When you’ve suffered a serious injury in an accident, the damage isn’t always visible. The emotional distress, pain, and disruption to your everyday life can be just as devastating as the physical injuries or financial losses. At Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C., our El Paso personal injury lawyers understand that.
Noneconomic damages in Texas are often the most difficult to value. We serve clients across the state facing life-altering injuries and the high costs associated with them.
With years of experience litigating complex injury cases and a commitment to personalized, client-centered service, our team is positioned to help you pursue the full compensation you deserve.
In this guide, we’ll explain noneconomic damages, how to calculate them, and their limitations. If you’re struggling with the emotional and personal consequences of a serious accident, we’re here to help you reclaim control and move forward.
Contact us online or call (575) 222-1000 today for a free consultation.
What Are Noneconomic Damages?
Noneconomic damages in a personal injury case refer to losses that don’t have a direct monetary value. They compensate you for the intangible effects of an accident by attempting to quantify the emotional and psychological impact of your injuries.
Some of the most common include:
- Physical pain and suffering. This damage includes the actual physical discomfort you experience from your injuries. It covers everything from broken bones and nerve damage to chronic pain and long-term complications.
- Mental or emotional pain or anguish. Beyond physical pain, injuries often cause deep psychological wounds such as anxiety, depression, fear, shame, grief, or trauma. This category includes mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which may result from witnessing or experiencing a violent or life-altering accident.
- Loss of consortium. Refers to the harm suffered by the spouse or partner of an injured person and focuses on how the injury impacts the marital relationship. It includes the loss of love, affection, emotional support, comfort, and intimacy due to the injured person’s condition.
- Disfigurement. If an accident results in visible scarring, burns, or amputation, the injured person may suffer from disfigurement. This injury also has a severe toll on one’s mental and psychological state.
- Physical impairment. This is the reduced ability to move or function as you did before the accident. It includes limitations in mobility, strength, coordination, or stamina.
- Loss of companionship and society. Similar to the loss of consortium, this type of damage expands to include other close relationships, such as those between parents and children. It reflects the loss of comfort, guidance, companionship, and shared experiences within the family unit caused by the injury or death of a loved one.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. Refers to when your injuries prevent you from participating in the hobbies, sports, activities, or social events you once loved. These damages compensate for the emotional cost of losing meaningful parts of your identity and lifestyle.
Each of these damages represents how an accident can upend your life and your family’s life beyond the financial impact.
Examples of Noneconomic Damages
To illustrate how these damages can affect a person’s life, consider the following examples:
- A professional dancer who suffers a spinal injury in a car crash may receive compensation for loss of enjoyment of life and physical impairment,
- A parent with permanent facial scarring from a defective product injury may be awarded disfigurement damages for the emotional toll and social anxiety, and
- A child bitten by a dog and suffers pain and PTSD may be eligible for mental anguish and physical pain damages.
These examples of noneconomic damages extend far beyond the physical injury itself. At Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C., we help clients articulate and prove these deeply personal losses in a way that truly reflects the full scope of their suffering.
How Is a Noneconomic Loss Calculated in Texas?
Unlike economic damages, which you can measure through bills, receipts, and pay stubs, noneconomic damages involve personal, subjective losses. As a result, there is no universal formula for calculating them. Instead, Texas courts and insurance companies rely on various factors to evaluate the severity and impact of your injuries.
Some of the key considerations include:
- The nature and severity of your injuries;
- Duration of recovery;
- Medical documentation;
- Impact on daily life;
- Testimony from friends, family, or coworkers; and
- Your account.
Because these damages are highly individualized, the credibility of the evidence and the way you tell your story can heavily influence the outcome.
Is There a Noneconomic Damages Cap in Texas?
In most personal injury cases, there is no cap on noneconomic damages. If you suffer from these damages, there is no legal limit on what you can recover.
However, an important exception exists for medical malpractice cases. Noneconomic damages in these cases are capped at $250,000 per claimant against a single healthcare provider and $500,000 total from all healthcare institutions combined.
Also, regardless of the type of case, Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule. If you are partially at fault for the accident, your compensation, including noneconomic damages, will be reduced by your percentage of fault. You are barred from recovering any damages if you are 51% or more at fault.
Talk to Our Texas Lawyers Today
The pain you feel after an accident isn’t limited to medical bills and missed work. When your peace of mind, dignity, and daily joy are taken from you, your noneconomic loss matters and deserves recognition.
At Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C., we don’t reduce your case to numbers on a page. With a winning trial team, deep roots in Texas communities, and a reputation for aggressive advocacy, we fight for every part of what you’ve lost. Our firm is built on compassion, and our attorneys will take the time to understand your story and present it with the strength and clarity it deserves.
You’ve carried the weight of this injury long enough. Schedule your free consultation today by calling (575) 222-1000 or sending us an online message and take the first step toward moving forward.
Alejandro Acosta
Mr. Acosta is a lifelong resident of El Paso. He graduated from Cathedral High School in 2000 and graduated from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in 2004. Mr. Acosta went on to attend Sandra Day O’ Connor College of Law (Arizona State Law School). He graduated in 2008, receiving his J.D. and his Indian Legal Certificate for his work in Indian Law and dealings with various tribal nations throughout Arizona. Alejandro has been licensed to practice law in Texas since 2008 and has been licensed in the State of New Mexico since 2011.
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