If you were hurt in a car accident in San Antonio or anywhere in Texas, the money you are entitled to recover is broken down into three categories under state law: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages. Each one covers a different type of loss, and understanding the difference between them is critical to making sure you receive every dollar your case is worth. The San Antonio car accident lawyers at Carabin Shaw have spent over 34 years fighting to recover all three types of damages for injured Texans, and they know the tactics insurance companies use to shrink or eliminate each one.
Too many car accident victims accept a quick settlement that only covers their immediate medical bills and a small check for pain and suffering. What they do not realize is that Texas law entitles them to far more. Economic damages cover every financial loss tied to the crash. Non-economic damages cover the human toll - the pain, the fear, the permanent changes to your daily life. And in cases involving drunk drivers, street racers, or other reckless behavior, punitive damages punish the person who caused the wreck and send a message that Texas will not tolerate that kind of conduct. The car accident attorneys at Carabin Shaw evaluate every case for all three categories of damages because leaving any one of them off the table means leaving money that belongs to you in the hands of the insurance company.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, there were over 40,077 crashes in Bexar County in 2023, resulting in 158 fatalities, 612 serious injuries, and thousands of minor injuries. Every one of those crashes involved real financial losses and real human suffering. Car accident lawyers who handle these cases in San Antonio know that the difference between a lowball settlement and a full recovery often comes down to whether all three damage categories are properly calculated and aggressively pursued.
Economic Damages - The Financial Losses You Can Prove With ReceiptsEconomic damages are the most straightforward category because they are based on actual, measurable financial losses. These are the dollars-and-cents costs that the accident forced you to pay or will force you to pay in the future. In Texas, there is no cap on economic damages in a car accident case, which means you are entitled to recover every dollar of financial loss the crash caused.
Medical Expenses - Past and FutureThis is almost always the largest component of economic damages in a serious car accident. Past medical expenses cover everything you have already paid for or been billed for since the crash: ambulance transport, emergency room treatment, hospitalization, surgery, diagnostic imaging like MRIs and CT scans, prescription medications, physical therapy, chiropractic care, follow-up appointments, and assistive devices like braces, crutches, or wheelchairs. Future medical expenses cover the treatment your doctors say you will need going forward. If your injuries require additional surgeries, long-term physical therapy, pain management, or ongoing medication, those projected costs are part of your claim. In spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury cases, future medical costs can reach into the millions.
Lost Wages and Lost Earning CapacityIf your injuries forced you to miss work, you can recover every dollar of income you lost during your recovery. This applies to hourly workers, salaried employees, self-employed individuals, and gig workers. But lost wages only cover the past. Lost earning capacity covers the future - the income you will never earn because your injuries prevent you from returning to the same job or working at the same level. A construction worker who suffers a permanent back injury may never be able to do physical labor again. A software engineer with a traumatic brain injury may not be able to concentrate for a full workday. In those cases, an economist or vocational expert calculates what the person would have earned over the rest of their career and what they can now earn with their limitations. The difference is lost earning capacity, and it can be the single largest damage category in a serious case.
Property DamageYour vehicle and any personal property damaged in the crash - phones, laptops, child car seats, work equipment - are recoverable economic damages. If your vehicle is totaled, you are entitled to the fair market value of the vehicle at the time of the crash, not the depreciated value the insurance company tries to assign.
Out-of-Pocket ExpensesEvery expense tied to the accident counts: rental car costs, rideshare fares to medical appointments, home modifications if you need a wheelchair ramp or grab bars, household help you had to hire because you cannot cook, clean, or care for your children while recovering, and even mileage to and from doctor visits. Keep every receipt.
Non-Economic Damages - The Human Cost of the CrashNon-economic damages compensate you for losses that do not come with a price tag but are just as real as any medical bill. These are the damages that insurance companies fight hardest to minimize because there is no receipt to point to - and because they often represent the largest portion of a car accident settlement or jury verdict.
Physical Pain and SufferingTexas law recognizes that being hurt causes pain, and that pain has value. This covers the physical pain you experienced at the time of the crash, during your treatment and recovery, and any ongoing chronic pain you live with as a result of your injuries. A person with a herniated disc who wakes up every morning in pain for the rest of their life has a substantially different claim than someone whose bruises healed in two weeks.
