Limits on How Much Money You Can Get After a Truck Accident in Texas
If you or a loved one have been in a truck accident, you know that medical costs and other damages can be extensive. You deserve to get as much money as possible to cover all of your losses. However, there are limits on how much money you can get after a truck accident in Texas. Read below to learn more.
The Texas Law Giant will work hard to get you as much compensation as possible. We know that money cannot fix everything, but it can help you begin to get back to normal. You shouldn’t have to pay for all of the costs when someone else was negligent. Call Begum Law Group Injury Lawyers today at (866) 523-4167 or use our online contact form to start your claim today.
Insurance Policy Limits on Truck Accident Compensation
One of the main limits on how much money you can get in a truck accident claim is the insurance policy limits. The maximum amount of money you can get from an insurance claim after a truck accident is the policy limit. We can get additional money by suing the company or driver sometimes, but first we will follow through with an insurance claim and seek other money later, if needed to cover your losses.
The federal government requires trucking companies to have $750,000 of insurance coverage for every vehicle in their fleet. However, Texas requires an additional $250,000 for a total of $1,000,000 in insurance coverage per accident. Some trucking companies have even more coverage.
That means that if you are in an accident with a semi-truck in Texas, we can try to get the most money possible up to $1,000,000 or more if the trucking company has a higher limit.
Limits on Economic Damages
Economic damages is the compensation you can get for actual monetary losses you suffer in a trucking accident. This includes out of pocket expenses that you may have a receipt for or can otherwise prove you’ve actually lost directly as a result of the crash.
You can get compensation for the following economic damages:
- Medical bills
- Lost income
- Property damage
- Loss of earning capacity
- Vocational rehabilitation
- Household services
Some of these expenses are straight forward. For example, you will have bills from all of your medical providers that state exactly how much money you owe them. However, losses such as loss of earning capacity are more difficult to value. We may use an expert witness to evaluate your future career potential and determine how much less you can earn in the future due to the accident.
Limitations on Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages include compensation for injuries you’ve suffered that do not include actual out-of-pocket losses. These damages include:
- Physical, emotional, and mental pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship
- Reputational injury
It can be difficult to value non-economic damages, and it almost always requires the help of an expert to determine a monetary amount.
There are no specific limits on non-economic damages; however, many insurance companies use a formula to value these losses. For example, they may offer you two times your actual economic damages to cover your non-economic damages. Every insurance company uses a different formula.
Caps on Damages in Texas
A “cap” is a statutory limit that restricts how much you can recover for a specific type of damage. That means there is law in Texas limiting compensation.
There are no caps on economic and non-economic damages that were discussed above. However, there is a cap on punitive damages, which is a type of compensation that is awarded to punish the person who caused injuries by malice or gross negligence. Sometimes drunk drivers or drugged drivers have committed gross negligence.
Punitive damages are capped at $200,000 or two times the amount of economic damages plus an equal amount of non-economic damages up to a maximum of $750,000.
For example, if a truck driver caused your crash due to gross negligence and you seek punitive damages where your economic damages were $150,000 and your non-economic damages are valued at $200,000, then you may be able to get up to $500,000 in punitive damages.
Contact The Texas Law Giant to Get the Most Money In Your Truck Accident Case
We know that damages can be significant after a trucking accident. We will leverage your case to help you get the most money possible. Call Begum Law Group Injury Lawyers today at (866) 523-4167 or use our online contact form.
