Comparative Negligence Lawyer in Houston, TX
Comparative Negligence Lawyer in Houston, TX
When it comes to car accidents, it can be hard to determine who is at fault. And that is key for settling the dispute. In Texas, both parties can be found responsible for the accident to a degree. This is called comparative negligence. This can affect your car accident case, so it is worth seeking out a comparative negligence lawyer in Houston, Texas.
What Is Comparative Negligence in Texas?
Comparative negligence is when the most at-fault party is held liable in a car damage case. Texas allows injured parties to recover damages, even if they were partially at fault for the accident. This is fortunate because a lot of personal injury victims had some sort of role in their own accident.
Comparative fault in Texas does not mean that personal injury cases in Texas are zero-sum games. In Texas, the 51 Percent Bar Rule tempers the comparative negligence doctrine. This rule means that you cannot receive damages if you are 51% or more responsible for the accident.
Reach out to a comparative negligence lawyer in Houston, TX if you’re having trouble with your case. A good lawyer can help you, especially one that focuses on comparative negligence.
Comparative negligence in Texas sets limitations on how much compensation you may recover in a personal injury case. If you are partially responsible for your own injury, Texas reduces your monetary compensation to reflect that you were partially at fault for your own injury.
An example is, say that the court says you were 10% at fault for a wreck and the driver on the other side was 90% at fault. That 10% reflects on your participation in the accident, and your damages are reduced by 10%.
To decide who is at fault each party that is involved would get a comparative negligence lawyer in Houston, TX and that lawyer’s experience and knowledge would help them present a case to the judge, to convince the judge who is less at fault than the other person.
Comparative Fault and Insurance
Texas has “at fault” insurance. This means the injured party must prove the other driver caused the accident, or they cannot receive damages. To prove damages, you want to look at whether the other party was breaking traffic laws, such as running a stop sign, not yielding, and more. It isn’t clear cut and you’ll need a personal injury lawyer Houston, TX to help you get to the bottom of your case.
Lawmakers have designed Texas’s comparative negligence laws to be fair. However, you must be able to prove liability, and it’s common for insurance companies to do everything in their power to prove the victims were responsible in some way. That means they pay way less than they would if they accepted that the victim was not at fault.
Liability can make or break your case. Reach out to a comparative negligence lawyer in Houston, TX today, such as the ones available at John K. Zaid & Associates.
