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Pain and Suffering Damages from a Texas Car Accident
If you have been injured in a car accident caused by another driver, you may qualify to receive compensation for pain and suffering damages. While money may not be able to completely reverse your physical or emotional injuries, it can relieve some of the financial burden that accompanies them.
Pain and Suffering Compensation for Physical Conditions
Some car accident injuries are very painful, but heal completely over time. Other injuries can affect you for months or even years. In these situations, victims may be eligible to receive pain and suffering compensation. For example, you may have suffered a head injury in a vehicle collision and now deal with constant migraines. If these migraines make it difficult to concentrate at work and complete everyday tasks, you may qualify for pain and suffering damages.
Pain and Suffering Compensation for Emotional Conditions
Car accidents can also lead to long-term emotional suffering in some people. For instance, the vehicle crash you endured might have been so traumatic that you have difficulty falling asleep every night and may even have nightmares. As a result, you always wake up groggy and irritable and have a poorer quality of life. In this situation, you may qualify to receive financial compensation for your emotional or psychological injuries.
Common Myths About Whiplash Injuries During Car Accidents in Texas
Whiplash is a common neck injury individuals endure during car accidents. Victims who suffer this injury may experience neck pain, stiffness, dizziness, headaches and burning sensations. While whiplash might not seem as severe as other vehicle crash injuries, it can still cause complications if not treated properly. If you suffered whiplash during a crash caused by another driver, you should get in touch with a Texas car accident attorney.
Misconceptions You Should Not Believe About Whiplash Injuries
Car accident victims who sustain whiplash may be eligible to receive compensation. However, certain myths surrounding the injury may prevent some from pursuing compensation. Here are a few common myths about whiplash you should know about.
Whiplash symptoms are immediately apparent. Whiplash is a unique injury because it often does not cause pain and other symptoms right away. In fact, you may not notice anything is wrong until days or weeks after the accident. That is why you should get checked out by a doctor immediately after a car crash. If a doctor determines that you do have whiplash, you can start treatment right away.
Claiming Compensation For a Rear-End Car Accident in Texas
When you think of a rear-end accident, you may think of something small, like a fender bender. In many cases, injuries from a rear-end accident will likely be mild to moderate. However, any type of car accident has the potential to be serious. The Insurance Information Institute (III) states that rear-end car accidents were responsible for more than 7 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2019. Injuries sustained from a rear-end accident can affect your everyday life and result in chronic conditions that may never truly heal. If you have been in a rear-end accident, you should discuss it with a Texas car accident injury lawyer.
Determining Fault After a Rear-End Accident
One of the first things that injury victims should do after a car crash is try to determine whose fault the accident was. In most cases, rear-end accidents are the fault of the vehicle whose front end collided with the other vehicle’s back end. For example, a collision could take place if the driver of the rear vehicle fails to notice that the vehicle in front is slowing down. However, total fault is not always assigned to one person. In some cases, the driver in front can be partially at fault for the accident. For example, perhaps the driver in the above situation was slowing down to turn, but they did not have their turn signal on. They could then be found partially responsible for the collision accident.
Can I Claim Compensation if a Texas Car Crash Was Partially My Fault?
Many car accidents involve at least two vehicles, and sometimes even more. In a multi-vehicle accident, it is not uncommon for more than one person to be at fault. In some states, if your own negligence contributed to the accident in any way, you would be barred from collecting compensation for any injuries you suffered. Thankfully, Texas follows a rule of comparative negligence, known as “proportionate responsibility,” that allows individuals to file a claim for damages even if they were partially at fault for the accident.
Defining Proportionate Responsibility in Texas
In Texas, each person involved in a car accident will be assigned a percentage of fault for the crash. Depending on the situation, the contributing parties could include:
- You (the plaintiff)
- Any other drivers (the defendant[s])
- Any responsible third parties
Proportionate responsibility means that a person can obtain compensation for damages sustained in a car accident for which they were partially to blame, with the damages reduced in proportion to their liability compared to the other parties. However, a person can only claim compensation if they were less than 51 percent at fault for the accident.
The Effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury After a Texas Car Accident
Your brain is one of the most important organs in your body. Without a brain, we do not function. This is why brain injuries are commonly severe and can leave you with lasting effects. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were an estimated 224,000 people who sought medical treatment for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in 2017. The CDC also states that motor vehicle crashes were one of the leading causes of TBIs that required medical treatment, at around 24.5 percent. If you have experienced a TBI from a car accident, you should speak with a Texas personal injury lawyer to discuss your options for compensation.
