In general, victims of motor vehicle accidents in Texas will be able to secure compensation for their pain and suffering damages (i.e. emotional damages) so long as these unseen injuries are the result of the vehicle accident and their visibly traumatic injuries.
However, securing compensation for these injuries can be challenging. First, it is essential to show that another party caused the crash. Unfortunately, a person who is at fault for the crash will likely be unable to recover compensation for their emotional injuries. However, if another driver's careless or negligent actions caused the crash, the pain and suffering damages will likely be rolled into the overall injury claim.
Pain and suffering, including emotional damages, are considered “general damages.” These types of damages will be calculated differently than special damages (economic damages). In general, we will find that pain and suffering damages are often immeasurable by typical economic standards, making them more challenging to calculate properly. Often, an attorney will calculate general damages using a “multiplier method,” meaning they will take the total economic damages and then multiply that by a set number (usually 1.5 to 5). The total they get after the multiplication will equal what they ask for in general damages.