Austin Auto Accident Law Firms
Auto accidents can result in severe and expensive injuries. You should file an insurance claim, but you cannot rely on the insurance company to pay fully and fairly. There is a good chance that you will have to resort to a personal injury lawsuit in order to recover the compensation that you need and deserve.
Types of Texas Auto Accident Claims
Although the majority of auto accident lawsuits are against a negligent driver and their insurance company, you may have another type of claim.
If the driver was uninsured or underinsured, there may be coverage available under your own insurance policy.
If your accident or injuries were caused by a defective vehicle, you have a product liability lawsuit. If your accident involved a defective roadway, your lawsuit will be against the government entity responsible for the design, construction, and/or maintenance of the roadway.
Auto Accident Damages
If you were injured in a Texas auto accident, you may be able to recover compensation for both economic and noneconomic damages, through a personal injury lawsuit. These damages can include:
- Past, current, and future medical expenses
- Long-term care, home health care, and end of life care
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Special equipment and home modifications to accommodate disability
- Past, current, and future lost income
- Lost earning capacity
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Property damage
Punitive damages are rarely awarded in auto accident claims. They are meant to punish the wrongdoer, rather than to compensate you, and are reserved for extreme cases. Punitive damages may be awarded if you were injured by a drunk driver or in an accident with a commercial vehicle where the company responsible committed serious violations leading to your accident.
Compensation if You Were Partly At Fault
In Texas, you can recover compensation if you were partly to blame for your accident, as long as you were less than 50% at fault. This is called “modified comparative fault”. Your compensation is reduced by an amount equal to your percentage of fault. So, if your damages were $100,000 and you are found to be 25% to blame, you will only receive $75,000.
Time Limits for Texas Auto Accident Claims
In most cases, you should file your insurance claim as soon as possible after your auto accident.
The statute of limitations is your time limit for filing a car accident lawsuit. Generally, you have two years after an auto accident, in Texas, to file your personal injury lawsuit.
However, the specific facts in your case can mean that you have more or less time to take legal action. For instance, if you are suing a government entity you may have a very short amount of time to file your notice of intent to sue.