A serious injury can change far more than your immediate health. Some accident victims require months or years of rehabilitation, assistance with everyday activities, in-home nursing services, or placement in a long-term care facility. The cost of that care can become one of the greatest financial burdens associated with a catastrophic injury.
If another person or company caused your condition through negligence or wrongful conduct, Texas law may allow you to pursue compensation for the reasonable and necessary long-term care you are expected to need. Recovering those damages, however, requires more than showing that future assistance might be helpful. Your claim must establish the connection between the accident and your ongoing limitations, the type of care you will probably require, and the anticipated cost of that care. Our Houston brain injury lawyer can help with your case.
Long-Term Care May Be Included in a Texas Personal Injury Claim
Compensation in a Texas personal injury case is intended to address the losses caused by another party’s conduct. Under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, economic damages include compensatory damages intended to address actual economic or financial losses.
Depending on the circumstances, those damages may include medical treatment, rehabilitation, lost earning capacity, assistive equipment, home modifications, and future care expenses.
Long-term care is not limited to living in a nursing home. The federal Medicaid program describes long-term services and supports as care delivered in different settings, including institutional facilities and home- and community-based programs.
In a Texas personal injury case, long-term care expenses may include:
- In-home nursing care
- Personal care attendants
- Assistance with bathing, dressing, eating, and mobility
- Physical, occupational, or speech therapy
- Residential rehabilitation
- Skilled nursing facility care
- Memory care or supervision following a traumatic brain injury
- Medical equipment and replacement supplies
- Transportation to medical appointments and therapy
- Modifications to a home or vehicle
The appropriate form of care will depend on the nature of the injury, the person’s functional limitations, and whether those limitations are expected to improve.
What Injuries Commonly Lead to Long-Term Care Claims?
Not every injury requires continuing assistance. Long-term care damages are most commonly involved in catastrophic injury cases that result in substantial or permanent impairment.
Examples may include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Severe burns
- Amputations
- Multiple orthopedic injuries
- Organ damage
- Neurological injuries
- Loss of vision or hearing
- Injuries that significantly reduce mobility or independence
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke explains that a traumatic brain injury can cause temporary or permanent impairment affecting movement, communication, behavior, memory, and other essential functions.
A person who sustains a spinal cord injury may require extensive rehabilitation, mobility assistance, adaptive equipment, and continuing support intended to maximize independence and quality of life.
Long-term care may also become necessary when an accident aggravates a preexisting condition. An insurance company may argue that the injured person already needed assistance before the accident. That does not automatically eliminate the claim.
The important question is whether the defendant’s conduct caused new limitations or increased the amount, duration, or cost of the care the injured person now requires.
How Do You Prove the Cost of Future Care?
Future care expenses cannot be based solely on speculation. A successful claim generally requires evidence demonstrating that the care will probably be needed because of the accident and that the projected costs are reasonable.
Because future expenses have not yet been billed, attorneys often rely on medical documentation, expert opinions, and economic analysis to establish the injured person’s anticipated needs.
Medical Records and Physician Testimony
Treating physicians can explain the diagnosis, prognosis, permanent restrictions, and expected course of treatment. Medical documentation should clearly connect the need for continuing care to the injuries caused or worsened by the accident.
A physician may also address whether the person will likely require additional procedures, ongoing therapy, prescription medication, medical monitoring, or assistance with everyday activities.
A Life Care Plan
In catastrophic injury cases, an attorney may work with a qualified life care planner. A life care plan is a detailed assessment of the medical services, therapies, equipment, support, and accommodations an injured person is expected to need throughout life.
A life care plan may address:
- Future physician visits and medical procedures
- Physical, occupational, or speech therapy
- Prescription medications
- In-home nursing or attendant care
- Mobility devices and medical equipment
- Home and vehicle modifications
- Transportation needs
- Residential or skilled nursing care
- Equipment maintenance and replacement
The plan can identify how frequently each service will be needed, how long it will be required, and what it is reasonably expected to cost.
Economic Analysis
An economist may calculate the present value of future expenses and consider matters such as inflation, medical cost increases, life expectancy, and the frequency with which equipment will need to be repaired or replaced.
This type of analysis can be especially important when a claim involves decades of nursing assistance, rehabilitation, or residential care.
Testimony From the Injured Person and Family Members
The injured person and close family members may provide important information about how the injury has changed daily life. They can describe the assistance the person now requires, the activities that can no longer be completed independently, and the amount of time family members spend providing care.
Photographs, videos, calendars, caregiving logs, employment records, and other documentation may also help demonstrate the practical effects of the injury.
Can I Recover Compensation When a Family Member Provides the Care?
Potentially. Many people with severe injuries initially receive assistance from a spouse, parent, adult child, or other relative. The fact that a family member provides care without sending an invoice does not necessarily mean that the care has no value.
The claim must still be supported by evidence. It may be necessary to document:
- The specific tasks the family member performs
- The number of hours devoted to caregiving
- The frequency with which assistance is required
- The market rate for comparable professional services
- Why the assistance is medically necessary
- Whether the caregiver has reduced work hours or left employment
Keeping a daily caregiving log can help show the scope and consistency of that work.
Families should also avoid assuming they will always be able to provide unpaid care. A spouse may need to return to work. Parents may age or develop health limitations of their own. The injured person’s needs could also become more demanding over time.
A realistic claim should consider what will happen when family-provided care is no longer available or sufficient.
Who May Be Responsible for Paying Long-Term Care Damages?
