A burn injury can alter your life in mere seconds. The pain, medical treatments and mounting bills become overwhelming realities that extend far beyond the initial incident. If you have sustained this type of injury during an accident, you may be asking yourself what options are available to help you recover.
What types of damages you could recover
Texas law separates personal injury compensation into two main categories: economic and non-economic damages. Economic are financial losses you can clearly measure:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Future medical costs
- Loss of earning capacity
Non-economic damages describe how an injury affects your life in ways money cannot directly measure. This covers pain and suffering, mental anguish and disfigurement.
The state does not cap non-economic damages in most personal injury claims. This means juries have no limit on what they can award for this category in a standard negligence case, with medical malpractice claims being the exception.
How an injury claim works in Texas
The state uses a modified proportionate responsibility system, which means either the court or jury will assign a percentage of fault to each party in the accident. If you bear some blame for what happened, your recovery gets reduced by that percentage.
Here is where it becomes critical: If the court or jury finds you more than 50% responsible for the incident that caused your burn injuries, you cannot recover any compensation. This rule makes establishing fault essential.
The state has a strict deadline for filing personal injury claims, requiring you to do so within two years of your injury date. Miss this window and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case, regardless of how strong your evidence is. While there are rare exceptions that can pause this deadline, such as when the injured person is a minor, these are narrow and strictly applied.
How the claims process typically works
The path to recovery usually begins long before any lawsuit is filed. You may want to consider gathering evidence of both your injuries and how the accident happened. Documents such as medical records and accident reports can lay the foundation of your case.
After you file your claim, an insurance adjuster representing the at-fault party will review the accident and contact you for a recorded statement. However, what you say during this interview could determine your liability in the accident and affect your compensation. Legal counsel can help during these conversations to prevent any misinterpretations.
