If you were involved in an accident and want to know the types of damages you may be able to collect after your Texas truck accident claim, you’re in the right place. Being involved in a truck accident is an event that can change your life for the worse, and the insurance companies will try to settle for a number that will hardly allow your family to recover from your injuries and lost income. Before you talk to anyone from the insurance company, you should consult a personal injury lawyer who can help you get what you deserve.
Though no amount of money will undo the hurt done by your traumatic accident, an experienced truck accident lawyer can help fight for you and your family while you heal. Winning Houston car accident lawyer, Mark Thiessen, is here to go through the types of damages involved in a truck accident claim, as well as tell you what you should do in the event that you are hit by a truck.
Types of truck accident damages and compensation
Let’s get right to it. What are the different types of damages available? Truck accident damages are split into a few categories, most of which fall under the umbrella of compensatory damages.
Compensatory damages
Compensatory damages include all damages that are meant to compensate you for expenses and losses resulting from the accident. Almost all damages will fall under compensatory damages, which are broken up into three categories.
Special compensatory damages are essentially monetary damages intended to compensate you financially for your accident, these can include:
- Medical expenses can include hospital bills, the cost of any medical procedures, physical therapy or rehabilitation bills, the cost of medication, and all caretaking expenses.
- Lost wages both past and future, that you did not collect because of your injuries.
- Property damage to your vehicle from the accident.
General compensatory damages cover overall harm to the victim that isn’t always monetary. This is where things like pain and suffering come into play. These damages include:
- Pain and suffering damages include long-term negative physical effects on your life from the accident, usually stemming from loss of quality of life due to complications from an injury that aren’t necessarily reflected in medical bills.
- Physical impairment or disfigurement damages are meant to cover any loss of ability to do your job or the things you used to be able to do.
- Mental anguish damages are meant to compensate you for any PTSD, anxiety, or depression caused by the accident.
Wrongful death damages apply when someone passes away due to a crash. When someone passes away in a trucking accident it can leave an immense void that cannot be filled with any amount of money. If wrongful death was involved in your accident make sure to call a wrongful death lawyer in Houston as soon as possible so that they can help you navigate the perilous time after a terrible accident. Wrongful death damages include:
- Funeral expenses to help cover the cost of the services.
- Loss of companionship damages are often given to spouses or close family members.
- Loss of financial contribution damages apply when the family relied heavily on the income of the deceased.
- Medical bills that resulted from the accident for the deceased.
Punitive damages
Punitive damagesare meant to punish the party responsible for your injuries. These types of exemplary damages generally only apply when they feel they need to deter the party responsible from acting in the same manner again, which is usually only the case if the party responsible has exhibited a pattern of negligent behavior. The Texas punitive damages cap is $750,000, and punitive damages cannot be more than 2x the amount received in compensatory damages.
What to do after a truck accident in Texas
If you were involved in a Texas truck accident you should follow these steps whether you have sustained serious injury or not.
- Call 911 and move to safety (if possible) after evaluating your injuries.
- Collect evidence like images and videos of the scene or contact information of any eye witnesses.
- Exchange insurance and contact information with the truck driver.
- Seek medical attention immediately, whether you have obvious injuries or not.
- Contact a Houston trucking accident attorney to begin the process of getting what you deserve.
Truck accidents are unique from car accidents for two reasons. The first is that they can cause uniquely terrible accidents because of the weight of commercial trucks. The second is that truckers are usually taken care of by large corporations full of lawyers and insurance adjusters that will attempt to protect the company’s bottom line.
If you have been involved in an accident, do not let the trucking company or the insurance company talk you down, take it from the Houston traumatic brain injury attorneys at Thiessen Law Firm, we know how far the unseen damages from trucking accidents can reach.
Hire a winning Houston truck accident attorney for your truck accident claim
There are many types of damages to be collected in a truck accident claim for those that were harmed due to another party’s negligence. The immeasurable hurt that can come from a severe truck accident can never be fully repaired, but with a team of experienced truck accident attorneys by your side, you can attempt to get some closure.
If you or a loved one was involved in a truck accident in Texas, contact the personal injury attorneys at Thiessen Law Firm today at (713) 864-9000 or contact us online for a free case evaluation.
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