If you were injured in a Texas car accident, it’s essential to understand the difference between comparative and contributory negligence and how the state’s laws will affect your case. The compensation you could recover through an auto insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit can be significantly impacted by these laws, depending on the circumstances of the collision.
Contact Kraft & Associates, Attorneys at Law, P.C. for a free consultation with a knowledgeable and experienced Dallas car accident lawyer about your case. We’ll explain your rights and how Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule could affect your settlement or trial award.
Comparative vs. Contributory Negligence
Liability is not always straightforward in a car accident. In some cases, multiple people can share the blame. To account for this, legal systems use either a contributory or comparative fault rule.
Understanding the difference between comparative vs. contributory negligence is crucial because different states use different systems:
- Contributory negligence bars victims from recovering compensation for injuries sustained in an accident for which they are even partly at fault.
- Comparative negligence allows victims to recover compensation even if they were partly at fault for the incident that harmed them.
The majority of states follow forms of comparative negligence, protecting car accident victims even if they are partially to blame for their injuries. However, comparative negligence doesn’t allow a victim to recover full compensation for an injury for which they share some of the blame. Instead, victims can only recover compensation equal to the percentage of fault assigned to the party they are suing. For example, if a jury finds you to be 20 percent at fault, you could only recover compensation for the 80 percent of fault assigned to the other party.
Texas and the Modified Comparative Negligence Rule
Texas is one of the many states that follows a comparative negligence rule rather than the contributory negligence rule. However, Texas’s version of this rule is known as a modified comparative negligence rule instead of a pure comparative negligence rule:
- Pure – Under pure comparative fault, a victim can seek compensation for their injuries as long as they are not entirely at fault for the crash. So, even if they are 99 percent at fault, they could still seek compensation for the 1 percent of fault attributed to another party.
- Modified – The modified comparative negligence rule adds a fault threshold beyond which victims cannot recover damages. The threshold differs by state. In Texas, you cannot recover compensation if you are more than 50 percent at fault for the collision that caused your injuries.
Understanding how your actions can lead to fault being assigned to you is crucial for making the most of your auto accident case. This is why you should never admit fault after a crash.
What Does Modified Comparative Negligence Mean for Your Claim?
Texas’s modified comparative negligence law could impact your personal injury case if you are partly at fault for the collision that harmed you. While this rule specifically applies to compensation sought through a lawsuit, it can still impact your compensation through an insurance claim.
After a car accident in Texas, your first option for seeking compensation will be through an auto insurance claim filed against the at-fault party’s liability coverage policy, not a lawsuit. In theory, this means modified comparative fault doesn’t apply. However, in practice, that’s not necessarily the case.
Insurance companies will use the modified comparative negligence rule when determining settlement offers. For example, if the insurer believes a jury would find you to be more than 50 percent at fault for the crash, it may not offer to settle your case. Or if it believes a jury would find you to be 30 percent at fault, it may only offer a settlement that covers 70 percent of your losses. This means that you need to be aware of the impact Texas’s comparative negligence rule can have on your car accident claim, even if you don’t plan on pursuing a lawsuit.
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Why Negligence Percentages Matter
Determining negligence percentages is crucial after a Texas car accident because they directly impact the compensation you could receive. The higher the negligence percentage assigned to you, the less compensation you could receive. And if your percentage is too high, it could bar you from recovering any compensation.
If multiple parties were involved in the crash, determining fault percentages is also vital for making sure you get the compensation you deserve from each of them. For example, several other drivers could be liable for your accident-related losses if you were in a pile-up collision. Determining the extent to which each at-fault party is liable can help maximize your compensation and prevent one at-fault party’s insurance policy limits from capping your total compensation.
How an Attorney Can Protect Your Rights
Any time you’re injured in an auto accident, you should contact an experienced and knowledgeable Dallas car accident attorney to handle your case. Your personal injury attorney can:
- Identify the at-fault parties
- Gather evidence
- Calculate your losses
- File your insurance claims
- Negotiate with insurance companies for a fair settlement
- Take your case to trial if necessary
Crucially, your attorney can also protect your right to seek the compensation you need by working to obtain evidence that reduces your percentage of fault and assigns it to the other parties. By lowering your percentage of fault for the crash, your lawyer can lessen the impact of Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule and increase the compensation you could receive.
Insurance companies use a variety of tactics to try to shift liability off themselves and their clients. A highly qualified Dallas car accident attorney will have the experience and resources necessary to fight back against these tactics designed to reduce your compensation.
Talk to Our Dallas Car Accident Attorneys Today
Our car accident attorneys have represented victims and their families in Dallas, TX, for over 50 years. Thanks to our hard work and dedication to helping victims seek the compensation they need, we’ve earned many positive client reviews, which we encourage you to check out to see what it’s like to work with our firm. As Jerron P. said:
“Great experience, would definitely be back, hopefully not with the same circumstances. The process was very easy, and I appreciate this team.”
Contact Kraft & Associates, Attorneys at Law, P.C. at (214) 999-9999 for a free case review with one of our experienced car accident lawyers located in Dallas, Texas, to learn more about how we can help.