What is the Average Truck Accident Settlement?
Texas has become home to a growing number of manufacturing operations, and more manufacturers choosing Texas has put more trucks on its roads and highways. The increased truck traffic has led to more serious accidents, with Texas regularly leading the nation in injuries and fatalities caused by trucks.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a commercial truck accident on a Texas highway, you may have the right to seek compensation. If you were injured in an accident with a commercial truck, you may wonder how large a settlement you are entitled to, but there is no average settlement amount because each accident is different. Settlement amounts vary based on factors unique to each accident, and the range for what is cited as an average is broad.
The following are general estimates for different types of settlements related to truck accidents:
- Minor injuries: From $15,000 to $50,000
- Moderate injuries with hospitalization or extended recovery: From $50,000 to $500,000
- Severe injuries, including those resulting in permanent disability or death: From $500,000 to more than $1 million
The above amounts are estimated ranges only and should not be viewed as advice about your case. If you have received a settlement offer, discuss it with an attorney before accepting, because accepting a settlement bars you from seeking further compensation for the same accident, and initial offers commonly fall short of the full loss. For example, an offer may cover your hospital bill but not the cost of ongoing therapy or the income you lost while unable to work. If you have questions about a settlement offer you have received, contact Loewy Law Firm at (512) 280-0800 for a free consultation.
What Is Covered by a Settlement?
Under Texas law, if you were injured in a truck accident you may recover both economic and non-economic damages, which commonly cover the following:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Physical pain and impairment
- Disfigurement
- Mental anguish
What Factors Influence a Truck Accident Settlement?
There is no comprehensive list of factors that can be used in calculating a settlement for injuries resulting from a truck accident, but the following are usually considered:
How severe were the injuries? This is usually the most important factor when determining the size of a settlement in a truck accident case. Catastrophic personal injuries that leave a victim unable to work or permanently disabled generally result in higher settlement amounts because the settlement needs to cover items like expensive medical treatment, long-term care, and lost future income. Common catastrophic injuries include brain injuries, amputations, spinal cord injuries, and severe burns.
Personal injuries from which a victim can recover and return to a normal life generally result in smaller settlements than those for catastrophic injury, even if the injury results in large hospital bills. However, injury severity does play a role in the settlement amount, with severe injuries receiving more compensation than minor injuries.
Who was at fault? Which party was at fault and to what degree they contributed to the accident is another significant issue considered in determining liability for injuries related to a truck accident. This takes on added importance in truck cases because responsibility may be divided between several parties. For example, the truck’s driver, owner, and manufacturer may each have played a role in causing the accident.
How good is the evidence? As a general rule, strong evidence that the owner, operator, or driver of a truck was at fault results in the victim building a stronger case and usually leads to higher settlement amounts. Without strong evidence, a victim may have difficulty establishing that the trucking company or driver was responsible for the accident and proving damages.
If the victim can show gross negligence on the part of the truck operator or driver, the victim may also be entitled to punitive damages, also referred to as “exemplary” damages, that punish the wrongdoer. Gross negligence is usually defined as extreme carelessness in situations where the defendant knows there was an obvious risk of serious injury and did not take action to prevent it.
Limits on insurance coverage. State and federal rules require most companies operating trucks to maintain an accident liability insurance policy. But there is usually a limit as to how much the policies will pay out in the event of an accident. Any settlement amount is likely to be limited by the maximum amount available under the trucking company’s insurance policy.
Was there property damage? Because trucks are so much bigger than anything else on the road, accidents with them usually result in extensive property damage. When a passenger vehicle is hit, it is likely to need significant repairs or to be replaced. The cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle or other property may be included in the settlement amount.
State laws. Generally, Texas requires that any personal injury case be filed within two years of the accident. If the victim has waited too long to file a claim, it is unlikely they will be able to negotiate a settlement. Additionally, Texas applies a comparative negligence rule which may reduce an accident victim’s recovery by the percentage by which they are at fault. For example, if the victim is found to have been 40% responsible for an accident, they will only receive 60% of the damage payout. It also means that a trucking company will not be found liable for injuries caused in an accident where the victim is more than 50% at fault.
Trucking Company Insurance and the Money Available for Your Settlement
A settlement is paid from insurance, so the amount available to you depends on whose policy covers the party responsible for your injuries. If the driver was working for a trucking company at the time of the crash, Texas law holds the company responsible for the driver’s negligence and the company’s policy pays, which state and federal rules require to be at least $500,000 for large trucks operating within Texas and $750,000 for for-hire interstate carriers, and larger carriers commonly carry excess policies above those amounts. If the driver was an owner-operator with no company behind him, the money is limited to the driver’s own coverage, which in cases like this is the required minimum for the type of truck and haul.
