What Are Economic Damages?

Economic damages are the measurable financial losses you suffer when someone else’s negligence causes your injury. They cover the real dollars an accident costs you, from medical bills to missed paychecks.

Under Texas law, economic damages are one of two types of compensatory damages available in a personal injury case. The state defines them in Section 41.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code as compensation for your actual economic or pecuniary loss. In plain terms, they reimburse you for the concrete financial harm an at-fault party caused.

If you were injured in an accident, the Dallas personal injury lawyers at Trujillo Gonzalez PC can help you identify and pursue every dollar of economic damages you are owed. Call us at (972) 550-6818 for a free case evaluation.

Economic Damages vs. Non-Economic Damages

A personal injury award is usually built from two categories of compensatory damages: Economic and non-economic. Together, they make up the compensation meant to make you financially whole after an accident.

Economic damages, sometimes called special damages, cover losses with a clear price tag. Medical bills, lost wages, and property repair costs are common examples. These figures can be added up from receipts, invoices, and pay records.

Non-economic damages cover harm that has no receipt. Pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life fall into this category. Texas treats these two types differently, especially when it comes to limits on recovery.

Common Types of Economic Damages

Several forms of economic damages may be available after an accident. The specific economic damages in your personal injury case depend on your injuries, your treatment, and how the crash affected your income and property.

Medical Expenses

Medical treatment is often the largest part of a person’s economic damages. You can seek reimbursement for every reasonable and necessary cost tied to treating your injuries.

Common medical expenses include:

• Ambulance transport and emergency room care
• Hospital stays and surgery
• Diagnostic testing, such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans
• Prescription medications
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation
• Follow-up visits with doctors and specialists
• Assistive equipment, such as crutches or a wheelchair

Future medical costs count too. When injuries require ongoing care, we work with your providers to document what that treatment will cost over time.

Lost Income and Earning Capacity

When injuries keep you off the job, the paychecks you miss are recoverable economic damages. This category includes far more than your base salary.

Lost income can include:

• Lost wages from missed workdays
• Lost bonuses, commissions, and overtime
• Lost benefits, such as paid leave
• Self-employment and business income

You may also recover for diminished earning capacity. Suppose your injuries force you out of physical work and into a lower-paying role. The difference between what you would have earned and what you can now earn becomes part of your claim.

Property Damage

Many accidents damage your property along with your body. In a car crash, your vehicle is usually the most obvious loss, and repairing or replacing it is a core part of a property damage claim.

Recoverable property losses can include:

• Vehicle repair costs
• Your vehicle’s fair market value if it is totaled
• Damage to personal items, such as a phone, laptop, or child safety seat

Insurers often try to settle a property damage claim quickly and separately from your injury claim. Be cautious before signing anything, because a fast release can affect your right to full compensation.

Out-of-Pocket and Other Expenses

Smaller costs add up fast after an injury, and they are easy to overlook. These out-of-pocket expenses are recoverable when they result from the accident.

Examples include:

• Mileage and parking for medical appointments
• In-home nursing or personal care
• Household help you can no longer do yourself, such as cleaning or lawn care
• Childcare needed during treatment or recovery
• Over-the-counter medication and medical supplies

Keep every receipt. A simple log of these expenses gives us the proof we need to include them in your economic damages.

How Are Economic Damages Calculated and Proven?

Because economic damages, also called special damages, come from documented costs, they are more concrete than non-economic damages. Still, proving their full value takes careful work, and insurers rarely accept your numbers without a fight.

To calculate economic damages accurately, we rely on:

• Medical bills, records, and treatment plans
• Pay stubs, tax returns, and employer statements
• Repair estimates and property valuations
• Receipts for out-of-pocket costs

Larger claims often call for expert testimony. Medical experts explain the cost of future care, while economic and vocational experts project lost earning capacity over a lifetime. Establishing a clear link between the accident and each loss is what separates a full recovery from an underpaid claim.

Is There a Cap on Economic Damages in Texas?

In most personal injury cases, Texas does not cap economic damages. You can pursue the full amount of your documented financial losses, no matter how high the medical bills or lost income climb.

Limits are more common with non-economic damages. In medical malpractice claims, for example, Texas law caps non-economic damages at $250,000 per claimant against a single health care provider. Economic damages in those cases remain uncapped.

One practical limit still matters: Available insurance coverage. Even when your losses exceed a policy’s limits, collecting beyond those limits can be difficult, which is one reason experienced representation matters.

How Fault Can Affect Your Economic Damages

Texas uses a modified comparative negligence rule, sometimes called the 51% bar. Under Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, you can recover damages as long as you are not more than 50% at fault.

When you share some blame, your recovery drops by your percentage of fault. A person who is 20% responsible for a crash, for instance, can still recover 80% of their economic damages.

Cross the 50% line, though, and you recover nothing. Insurers know this, so they often argue that you were mostly at fault to cut what they owe. Our team pushes back with evidence that keeps fault where it belongs.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Texas?

Most Texas injury claims come with a 2-year deadline. Under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, you generally have 2 years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Miss that window, and you can lose the right to recover any economic damages at all. A few exceptions can shorten or extend the deadline, so the safest step is to speak with an attorney early.

The sooner we start, the more time we have to gather records, document your losses, and build a claim for full compensation.

Contact Our Dallas Personal Injury Lawyers About Your Economic Damages

You should not have to absorb the financial fallout of someone else’s negligence. Identifying every category of economic damages, from the first ambulance bill to a lifetime of lost earning capacity, is what our team does for injured Texans every day.

At Trujillo Gonzalez PC, founding attorneys James Trujillo and Ramon Gonzalez lead a trial-tested personal injury practice that takes cases to court when insurers refuse to pay fairly. We have handled the most complex cases, including car accidents, truck accidents, slip and fall, wrongful death, and more. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you owe no fee unless we win.

Call our Dallas personal injury attorneys today at (972) 550-6818 or contact us for a free case evaluation. We will help you understand the economic damages available in your personal injury case and fight for the full compensation you deserve.