The parties responsible for paying compensation will depend on how the injury occurred. Potentially liable parties may include:
- A negligent driver
- A commercial trucking company
- An employer responsible for an employee’s conduct
- A property owner that failed to correct a dangerous condition
- A contractor responsible for an unsafe worksite
- A manufacturer or seller of a defective product
- A company responsible for negligent hiring, training, or supervision
- A health care provider in a qualifying medical negligence case
Liability may extend beyond the person who directly caused the injury. For example, an investigation into a commercial truck accident might show that the trucking company failed to maintain the vehicle, hired an unqualified driver, ignored safety violations, or pressured drivers to disregard federal regulations.
Identifying every responsible party is particularly important in catastrophic injury cases because the cost of lifetime care may exceed the insurance coverage available under a single policy.
Insurance Coverage Can Affect the Amount You Recover
Proving that another party was negligent does not necessarily mean enough insurance coverage or assets are available to pay the full value of the claim. A person with a catastrophic injury may need to pursue compensation through several sources, including:
- The negligent party’s liability insurance
- Commercial automobile or business policies
- Employer or corporate insurance coverage
- Umbrella or excess liability policies
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage
- Other parties whose conduct contributed to the accident
According to the Texas Department of Insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may help when the driver who caused a collision has no insurance or does not have enough coverage to pay the resulting losses.
The amount available will depend on the policy’s terms, coverage limits, exclusions, and the circumstances of the accident. An attorney should review all potentially applicable policies before the injured person accepts an insurer’s representation about the coverage available.
What Other Damages May Be Available?
A long-term care claim is generally one part of a larger personal injury case. Depending on the evidence and circumstances, an injured person may also seek compensation for:
- Past medical expenses
- Future medical treatment
- Lost wages
- Reduced future earning capacity
- Physical pain
- Mental anguish
- Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Loss of household services
- Property damage
Future medical expenses and long-term care costs present distinct evidentiary issues because they have not yet been billed. They must be supported by reliable evidence concerning the care that will probably be required and its reasonable anticipated cost.
How Comparative Responsibility Can Affect a Texas Claim
Insurance companies frequently attempt to place some or all of the blame on the injured person. Under Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a claimant generally cannot recover damages when the claimant’s percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent.
If the claimant is 50 percent responsible or less, the amount recovered may be reduced according to the percentage of responsibility assigned to the claimant.
For example, suppose a jury determines that an injured person sustained $2 million in damages but was 20 percent responsible for the accident. The recoverable damages could be reduced by 20 percent.
In a case involving the cost of lifetime care, even a relatively small disputed percentage can substantially affect the amount the injured person ultimately receives.
How Long Do I Have to File a Long-Term Care Claim in Texas?
Under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, many personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years after the cause of action accrues.
The precise deadline can vary depending on the identity of the defendant, the injured person’s age, the type of claim, and other circumstances. Claims involving governmental entities may also be subject to special notice requirements that arise well before the ordinary filing deadline.
Because exceptions and shorter notice periods may apply, an injured person should not assume that two full years will always be available.
Waiting can also damage a claim even when the filing deadline has not yet expired. Over time:
- Witnesses may forget important details
- Surveillance footage may be erased
- Vehicles or equipment may be repaired or destroyed
- Physical evidence may disappear
- Electronic records may become difficult to locate
- Insurance companies may dispute how the injury occurred
Early investigation is especially important when an attorney must retain medical experts, prepare a life care plan, investigate multiple insurance policies, and calculate decades of anticipated expenses.
Do Not Settle Before the Full Cost of Your Care Is Understood
An insurance company may make a settlement offer while the injured person is still receiving treatment. The amount may appear substantial when medical bills and household expenses are accumulating, but it could still fall far short of the claim’s actual value.
Personal injury settlements generally require the claimant to release the responsible parties from further liability. Once the claim has been resolved, the injured person usually cannot reopen it simply because additional surgery, rehabilitation, or attendant care becomes necessary.
Before accepting a settlement, the injured person should understand:
- Whether the condition is permanent
- What future treatment will probably be required
- Whether the person will be able to live independently
- How much professional care may cost
- Whether medical equipment will need to be replaced
- How the injury will affect future employment
- Whether the home or vehicle will require modifications
- Whether insurers or benefit programs may assert reimbursement claims
A settlement should account for the long-term consequences of the injury—not merely the bills that have already arrived.
How a Texas Personal Injury Attorney Can Help
Claims involving future care are often more complicated than cases involving injuries that resolve after a brief period of treatment. The attorney must develop evidence showing how the injury will affect the person’s health, independence, employment, and financial needs for years to come.
An attorney handling a long-term care claim may:
- Investigate how the injury occurred
- Identify every potentially responsible party
- Obtain and review relevant insurance policies
- Collect medical records and employment documentation
- Consult treating physicians and medical specialists
- Work with a life care planner
- Calculate lost earning capacity and future expenses
- Address allegations of comparative responsibility
- Negotiate with insurers
- Prepare the case for trial when a fair resolution is not offered
Speak With The Law Offices of Colby Lewis About Your Long-Term Care Needs
When an injury creates a need for long-term assistance, the value of the case cannot be measured by the medical bills received so far. The claim must consider what the injured person will need in the months, years, and possibly decades ahead.
At The Law Offices of Colby Lewis, we investigate serious injury claims and work to document the full financial and personal consequences of an accident. Depending on the case, that may include consulting physicians, rehabilitation specialists, life care planners, economists, and other professionals who can explain the injured person’s future needs.
If you or a family member may require long-term care because of another party’s negligence, contact The Law Offices of Colby Lewis to discuss your legal options. Acting promptly gives your legal team more time to preserve evidence, identify available insurance coverage, and assess the true cost of your future care.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Personal injury claims are fact-specific, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Consult a qualified Texas attorney regarding your circumstances and any filing or notice deadlines that may apply.
