There is no statutory definition in Texas, and any page that gives you one is inventing it. In practice the term describes an injury that permanently changes what a person is able to do for the rest of their life rather than one they recover from: severe brain injury, spinal cord injury and paralysis, amputation, severe burns, and multiple trauma with permanent impairment. The label matters less than the fact pattern it describes.

Because the arithmetic runs in the opposite direction. In a typical claim, the medical bills are the largest known number and the future is a modest add-on. Here, the past medical expenses may be a small fraction of the total, and the dominant components, future care and lost earning capacity, do not exist as documents. They have to be constructed from expert evidence, which takes months and cannot be done after the case resolves.

An itemized projection prepared by a certified life care planner covering every future medical and support need: physician and therapy visits, medication, attendant care hours, durable equipment and its replacement cycles, home and vehicle modification, and treatment of predictable complications. Each item is priced and scheduled across a life expectancy. In most catastrophic cases it is the single most important document in the file.

Then finding additional defendants and additional policies is the case, not a side task. Employers, contractors, property owners, product manufacturers, vehicle owners, and umbrella carriers all deserve investigation, and so does your own underinsured motorist coverage and that of resident relatives. A claim worth ten times the available primary policy is only worth that if somewhere to collect it exists.

Not until the long-term prognosis is established, and generally not in the first year. Settling before treating physicians can describe the permanent picture almost always understates what the injury will cost, and the decision cannot be revisited. The pressure to settle early is real, because the bills are arriving now, and there are usually better ways to manage that pressure than accepting a number chosen too soon.

The reduction in what a person is capable of earning going forward, which is a different question from wages already lost. Someone who was 27 and working an entry-level job may have an enormous earning capacity loss that their pay stubs do not show at all. It is proven with vocational evaluation and economic testimony rather than with employment records.

In part. A spouse has a recognized claim for loss of consortium in Texas, and a parent's claim exists in defined circumstances. Beyond the formal categories, family members frequently become unpaid full-time caregivers, and the value of that care belongs in the life care plan rather than being quietly absorbed because a relative is doing it for free.

It compensates the loss of the ability to do the things that made up a person's life, and it is separate from pain, from medical expenses, and from lost income. In catastrophic cases it is frequently the largest noneconomic element, because what is being described is not suffering. It is subtraction: activities, independence, and participation permanently removed.

It deserves serious analysis in every catastrophic case. A structured settlement converts part of the recovery into guaranteed periodic payments, which protects against a lump sum being exhausted or lost across a forty-year horizon. The terms are permanent once agreed, so they have to be evaluated against the life care plan, tax treatment, and the family's actual circumstances before anything is signed.

It can, and this is where cases go wrong after they are won. A lump sum can disqualify someone from needs-based programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income, and the funds that were supposed to pay for care end up replacing benefits that were already paying for it. Planning for that, including whether a special needs trust is appropriate, happens before the case resolves and not after.

Two years from the injury under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003. The real constraint is different: building the life care plan, the vocational evidence, and the economic testimony takes months, and all of it has to be done inside that window while the family is still managing acute care.

The firm is based in Austin and represents clients throughout Texas, primarily in Travis County, Williamson County, and Bastrop County.

Board certification by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization recognizes attorneys who demonstrate substantial experience in a specific area of law, pass a rigorous examination, and receive peer review.Brent A. Devere is Board Certified in Consumer and Commercial Law, Consumer Bankruptcy Law, Residential Real Estate Law, and Commercial Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.Working with a board-certified attorney means your case is handled by a lawyer with proven knowledge, experience, and commitment in their field.

The initial consultation is free. You can call the Austin office or use the contact form to schedule one, and there is no cost or obligation to discuss your situation.

Yes. The firm handles most types of litigation. If your matter isn't listed among the practice areas, contact the office to discuss whether the firm can help.