After hearing news articles about multimillion-dollar personal injury verdicts, Texas car accident victims are understandably curious about the “dollar value” of their car accident claims. For this reason, the first question on the minds of people hurt by negligent drivers is usually: How much money can I pursue in my injury claim?
The problem is that answering this question is not that simple. No two motor vehicle accident scenarios are ever the same. Some have minor injuries, some have catastrophic or fatal injuries, and they all have different events that transpired before the crash. All of these facts, and many more, will affect the amount of money a plaintiff can pursue as car accident damages, and often the full extent of these facts is not revealed until well into the litigation process.
Medical expenses and doctors’ bills are the most important pursuable damages
In most car accident cases, the costs associated with a plaintiff’s medical care will be exorbitantly high and unaffordable. These costs include doctors’ bills and costs associated with medical procedures, rehab, in-home health services, medical supplies, medications, other medical costs and estimated future medical costs.
Pursuing these financial damages in a personal injury claim could be the only way that an injured plaintiff has of paying for the medical care required to recover from his or her injuries. Also, the extent of medical costs can be an indicator of how much the plaintiff can pursue in other categories of damages.
Often the size of a plaintiff’s medical bills can be used to bolster a plaintiff’s claims for pain and suffering damages. Pain and suffering damages relate to the physical pain and mental anguish experienced by the car accident victim, but they are abstract in nature and difficult to put a dollar figure on. However, the extent of a plaintiff’s medical bills could be used to show just how much pain and suffering the plaintiff was forced to endure.
Save all of your medical record receipts
Because medical costs are so central to a Texas car accident plaintiff’s damage claims, it’s important for personal injury plaintiffs to save all of their medical records and medical bill receipts. If you’re unable to locate some receipts however, you may be able to obtain copies by requesting the information directly from your medical provider.
