injuries were serious, the number used could be higher than 5.

The amount of your lost wages is then added to that number. The result gives a starting number to begin settlement negotiations. If your case can be settled, you will not need to go to court.

Texas Permits Punitive Damages, Known As Exemplary Damages

When someone was particularly reckless and harmed others, sometimes courts punish the person by making them pay additional money. These are often known as punitive damages.

Punitive damages are designed to prevent that person from being reckless again. They also make an example of that person, so that others know to act carefully. That’s why in Texas, they are called exemplary damages.

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 41 permits exemplary damages to punish reckless and intentional behavior that harms others.

However, Texas law provides certain limits on exemplary damages.