When a person is injured by another's negligence or carelessness, he or she is entitled to compensation from that person. These costs are known as damages, and are usually covered by the at-fault party’s insurance company. Insurance companies will often come forward and offer the victim a settlement, but truck crash victims should be aware that they may be entitled to much more than what the insurance adjuster is offering.
Damages Available for Texas Truck Crashes
In Texas, truck crash victims with an experienced attorney can often negotiate for both economic and non-economic damages, depending on the circumstances of the accident. Economic damages are often easily quantified, but non-economic damages are much harder to put a price tag on and to win in negotiations.
Economic Damages
- Past and future medical expenses. Collisions with semi-trucks can result in catastrophic injuries that require long-term care and rehabilitation. Your attorney should fight for maximum damages for medical expenses if you were seriously injured in a truck crash.
- Lost income and future earning capacity. Damages may also be awarded for any time you were unable to work and were not paid. If you have suffered a permanent disability that limits your ability to work, you can also be awarded the money you would have earned in the future if you had not been injured in the truck wreck.
- Loss of household services. When a spouse or parent who normally performs routine household duties is injured and becomes unable to perform those duties, these damages may be awarded to support the family while the victim is incapacitated.
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and suffering. While difficult to quantify, many victims of terrifying truck crashes can win damages for pain and suffering. The intent of these damages is to compensate for the pain you have experienced, both physical and emotional, because of the accident.
- Mental anguish. Similar to pain and suffering damages, these damages may be awarded following a particularly gruesome accident, which is not uncommon when a semi-truck is involved.
- Physical impairment. These damages are intended to compensate a victim whose physical impairment following an accident will prevent them from fully enjoying life as he or she did before the accident. It can be seen as the non-economic partner to the loss of future earnings damages.
- Disfigurement. Amputations and permanent scars are not uncommon following a truck crash. These victims may be awarded special damages to compensate for the changes in their physical appearance which may affect their ability to live a normal life.
In some cases, juries may also award exemplary damages. Also known as punitive damages, these are only awarded for crashes caused by wanton or intentional disregard for safety. If it can be proven that a truck driver or trucking company knew of a substantial risk, but drove anyway, they may be ordered to pay exemplary damages. This award can be significant as the intention is to punish the individual or company who caused you harm.
An Experienced Truck Crash Attorney Will Pursue All Damages
Because of truck accidents can cause life-altering injuries, it is vital that you choose an attorney who will pursue all of the types of damages to which you may entitled. My experience with Dallas, Midland,
and Houston truck crash cases will benefit you in your pursuit of compensation. Connect with our office today through the link on this page.
When we tell people from other states that we are from Texas, they empathize. Not only are Texas drivers known to be fast and dangerous, but truck drivers are known to be even more so. For example, as the oil boom brought more residents out in Midland, TX, it also brought more truck wrecks. We saw a large spike in the increase of truck wrecks as a result of careless truck companies. With that, we decided to take steps on educating the public on what they can do.
I suggest you start out by ordering my free book called The Essential Guide For Your Texas Injury Case. It walks you through a few frequently asked questions and the overview of a personal injury lawsuit. Read the information on our website about it. If you have any questions at all, reach out to us. You can call us at 214-699-4409 or fill out our Contact Us web form, and we will reach out to you. We are happy to answer any questions you have about trucking cases and how we handle trucking cases at The Button Law Firm. We are here for you.