What is a TBI?
According to the Mayo Clinic, a traumatic brain injury occurs when the brain hits the walls of the skull. This usually occurs as a result of a blow or other trauma to the head, and motor vehicle crashes remain one of the most common causes of TBIs. Because a TBI is an injury to one of the most important organs in the body, it has a wide range of symptoms that can affect a person both physically and psychologically. Some of the most common symptoms of mild TBIs include:
Who Pays Medical Bills Before a Texas Personal Injury Claim Settles?
If you have been injured and someone else is at fault, that person is likely responsible for paying your medical bills, and you can hold them accountable by filing a personal injury claim. However, even in the best-case scenario, it can take several weeks or months to settle a claim and receive the compensation you are entitled to. In the meantime, you may need significant medical treatment, and you may be concerned about how to cover the costs before you have the funds from a settlement or verdict.
Health Insurance and Subrogation
In most cases, an injury victim’s health insurance provider will pay for the costs of all covered medical and surgical expenses related to the injuries. This helps ensure that victims can get treatment when they need it without worrying about personal financial hardship. However, insurance providers are usually entitled to reimbursement for the benefits they pay through a process called subrogation.
How to Recognize the Signs of Internal Injuries in a Texas Car Wreck
In many cases, car accident injuries are obvious right away. Victims may experience visible bruises and lacerations, noticeably broken bones, spinal cord injuries that result in immediate paralysis, or traumatic brain injuries that result in a loss of consciousness. However, other times, victims may emerge from an accident seemingly unscathed or without realizing the full extent of their injuries, only to have them become apparent soon after or in the coming days. If you are in a car wreck, you should always look out for signs of internal injuries that may require immediate medical attention.
Common Internal Injuries in Car Accidents
The blunt force trauma of a collision between vehicles can potentially cause many different types of internal injuries. Some of the most common include:
- Torn or ruptured blood vessels
How Can Runners Stay Safe From Car Crash Injuries in Texas?
Early this month, a runner was killed in a hit-and-run incident in San Antonio near Loop 1604, contributing to an unfortunate pattern of serious injuries and fatalities among runners, joggers, and other pedestrians in Texas. Being hit by a car while running can cut your life short or alter it permanently, and it may be a challenge to recover the compensation you deserve. With this in mind, any precautions you can take to avoid being injured by a negligent driver are worthwhile.
Safety Tips for Texas Runners and Joggers
Whether you are an avid runner or occasional jogger, it is important to be aware of the risk of injury any time you are running near the road. You can better ensure your safety by doing all of the following:
- Staying away from high traffic areas. Whenever possible, try to plan your running route to avoid busy roads. Sticking to jogging trails and residential areas can help you stay out of harm’s way. If you do need to include a busier road in your route, try to time your run to avoid rush hour when traffic is at its most dangerous.
How Can I Find Video Evidence to Support My Car Accident Injury Claim?
If you are injured in a car accident, your chances of recovering compensation depend on your ability to demonstrate that another party was negligent. In order to receive the largest possible settlement or verdict, you may also need to demonstrate that you were not partially at fault. Doing so requires that you have strong evidence to support your claim, and one of the strongest forms of evidence is video footage of the crash.
Video footage may not exist for every accident, but it is available more often than you might expect. The question is, how can you find it in order to use it in your case? It can be difficult to obtain video evidence on your own, but an experienced personal injury attorney can make it much easier.
What Kind of Video Evidence May Be Available?
Depending on where the accident happens and who is around to witness it, video footage of the crash may be available from a variety of sources. Some of the most common include:
The Dangers of Intoxicated Truck Drivers in Texas
Drunk driving is a serious problem in Texas. Not only does Texas have the largest number of fatal accidents involving alcohol intoxication, but alcohol also accounts for an outsized percentage of fatal accidents in Texas compared to most other states. All drunk drivers can be a severe danger to themselves and others on the road, but intoxicated truck drivers are capable of causing especially dangerous accidents and severe injuries.
Deterrents Against Truck Driver Intoxication
Commercial truck drivers are subject to strict laws and regulations regarding alcohol and drug use, both at a federal level and within the state of Texas. For example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires trucking companies to administer drug and alcohol tests for their drivers under a variety of circumstances, including before hiring, after an accident, and when there is reasonable suspicion of intoxication.