A trucking company is also responsible for its own failures, which in truck cases commonly take the following forms:
- Hiring a driver with a known record of crashes, violations, or failed drug tests
- Skipping the inspections and repairs federal rules require
- Setting delivery schedules a driver could not meet without speeding or skipping required rest breaks
- Loading or securing cargo in a way that made the truck unstable
The driver and the company are covered by the same commercial policy, so proving the company’s own failures does not add coverage. What those failures add is the basis for a gross negligence finding, and a carrier facing credible evidence of gross negligence at trial raises its offer rather than risk the exemplary damages a jury could award on top of your losses. Separate companies do carry separate policies, so when the trailer owner, the company that loaded the cargo, or the manufacturer of a failed part shares fault, its coverage is added to the money available to settle.
A Settlement Versus a Trial Verdict
A settlement is an agreement between you and the trucking company’s insurance carrier to pay a fixed amount in exchange for your release of the case, and no jury is involved. The amount is negotiated, and what the carrier offers is driven by its policy limits and its own assessment of how a jury would decide the case. When the carrier disputes fault or will not offer what your losses support, the case can go to trial, and the jury’s verdict is not tied to any offer made before it.
A jury can award what no carrier concedes in negotiation: its own valuation of your pain, impairment, and future losses, plus exemplary damages, which Texas law allows only when the jury finds gross negligence by clear and convincing evidence and is unanimous on both that finding and the amount. A trial also takes longer than a settlement and the outcome is not guaranteed, since a jury can award less than the carrier offered. Whether to accept an offer or try the case is a decision you make with your attorney based on the following:
- The strength of the evidence proving fault against the driver and the company
- The gap between the carrier’s offer and your documented losses, including future medical care and lost earning capacity
- Whether the facts support a gross negligence finding and the exemplary damages that come with it
Truck Accident Settlement Questions
How long does a truck accident settlement take in Texas?
There is no fixed timeline. A carrier does not settle before your medical outcome is known, so a case where you make a full recovery can settle within months of finishing treatment, while a case with a permanent injury runs a year or longer because the settlement has to account for future care and lost earning capacity. A case that goes to trial adds the time it takes to get a trial date in Travis County, which is measured in additional months.
Do you pay taxes on a truck accident settlement?
Federal law does not tax the part of a settlement that compensates you for a physical injury, which covers your medical costs, the income you lost because of the injury, and your pain and impairment. Exemplary damages are taxed as income, and so is any interest paid on a judgment. If you deducted medical expenses on a prior year’s tax return and the settlement repays those expenses, that portion is taxed as well.
What happens if the trucking company’s insurance is not enough to cover my losses?
The company’s primary policy is the starting point, and the following sources can add to it when the primary policy falls short:
- An excess or umbrella policy the carrier holds above its primary coverage
- The policies of other responsible parties, such as the trailer owner, the shipper that loaded the cargo, or the manufacturer of a failed part
- Your own underinsured motorist coverage, if your auto policy carries it
- The trucking company’s own assets, which a jury verdict reaches when the award exceeds the policy
Will my health insurer get paid back out of my settlement?
If your health plan paid for your crash treatment, its contract usually gives it a right to repayment from your settlement. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 140 limits that repayment, for the health plans it covers, to the lesser of half your gross recovery or the amount the plan paid, and the plan has to pay a share of your attorney’s fee and case costs out of its portion, with the fee capped at one-third of what the plan recovers. The plan also cannot take repayment out of your own underinsured motorist or medical payments coverage when you or your family paid the premiums for it. Medicare, Medicaid, workers’ compensation, and self-funded employer plans governed by federal law follow their own repayment rules and are not limited by the Texas chapter.
Still Have Questions?
The attorneys at the Loewy Law Firm are experienced in working with the victims of truck accidents and are ready to provide answers to your questions regarding accident settlements. Our lawyers understand how to gather the evidence necessary to prove the trucking company was liable for any injuries and have worked with experts who can assess their long-term impact. We will work hard to quickly and professionally resolve your truck accident case on the best possible terms. If you were injured in an accident with a commercial truck, call Loewy Law Firm at (512) 280-0800 for a free consultation.
The content on this website is for general informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice. Laws change, and case outcomes depend on specific facts. Viewing this material does not establish an attorney-client relationship. For legal guidance on your specific situation, consult a qualified attorney.