Your negligence in a car accident may affect the jury award

Beth Janicek

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 395

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One of the biggest issues arising after a car accident is determining who is to blame. Sometimes it is obvious who was at fault, i.e. another driver runs a red-light and hits your car. While in other cases it can be hard to determine who is to blame. Texas state law considers the possibility that more than one person can be responsible for the accident. This consideration is based on “comparative negligence”, which means that both parties can be held accountable for the accident. It’s important because it allows a court/jury to reduce your damage award by the percentage that you are found to be fault. In Texas, you are barred from recovery if you are more than 50% responsible for the accident, this is referred to as modifed comparative negligence- the 51% bar rule.

Comparative negligence laws determine how much each party can receive based on their percentage of fault in the accident. How much you are at fault and the state’s comparative negligence laws affect the amount you recover. In Texas, under the modified comparative negligence -51% bar rule, you can only recover for your injuries if the jury determines that your fault does not exceed 51%. If you are determined to be 50% or less at fault then you can still recover damages, but your recovery is reduced by your degree of fault. For instance, if you are determined to be 25% at fault for the accident and the damage award is $1,000, than you are only eligible to recover $750 damages. This calculation applies to all of your damages received in the accident. When calculating the property damage this can be very difficult for people whose negligence contributed to the accident but they only have liability coverage.

It is important that Texas drivers know that their own negligence can be used against them. Your responsibility in the accident can affect the amount you can recover, or if you can recover at all.