If you have been injured in a car accident in Texas, you may have sustained a variety of financial losses. The car accident could have cost you tremendously in medical expenses, time off work, and pain and suffering. Determining the precise value of your personal injury case is complex. Our Austin, Texas automobile accident lawyers at The Tony Nguyen Law Firm discuss what your personal injury case might be worth below.
Assessing Your Damages
The value of your case will depend largely upon the extent of the damages you suffered. In attempting to assign a value to your case, you should start by calculating your damages. In Texas, categories of damages that you may seek recovery for include:
- Medical expenses: In your personal injury lawsuit, you can seek compensation for your past and future medical bills. Past expenses can be calculated by collecting all previous medical bills, while future medical expenses will require some conjecture. Your lawyer and physician can help you reach this figure.
- Lost wages: If the car accident has prevented you from returning to work, you can seek compensation for the lost wages you have incurred up until the date your case is settled, as well as for future projected lost earnings.
- Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering is perhaps the most difficult category of damages to calculate as it is not based on definitive numbers. To reach a value for pain and suffering, attorneys will often multiply your damages by a certain figure, ranging from one to five, based on the severity of your injuries.
- Punitive damages: Punitive damages are intended to deter the defendant from engaging in similar misconduct. In Texas, these damages are capped depending on the nature of the economic damages. Punitive damages are not awarded in most cases, but may be in instances of extreme negligence.
Evaluating The Strength of Your Case
No matter how extensive your damages stemming from the accident may be, you will not receive compensation for the whole amount of your damages if your case is weak. The strength of your case will have a significant impact on your damage award. Your personal injury lawyer is in the best possible position to evaluate the strength of your case and, when considering all factors, reach an accurate valuation.
