Brian White | August 9, 2023 | Car Accidents
A Houston car accident can have serious implications. If someone else caused your wreck, you should recover fair compensation for the injuries and damages you sustained.
It’s hard to know what your case is worth until you consult a Houston car accident lawyer. And without any legal representation, you’ll likely walk away with less than you deserve or nothing at all.
Many factors can impact the amount of a Houston car accident settlement. By learning what these factors are, you’ll be able to make informed decisions as you seek to recover the compensation you deserve under Texas law.
How Houston Car Accident Settlements Are Calculated
Houston car accident settlements often appear as lump sum figures, but that’s not how they’re calculated. A personal injury lawyer will put a lot of work into fighting for a fair settlement amount for their client.
The overall settlement amount recovered after a car accident is made up of two main categories: economic damages and non-economic damages. These two groups essentially split up car accident compensation into areas of financial and non-financial impact, but that’s only the beginning of how a lawyer works to identify case value.
Under each category, there are many different items you can claim as damages from a Houston crash. Whether you qualify to seek damages in these categories depends on your injuries and their long-term impacts. For example, if a car accident resulted in severe scarring, burns, or the loss of a limb, you can seek compensation for disfigurement.
An experienced lawyer will thoroughly investigate the current and future financial and non-financial impacts of the crash. They’ll collect evidence of the damages, add up the different categories, and identify your overall case value. As a final step, your Houston car accident attorney will negotiate with the insurance company for a fair settlement amount.
Types of Damages Available in a Houston Car Accident Settlement
Your Houston car accident attorney will consider many factors when identifying how much money you should try to recover, some of which only apply to specific types of cases. Car accident injuries don’t always result in disfigurement, of course, but they nearly always lead to medical bills.
Consequently, certain types of damages are most common, and these tend to form the key elements that make up a car crash case’s value:
Medical Expenses
Medical expenses are the element that often has the greatest impact on a case’s overall value, given that they are key indicators of how severe your injuries were.
Minor injuries lead to lower medical costs and typically result in a full recovery. But the higher the medical costs, the more likely it is that the car accident injuries sustained have come with a high expense, which typically also means a high impact on other areas of life.
Traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries are two of the most common types of severe injuries that result from car accidents. Both of these can be incredibly expensive to treat, often requiring multiple surgeries or procedures and the need for long-term assistive care and costly medical devices.
An experienced car accident attorney in Houston will work to help recover compensation for current and future costs of medical costs and treatment expenses.
Lost Wages and Benefits
Lost wages and benefits are only considered in situations in which the injured victim was employed or had plans to return to employment. You can seek lost income for the time you had to take off to recover from your injuries.
Suppose your injuries are severe to the point where a return to work is impossible. A Houston car accident attorney will work to seek compensation for the anticipated future earnings you would have earned over the course of your lifetime had the accident not taken place.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering are the most common non-economic damages. They include both physical and emotional pain and suffering related to the injuries and their impact. They can further comprise specific types of damages, like emotional anguish, loss of companionship or consortium, disfigurement, and diminished quality of life.
Average Houston Car Crash Settlement Amounts
Considering how car accident compensation is calculated, it’s easy to see how there’s no such thing as an “average” settlement amount. Every case is unique, and case values depend heavily on the damage done as well as its long-term impact. Although it’s difficult to identify an average, it’s safe to say that the more serious the injury, the greater the settlement amount.
Some examples of recent car accident settlements in Houston are as follows:
- $1,102,500: Truck/car accident
- $1,000,000: Rideshare car accident
- $800,000: Company car accident
- $650,000: Rideshare car accident
- $575,000: Car accident
There’s one additional factor that can significantly impact the amount you stand to recover after a wreck, and that’s the skill and experience of your Houston car accident attorney. Looking at a lawyer’s practice history, case results, and client testimonials before hiring them is the safest way to know you’re choosing a lawyer who knows how to recover fair compensation for clients.
Don’t Wait To Get in Touch With a Houston Car Accident Lawyer
Car accident settlements fall under personal injury law, which means you have a limited amount of time to seek compensation for your injuries. If taking legal action becomes necessary, you typically only have two years to file a lawsuit in Houston.
Admitting fault for a wreck is a mistake, as is speaking with an insurance agent before you’ve received legal advice. The best way to protect yourself after a Houston car accident is to consult a lawyer as soon as possible. With the right representation, it’s possible to see justice delivered when a reckless driver harms your health and finances.
Contact a Houston Personal Injury Lawyer to Help You With Your Claim
For more information, contact the Houston personal injury law firm of Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers by calling (713) 500-5000
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Houston, TX 77098
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