Calculating Your Expenses & Damages After a Laredo Car Accident - Skilled Texas Lawyers

Located on the southern end of I-35 with a direct route to Mexico, Laredo’s congested streets see many commercial trucks sharing the road with other motorists. More than 6,000 traffic accidents occurred in the city in 2023, killing 20 and seriously injuring 69. Car crashes are always dangerous, but the results can be devastating when a passenger vehicle collides with a semi. Accident victims often face debilitating injuries that change their lives forever.

The South Texas lawyers at Carabin Shaw know devastating car accident injuries can also be costly. We help accident victims determine what their personal injury case is worth to ensure they are financially covered for medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, contact us 24/7 at 800-862-1260 for a free consultation in Spanish or English.

Damages are designed to help make an injured accident victim whole once again. The goal is to restore the person’s life to how it was before the accident as closely as possible. Three types of damages might apply to your case:

Economic damages are compensation for monetary losses you suffer from your accident.. They might include:

• Past, present, and future medical expenses
• Lost wages and loss of future earnings
• Property Damage
• Cost of services like housekeeping and transportation

Economic damages are straightforward to calculate since receipts, pay stubs, and other documentation usually determine them. Keeping a detailed record of these costs is critical to ensure you receive full compensation.

A car accident doesn’t just affect your physical well-being. It can also rob you of your ability to live life as fully as you did before your injuries, impacting your quality of life. Non-economic damages compensate a victim for these losses and may include:

• Physical and emotional pain and suffering
• Emotional and mental distress
• Physical impairment, disability, or disfigurement
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Injury to reputation
• Loss of consortium

Because non-economic damages are intangible, they are harder to calculate. Insurance companies often use a formula to determine these damages, which might use a variety of factors in their calculations, including:

• The severity of your injuries
• Your age and pre-existing conditions
• Number of days out of work
• Impact of your injuries on your life
• Temporary vs. permanent injuries
• Economic damage amount

While these formulas offer a tangible way to discern non-economic losses, they rarely provide sufficient compensation for a victim to move forward after an accident. Your Texas attorney will use additional methods to determine your non-economic damages and work with the insurance company to agree on a fair settlement amount.

Punitive damages may be awarded if the at-fault party acted maliciously or recklessly. For example, a driver operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol may be liable for punitive damages. These damages aim to punish the at-fault party rather than compensate the accident victim for specific losses.

Punitive damages are only awarded by a jury, so your lawyer must take your case to court to pursue them. Texas law also caps punitive damages to $200,000 or double the economic losses plus non-economic damages up to $750,000, whichever is greater.

After an accident, victims are often left in pain and unsure how their bills will get paid while they are out of work. The immediate aftermath is when insurance companies often appear to entice victims with a quick cash settlement. However, those initial offers are rarely sufficient to cover all your losses and are never typically what you can get with an experienced Laredo lawyer.

The compassionate team at Carabin Shaw helps car accident victims pursue all the damages they are entitled to under the law. We offer our services on a contingency-fee-basis, so you don’t pay any money until we win your case. Check our client reviews to see how we’ve helped other victims like you. Then, contact us toll-free at 800-862-1260.

For more information:

• TX DoT
• Cornell Law
• Law Dictionary
• Texas Statutes 41