Mental AnguishMental anguish is the emotional and psychological suffering caused by the accident. This can take many forms: anxiety, depression, insomnia, nightmares, flashbacks, fear of driving, fear of riding in a car, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Texas courts have consistently recognized that the emotional toll of a serious crash is compensable, and juries regularly award significant sums for mental anguish - particularly when the victim can document their condition through counseling records and mental health treatment.
Physical Impairment and DisfigurementIf the accident left you with a permanent physical limitation - a limp, reduced range of motion, nerve damage, chronic headaches, the inability to lift heavy objects - that is a separate category of damages called physical impairment. Disfigurement covers visible scarring, surgical scars, burns, road rash, amputations, or any permanent change to your physical appearance. Both of these categories carry significant value because they affect you every day for the rest of your life.
Loss of Enjoyment of LifeIf you can no longer do the things that made your life enjoyable before the crash - playing with your kids, exercising, hiking, fishing, cooking, traveling, pursuing a hobby - Texas law allows you to recover compensation for that loss. This is not about money you spent; it is about the life you had before someone else's negligence took it from you.
Loss of ConsortiumWhen a car accident seriously injures or kills a spouse, the other spouse may bring a loss of consortium claim. This compensates for the loss of companionship, affection, comfort, and the ability to maintain a normal marital relationship. In wrongful death cases, children can also bring consortium claims for the loss of a parent's love, guidance, and care.
Punitive Damages - Punishing Reckless and Dangerous DriversPunitive damages - called exemplary damages under Texas law - are different from economic and non-economic damages. They are not designed to compensate you for your losses. They are designed to punish the person who caused the accident and to deter others from engaging in the same dangerous behavior. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 41 governs when and how punitive damages can be awarded.
When Are Punitive Damages Available?Punitive damages are not available in every car accident case. They require proof that the defendant acted with fraud, malice, or gross negligence. In the context of car accidents in Texas, this typically means the driver did something far worse than simple carelessness. The most common situations where punitive damages apply are drunk driving accidents, where a driver chose to get behind the wheel while intoxicated; drugged driving accidents, where a driver was under the influence of illegal drugs or abusing prescription medication; street racing, where two or more drivers were engaged in a race on a public road; extreme road rage, where a driver intentionally used their vehicle as a weapon or deliberately caused a collision; and texting while driving in certain egregious circumstances, particularly when the driver had been warned or had a history of distracted driving incidents.
How Are Punitive Damages Calculated?Texas law caps exemplary damages in most cases. Under Chapter 41, punitive damages cannot exceed the greater of $200,000, or two times the amount of economic damages plus an amount equal to the non-economic damages up to $750,000. However - and this is important - there is no cap on punitive damages when the defendant committed a felony. Since drunk driving that causes serious injury or death is a felony in Texas, DWI accident cases can result in uncapped punitive damages. This is one of the reasons drunk driving accident cases often produce the largest verdicts and settlements in Texas personal injury law.
The Standard of Proof Is HigherTo recover punitive damages, the plaintiff must prove the defendant's conduct by clear and convincing evidence - a higher standard than the preponderance of the evidence used for economic and non-economic damages. This means the evidence must be strong enough that a jury has a firm belief or conviction that the defendant acted with fraud, malice, or gross negligence. Blood alcohol results, toxicology reports, cell phone records, witness testimony, and prior driving records are all critical pieces of evidence in punitive damage claims.
Do Not Let the Insurance Company Decide What Your Case Is WorthInsurance adjusters are trained to settle cases fast and cheap. They will calculate your medical bills and lost wages, add a small multiplier for pain and suffering, and call it a day. They will not volunteer information about punitive damages. They will not tell you that your loss of earning capacity could be worth more than all your medical bills combined. And they will not explain that the mental anguish, the disfigurement, and the loss of enjoyment of life are all separate categories that add real value to your claim.
That is why you need car accident attorneys who understand every category of damages under Texas law and know how to fight for each one. The lawyers at Carabin Shaw have recovered millions for car accident victims across San Antonio and Texas. Consultations are free, and there is no fee unless they win your case. CALL SHAW at 800-862-1260.