STATE LAW – TEXAS LIBRARY – GUIDE 19
Texas Crash Damages, Paid-or-Incurred Medical Expenses & Property Loss
A damages file should show the loss, its connection to the crash and the amount supported by evidence. Medical charges and recoverable medical expenses are not always the same.
Separate the categories of loss
Document past medical expenses, future care, lost earnings, impaired earning capacity, pain, impairment and other claimed personal-injury losses as applicable. Property damage, rental or substitute transportation and other vehicle losses need their own records. Not every category is available or proved in every case.
Connect the claimed loss to the crash with treatment history, employment information, repair evidence and appropriate testimony. A large bill or an insurance limit is not itself proof of causation or the value of all damages.
Paid-or-incurred medical expenses
Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.0105 limits recovery of medical or health-care expenses to amounts actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant. Obtain provider bills, payment records, adjustments and balances; do not assume the face amount of every charge is recoverable.
Gunn v. McCoy discusses medical-expense proof and the procedural affidavit mechanism in the context of paid-or-incurred amounts. An expense affidavit is not conclusive proof of every disputed injury or causal link. Current procedural requirements and deadlines must be checked separately.
Income, future needs and vehicle evidence
For wage loss, preserve pay records, tax information where relevant, missed-work dates and the medical basis for restrictions. Future care and earning-capacity claims need support beyond an unsupported estimate. Distinguish a present bill from a forecast of future needs.
For a vehicle, retain condition photographs, repair estimates, final invoices, valuation information, towing and storage records, and rental expenses. First-party policy benefits, deductibles and liability recovery are separate routes. Ask for the carrier’s written valuation and the factual basis for disputed deductions.
Evaluate the offer and the net recovery
Compare each offer with the supported damages, asserted fault, applicable limits, prior payments and competing claims. Then separately calculate liens, reimbursement demands, fees and costs to understand the potential net recovery. A paid-or-incurred adjustment does not by itself resolve a lien.
Before settling, assess whether treatment and prognosis are sufficiently understood and what the release covers. A property-damage document should be reviewed for broad injury-release language. Preserve disagreements in a dated calculation rather than relying on an unexplained total figure.
Authorities and source notes
- Damages and medical expenses — Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.0105
- Gunn v. McCoy — No. 16-0125, opinion delivered June 15, 2018
- Texas Department of Insurance auto insurance guide — TDI consumer auto insurance guide
Official source links and cited propositions checked October 4, 2026. Full subsequent-history and legal-currentness review remains open. General information; individual facts, policy terms and deadlines require case-specific review.
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