If another driver caused a crash but accused you of sharing some responsibility, your percentage of fault can directly affect how much compensation you recover. Texas follows a proportionate-responsibility system, which many people know by its older name, comparative negligence. Understanding comparative negligence in Houston car accident claims is important when pursuing a claim because even a small dispute over fault can change the value of your case.
You do not have to accept an insurance company’s version of what happened. A car crash attorney can review the facts and help you respond when an insurer tries to place too much responsibility on you. At Fleming Law Accident & Injury Attorneys, we investigate how the collision happened and work to protect your compensation.
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001 sets the basic rule for shared fault. You can recover compensation when your percentage of responsibility is 50 percent or less. If you are more than 50 percent responsible, you cannot recover damages from another responsible party.
This rule can matter when more than one driver contributes to a collision. For example, another driver may have failed to yield while the insurer claims you were traveling too fast. In a Houston car crash claim, the court can examine each driver’s conduct before assigning a percentage of responsibility for comparative negligence.
The important dividing line is 51 percent. If the court finds you 50 percent responsible, you can still recover part of your damages. If it finds you 51 percent responsible, state law prevents you from recovering from the other party.
If the court allows you to recover, it does not mean you will receive the full amount of your losses. If a jury values your losses at $150,000 but assigns you 30 percent of the blame, your award would drop by that share, leaving $105,000 rather than the full amount. The same math applies to your medical bills and other losses from the crash.
That percentage can have a significant financial effect. In a car collision claim in Houston, a dispute in comparative negligence over whether you were 10 percent or 30 percent responsible can change the amount available by thousands of dollars. For that reason, determining fault is often one of the most important parts of the claims process.
Insurance companies have a financial reason to argue that you share responsibility. The more fault they can place on you, the less they will have to pay. An adjuster may focus on something you said after the accident or question a decision you made just before the impact.
You should not assume the insurer’s fault percentage is correct. The physical evidence is often more explanatory than an adjuster’s first impression. In a car wreck claim in Houston, we can review police reports, photographs, and witness statements to determine whether the facts support the other driver’s account when determining comparative negligence.
We also examine the damage to the vehicles and other available records to determine how the crash occurred. Our lawyers can communicate with the insurance company on your behalf and challenge any efforts to assign you more responsibility than the evidence warrants. Developing the record early can help protect the value of your case.
Shared fault does not automatically prevent you from recovering compensation. What matters is the percentage of responsibility assigned to you and whether the available evidence supports that finding. Understanding comparative fault in Houston car accident claims can help you make informed decisions before accepting an insurance settlement.
If someone is disputing fault in your accident claim, we at Fleming Law Accident & Injury Attorneys can investigate the crash and explain how Texas law applies to your situation. We have more than 30 years of experience helping injured people pursue compensation. Contact us today for a free consultation about your case and your next steps.
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