5 Important Points to Know about Personal Injury Laws in the State of Texas
If you or someone you know was unfortunate enough to be in an accident that led to a serious injury due to someone else’s fault, you are eligible to get compensation for your troubles from the guilty party. However, since the laws vary quite a bit from state to state in the USA, it is wise to take a good look at the five points mentioned below before filing the lawsuit in Texas.
Time Limits
Just like all the other states in the nation, Texas has a limit on the time period within which your lawsuit must be made. In Texas, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is set at a quite liberal two years from the date of the accident. Note that in spite of the window being a large one, the sooner you file the case, the better your chances of winning it.
Shared Liability
It is possible in Texas for a defending party to try and charge you for shared responsibility. This basically means that they will try to prove in a court of law that you are also to blame, in part, for the injuries caused to you, alongside the defending party. In case they are successful in doing so, the amount of compensation that you are likely to get will reduce accordingly. Texas follows a percentage rule in such cases, which determines how much money you will receive in compensation. For example, if the total damage, repair, medical bills, etc., come to $100,000 and the jury finds you to be 50% responsible for the accident, you will only be able to collect $50,000 from the defending party because the rest will have to be paid by you, as you have been deemed 50% responsible for the personal injury. If the jury decided that your fault is more than 50%, you will not be awarded any compensation whatsoever.
Pet Liabilities in Texas
The famous “One Bite” rule of Texas deems that all injuries caused by a pet are the fault of the owner, as long as the grieving party can prove that the owner had prior knowledge or “should have” had prior knowledge of the animal’s dangerous nature.
Maximum Possible Personal Injury Claim Amount
The caps on one’s claims for personal injuries are kept mostly on medical malpractice suits in Texas and while the system is quite complex, some of its simpler aspects can be explained as done below.
- Non-economic damages related only to pain and suffering: $250,000 > per defendant and $500,000 in total
- Wrongful death: Nearly $2 million
Suing the State
Whatever the personal injury is, suing the government is not as easy as filing a case against the state. The victim will need to file a formal claim with the concerned department of the state government within six months from the date of the incident. Details such as the time, date, cause, type of damage and the extent of the damage should be mentioned clearly with supporting documents, as applicable.
Now that you are aware of these five points, you are more or less prepared to take the first steps to ensure that you are adequately compensated for your pain, suffering, and economic losses. However, none of this will be of any real help unless you contact a reputed attorney with the necessary experience in personal injuries first. There are intricate details which he will guide you through to make sure that you receive the biggest compensation possible under the given circumstances.
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