Longview Injury Law—Damages Under Texas Statutes
For personal injury, the damages a plaintiff pursues are determined by rules established in the Texas legislature. If you have suffered a personal injury due to a manufacturer design, manufacturing mistake or warning defect (i.e., the instructions with the product were inadequate or erroneous), you are due a settlement to cover the costs of your injuries. That means the following:
- Compensation – You, the plaintiff, can receive compensatory damages for bodily injuries as well as your property. In other words, if your injuries cost $1.5 million dollars in medical care, therapy and damage to your home, the defendant could be ordered to pay you that much.
- Punishment – In Texas, including Rusk County, Marshall, Carthage, Tyler, Longview, and Upshur County, injury law is defined by state law rules and the courts may choose to punish the defendant if the product or act was especially injurious. Under Texas law punitive damages can equal the greater of two times the amount of economic damages plus the amount equal to non-economic damages, up to $750,000. Non-economic damages are for intangible injuries that include physical stress, emotional stress, severe pain, disfigurement, and the loss of enjoyment of life (which can include loss of sexual function).
For Longview injury, law places requirements on plaintiffs
As a law firm with extensive experience in the cities of Tyler, Carthage, Marshall, Longview, as well as counties such as Rusk and Upshur, we are accustomed to navigating the requirements of Texas statutes for personal injury. Certain key aspects of the law must be managed on behalf of the plaintiff:
- Burden of proof: With the assistance of legal counsel, the plaintiff must prove the defendant is liable for the injury with a preponderance of evidence. This standard is not as demanding as proof beyond reasonable doubt, as is required in criminal cases.
- Joint and several liability: Sometimes more than one party is the defendant, such as when a pharmacy sells an out-of-date medication that the pharmaceutical company shipped after expiration. The plaintiff can collect damages from both, and the court has the power to determine which defendant bears more or less responsibility for those damages.
- Statute of limitations: In most cases, you must file your lawsuit within two years of when the cause for the suit arose. If you were injured by a medical mistake and it only becomes apparent after a period of time—for example, three years later—you can file it up to two years after your discovery.
