No one ever anticipates suffering a catastrophic injury in an accident. If a severe injury does impact you due to someone else’s careless or reckless actions, however, it is important to know the true value of your personal injury claim.
Understanding how catastrophic injury settlements are typically calculated in Texas can give you an honest estimation of how much your individual case could be worth. This can give your Austin personal injury lawyer greater negotiating power when it comes to seeking a fair financial recovery for life-changing injuries.
What Makes an Injury “Catastrophic”?
A catastrophic injury is one that is severe or life-altering in nature. Catastrophic injuries can result in physical or mental incapacitation for the victim, which may be temporary or permanent. They can change a victim’s ability to earn a living wage, carry out daily tasks independently, or move or think normally.
Examples of catastrophic injuries include:
- Multiple or compound bone fractures
- A traumatic brain injury
- Neurological impairment
- Spinal cord damage
- Paralysis (e.g., paraplegia or quadriplegia)
- Third-degree burn injuries
- Amputation or loss of limb
- Loss of vision or hearing
- The loss of an important bodily function
- Internal organ injuries
- Permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Serious birth injuries
Any type of unexpected trauma – such as from a car accident, workplace accident, or slip and fall – that fundamentally changes the victim’s life can be deemed catastrophic for the purposes of a personal injury claim.
Types of Financial Compensation Available for a Catastrophic Injury in Texas
In Texas, if someone’s catastrophic injury is caused by another person’s negligence or failure to act with proper care, the negligent party can be held liable or financially responsible for the victim’s related damages.
When a catastrophic injury arises due to negligence, the victim may be able to recover the following types of financial compensation:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Disability costs
- Home or vehicle modifications
- Live-in care
- Lost wages
- Lost future capacity to earn a living
- Pain and suffering
- Psychological trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of independence
- Loss of consortium
- Punitive damages, in cases involving gross negligence or intent to harm
Compared to personal injury cases involving less serious injuries, catastrophic injury claims in Texas are more likely to lead to financial compensation for future or ongoing costs. This is because the effects of these injuries often impact a victim far into the future.
How Are Catastrophic Injury Settlements Calculated?
Catastrophic injury settlements in Texas are calculated in the same manner as typical personal injury settlements, but with added compensation to cover future foreseeable losses connected to a long-term or permanent injury.
The victim’s financial costs associated with the accident and injury (economic damages) will be calculated using medical bills, lost wage documents, property repair estimates and out-of-pocket costs based on receipts.
Then, future foreseeable costs associated with the long-term injury will be calculated. This is often accomplished with help from expert witnesses such as financial advisors, accountants, life-care planners and medical experts. It is critical to accurately calculate future costs to ensure a settlement fairly pays a victim for all of the repercussions he or she will continue to suffer due to a catastrophic injury.
Finally, non-economic damages will be awarded according to the degree of pain and suffering experienced by the victim. Since physical pain and emotional distress are often significant in connection to catastrophic injuries, non-economic damage awards can represent a large portion of the final settlement value.
How Is Pain and Suffering Calculated in a Catastrophic Injury Settlement?
Insurance companies often have their own equations for calculating the amount awarded in pain and suffering to victims with severe injuries. While the courts do not need to use any one specific rule, two calculation methods are frequently called upon:
- The Multiplier Method, where a non-economic damage award is calculated by multiplying the victim’s economic damages by a number between 1.5 and 5 based on injury severity. If the victim’s economic damages are $500,000 and a multiplier of 5 is assigned for a catastrophic injury, for example, $2.5 million would be awarded in pain and suffering.
- The Per Diem Method, where a daily amount in pain and suffering damages is assigned for the duration of the time that the victim will suffer losses connected to the catastrophic injury. For instance, if a daily multiplier of $250 is used for 90 days of expected pain and suffering, the award would total $22,500.
The Multiplier Method is the most common choice, especially in catastrophic injury cases where the victim may experience pain and suffering for a significant amount of time.
How Much Is a Catastrophic Injury Claim Worth in Texas?
There is no one-size-fits-all value for catastrophic injury claims in Texas. Just as all injuries are unique, so are all catastrophic injury cases. The value of a settlement can change dramatically based on various factors, including:
- The gravity and extent of the injury
- The length of time the injury will continue to affect the victim
- The severity of the victim’s related pain and suffering
- The cost of medical bills and lifelong treatment needs
- Effects on earning capability
- The age of the victim at the time of injury
- The number of liable parties and the amount of insurance coverage available
Catastrophic or permanent injury cases are different due to the probability of expensive future costs and losses, including physical therapy and rehabilitation, revision surgeries, other ongoing medical treatments, and a lifetime of lost wages. For this reason, catastrophic injury claims should be handled by personal injury attorneys with experience.
The Importance of Hiring a Catastrophic Injury Attorney
Suffering a catastrophic injury means your life may never look exactly the way it did prior to your accident. At FVF Law Firm, our Austin car accident attorneys will take steps to achieve the best possible settlement for your injury claim, helping you and your family look toward the future with greater hope and peace of mind.
We will analyze your case to identify every party that can be held accountable for your severe or permanent injury. Then, we will deal with an insurance company on your behalf to negotiate for the amount your claim is actually worth. Our attorneys will treat you like family, cutting no corners in helping you recover full compensation for every consequence of your accident.
Our catastrophic injury attorneys bring together more than 100 years of experience representing clients. Call us at (512) 640-2146 for a zero-cost, zero-pressure evaluation of your unique circumstances to find out how we can help.
