While some personal injuries are clearly one person’s fault, there are many other personal injury situations where multiple people or entities are at fault. That is why many states, such as Texas, have adopted comparative negligence or comparative fault rules.
Texas’ comparative fault law allows courts to hold each party accountable for their percentage of fault for the accident, also known as proportionate responsibility.
The law calls for reducing any compensation awarded to the plaintiff by the plaintiff’s percentage of fault for the accident. This means if a court awarded you $100,000 and found you were 30 percent responsible for your personal injury, you would receive only $70,000 in compensation.
Texas’ comparative fault law also says courts will further reduce damages in cases where claimants settle with more than one person. In these situations, damages will be reduced by a percentage that equals the claimant’s percentage of responsibility.
Texas is one of 32 states that follows a modified comparative negligence system. In Texas, you are barred from recovering compensation if the court finds you are more than 50 percent responsible for the accident.
Why You Need an Attorney
Assigning fault in Texas personal injury cases is often a complex process. You will need to conduct a thorough investigation to compile evidence showing why other parties were responsible for your injury. You will also need evidence showing that you are not more than 50 percent responsible for the accident.
If you do not know where to look or what questions to ask, you could miss crucial evidence. This could limit your compensation or allow the court to assign more than 50 percent of the responsibility for the accident, preventing you from recovering anything.
This is why you should work with a Texas personal injury lawyer on your claim. The attorneys at Anderson & Cummings will work diligently to uncover evidence supporting the responsible party’s negligence in your accident.
The priority of our licensed Fort Worth personal injury attorneys is to help you recover the compensation you deserve for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
We work on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no charge for your initial consultation and we do not charge legal fees unless you receive the compensation you deserve.
Call us right now at (817) 920-9000 or fill out a Free Case Evaluation form.