Negligence in Personal Injury Claims

Do you have grounds to sue for personal injury or wrongful death?

Some accidents are fault of the person who was injured. Others can only be attributed to bad luck. When careless, reckless or otherwise negligent actions cause accidents, the victims can pursue legal action for monetary damages. If you have been hurt or have lost a family member in an accident resulting from the negligence of another person or a corporation, you may have grounds to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

Examples of Negligence

In order to prove a claim of negligence, it is necessary to demonstrate the elements of the case. First, the defendant must have owed a legal duty to the plaintiff. Second, the defendant must have done something, or failed to do something, that constituted a breach of this duty.

Finally, this breach of duty on the part of the defendant must have been the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. As an example, a physician owes each of their patients a duty of care, and is expected to perform at certain standards of practice to ensure the safety and well-being of the patient.

If the doctor fails in this duty and if the patient consequently suffers an injury or worsening of condition, the patient may be able to sue for medical malpractice. Similarly, anyone who gets behind the wheel of an automobile owes a duty of care to everyone else on the road, and can be held legally liable for causing an accident through negligent behaviors such as texting while driving, violating the traffic safety laws, and driving drunk.

Any time a person or corporation should have done something, or refrained from doing something, and thereby causes injury or death, there is most likely cause to file a lawsuit to recover damages.

Texas’ Negligence Law

Texas is a modified comparative negligence law state with a complex element to the law. The state uses a comparative fault principle when considering negligence in an accident. This approach divides the blame for the crash on “proportionate responsibility,” which can reduce the victim’s compensation based on their level of fault.

The element that Texas adds to comparative negligence is the 51% bar. This rule states that you will be unable to receive compensation if you were 51% or more at fault for the accident. Therefore, you can receive a portion of compensation for the accident, but if you were more than 50% responsible, you lose and don’t receive compensation.

Compensation for Victims of Negligence

The goal of a personal injury or wrongful death claim is to provide the accident victim or surviving family members with sufficient financial compensation to ensure that they are not forced to carry the economic burden of the defendant's negligence.

This includes economic damages for medical expenses and lost income, as well as noneconomic damages for pain, suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life, among other things. In some cases, it is also possible to claim exemplary damages, also known as punitive damages, when it is proven that the injury was caused by fraud, malice or gross negligence on the part of the defendant.

Contact our Experienced Negligence Attorney Now

Contact our office now for a free case evaluation to find out whether you have grounds to sue for negligence.