§ 98A.003.Damages

A damages provision identical to the trafficking chapter's.

A prevailing claimant shall be awarded: actual damages, including damages for mental anguish even if an injury other than mental anguish is not shown; court costs; and reasonable attorney's fees. In addition, a prevailing claimant may recover exemplary damages.

The first three are mandatory — "shall be awarded" — and only exemplary damages are discretionary.

The mental anguish clause does the same work here as in the trafficking chapter. The harm from compelled prostitution is overwhelmingly psychological, and Texas would otherwise require an accompanying compensable injury or demanding independent proof.

The fee award is what makes these claims viable. The defendants are frequently without assets, the litigation is difficult, and a victim rarely has the means to fund it. A guaranteed recovery of fees on success is the practical precondition to the claim being brought at all.

The identical wording across the two chapters is deliberate. They were enacted four years apart and address overlapping conduct, and the cumulative provision in this chapter prevents recovery under both on the same facts — so the remedies had to match, or the choice between them would turn on the award rather than the conduct.