What is Comparative Negligence?
David K. Wilson & Associates
January 30, 2019
Have you ever been involved in a motor vehicle accident? Have you been injured in a workplace accident? How about a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property? All of these incidents can wind up causing you serious injuries that could prevent you from going to work or school or caring for your family. Part of the law you need to understand is that of comparative negligence. What is it? How do the courts operate using it? How does it affect your ability to recover compensation? We will answer these questions in today’s post.
We must first define comparative negligence before we delve into the questions posed in the previous section. In a state such as Texas, which operates using comparative negligence, the court is required to investigate an accident and then assign a portion of fault to all parties involved. For example, if you were involved in a car accident, the court will determine the percentage of fault you and the other party had. This will significantly lower the amount of money you will be able to receive in a personal injury lawsuit, but it allows you to still recover compensation.
Determining compensation in an accident case, especially since Texas uses the modified comparative negligence practice. This means that the person at-fault for the aforementioned accident will not be held responsible for the other driver’s share of the blame in the crash. When this happens the victim in the crash will receive an award that is reduced by their percentage of fault in the crash. If the court says that the defendant was 80 percent at-fault, the victim will only receive 80 percent of an award.
Many Texas accident victims ask this question often because they want to make sure they can still receive compensation. You are legally allowed to file a claim even if you were partially at-fault in an accident in Texas so long as the court assigns some blame to the other party. If you are labeled with more than 50 percent of the blame in any type of accident in Texas you will not be permitted to move forward with a claim against the other party.
Were you or a loved one injured in a car accident in Sherman, TX? Be sure to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney about the accident and your injuries. The team at David K. Wilson & Associates, Attorneys at Law, will be able to explain comparative negligence in depth and answer all of your questions.
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