How to Increase Your Personal Injury Settlement?

When you are injured due to someone else’s negligence in Texas, you are entitled to several forms of compensation. Under the Texas jury charge, there are different categories of damages for which you may be awarded compensation, including:

• Past and future medical bills

• Past and future pain and suffering

• Past and future physical impairment

• Past and future physical disfigurement

• Past and future mental anguish

• Lost wages

• Lost earning capacity

Among these, lost wages and medical bills are generally easier to calculate since they are documented by pay stubs and treatment records. These are referred to as economic damages, which are essentially financial losses that can be added up based on receipts and calculations. For example, lost wages are determined by how many workdays were missed and your daily earnings, while medical expenses are documented by bills from healthcare providers.

However, non-economic damages—such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement—are more difficult to quantify. These damages do not have clear, numerical values and require persuasive storytelling to ensure fair compensation. This is where the potential to significantly increase your settlement lies: effectively documenting and presenting the non-economic aspects of your injury can have a profound impact on your overall recovery.

1. Document Lost Wages and Medical Treatment Consistently

One of the most common reasons insurance companies undervalue a claim is the lack of consistency in treatment. If you’re injured but fail to seek medical attention or miss appointments for weeks, it can give the insurer an argument that your injuries aren’t serious. For example:

• A person in a minor car accident who seeks immediate medical care and follows through with consistent treatment for three months is likely to recover more than...

• A person who is in a major collision, but only visits the emergency room, is released the same day, and then skips follow-up visits for months.

Even if the second person’s car was more damaged, the insurance company may argue that they weren’t as hurt, because they didn’t show consistent medical care. Having timely and well-documented treatment strengthens the case that you were seriously injured and actively seeking to get better. Missing medical appointments, on the other hand, creates an impression of mild injury that can lower the value of your settlement.

2. Prove Non-Economic Damages with Everyday Examples

While medical bills and lost wages are easier to quantify, non-economic damages require more effort. You need to show how your injury has affected your daily life in ways that go beyond what a doctor can document. Pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement are highly subjective, but they can have a profound impact on your life.

For example, consider the following:

• You may need an extra pillow to sleep at night due to pain.

• You can no longer bend over to tie your shoes without difficulty.

• You struggle to sit through long commutes without your back aching.

• You can’t pick up your child or engage in activities with your family the way you used to.

• Even small, seemingly insignificant things—like how long it takes you to brush your teeth—have become a challenge.

The more specific you are, the more convincing the damage becomes. For example, explaining how it now takes extra time and effort to do everyday tasks like tying your shoes or using the bathroom demonstrates how the injury affects your life. These details help the insurance company or jury understand the depth of your suffering, even if there’s no tangible receipt for these damages.

3. Communicate with Your Attorney and Keep Them Informed

One key point to remember is that your attorney cannot fight for what they don’t know. If you don’t take the time to inform your lawyer about the small yet important ways in which your injury has impacted your life, they won’t be able to represent those aspects in your case. The more detail you can provide, the stronger your case will be.

A good exercise is to take some time to think through every part of your day post-injury and document how it’s different. From the moment you wake up to the time you go to bed, think about how your injury has changed your routine. Does it take longer to get dressed? Is it difficult to bend over or pick up heavy items? Can you no longer do things you used to take for granted, like walking your dog or exercising?

Even seemingly small aspects of your daily routine, when explained in detail, can be valuable in securing a fair settlement. These personal stories allow your attorney to advocate for more than just the financial losses and medical bills—they can tell the full story of how the injury has changed your life, which can lead to higher non-economic damage awards.