To pursue compensation in a personal injury case, the victim must demonstrate how their injuries were caused by someone else’s negligent actions.
They must collect and present evidence showing how the other party failed to meet the standard of care that other reasonable individuals would have practiced in a comparable situation. It’s vital that you understand negligence in a personal injury case and how your Dallas personal injury attorney will establish the four required elements.
What Does Negligence Mean in a Texas Personal Injury Claim?
In Texas personal injury cases, negligence refers to a failure to act with the level of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances.
When someone or a business does not meet this standard, they may be considered negligent.
For instance, a driver who consumes alcohol, operates a vehicle, and causes a crash acts below the standard of care expected from other drivers. A driver texting while driving or adjusting their radio, leading to an accident, is another example of failing to uphold this standard.
Negligence isn’t limited to individuals.
A property owner who fails to provide adequate security measures, such as functional locks or proper lighting in high-risk areas, may also be negligent if criminal activity harms someone on their premises. Additionally, a bar or restaurant that over-serves a customer who later causes harm may also be held negligent under Texas law.
Examples of negligence may include:
- A car accident resulting from a driver’s distraction while texting and operating a vehicle
- A wet floor with no warning signs in a grocery store that causes a shopper to fall and sustain injuries
- Improperly loaded cargo on a semi-truck
- Carelessly operated machinery on the job, resulting in a wrongful death
Understanding negligence in Texas personal injury cases helps you identify all accountable parties and seek compensation for your damages.
Texas Tort Laws and Negligence
Unlike criminal trials, personal injury cases settle civil disputes when one person harms another. Plaintiffs can seek monetary compensation under Texas tort laws, which are used to conclude whether an individual is legally responsible for damages they caused.
A tort is a negligent act, as opposed to a criminal act, leading to harm.
The plaintiff demands financial relief from the defendant, often referred to as compensatory damages. These are meant to compensate the injured party monetarily and restore them as close as possible to their pre-accident state.
To do so, your personal injury lawyer must present a preponderance of the evidence showing how the other party was negligent.
Filing an insurance claim or injury lawsuit in Texas against someone who harms you requires that you prove their actions as negligent. You will need to prove the four elements of negligence. Without establishing the elements of negligence, you will not have a claim.
The Elements of Negligence You Must Prove to Win
1. The Person Owed You a Duty of Care
Daily interactions with others require individuals to act reasonably to minimize the risk of injury.
You will need demonstrate that the person who harmed you did not take the necessary precautions others would to prevent harm.
2. The Other Party Breached Their Duty
Failing to observe the reasonable person standard and causing injury to someone means a breach in the duty of care occurs.
Proving a breach of duty requires a personal injury attorney to demonstrate the negligent party’s awareness of a particular hazard and failure to address the danger.
Imagine entering a grocery store and slipping on water from a leaking display. The display has been broken for days and leaking during that time. The manager is aware of the issue but takes no action to prevent an injury. You slip and fall due to the manager’s breach of duty to care for customers shopping in the store.
However, a store’s action in erecting wet signs and store caution signs may still be insufficient. Warning signs may fall short when lighting is inadequate, or the signs are blocked from view. These complex scenarios require investigative action to help you recover compensation.
3. The Breach of Duty Caused Your Injury
Creating a link between the duty of care owed to you and your injuries is critical in a personal injury case. Proving that your injuries would not exist had someone not acted or failed to act in a particular manner is necessary. Failing to link the two initial elements together makes it possible for the insurance company to cast doubt on an action, its negligence, and its cause for your injuries.
Getting medical care as soon as possible is vital to developing the timeline of an injury and its cause. Otherwise, an insurance company or opposing party may claim your injuries resulted from pre-existing conditions or other incidents. Medical documentation is essential to proving negligence and may prevent further injuries.
4. Your Damages Are Due to Negligence
Once you can demonstrate how the other party failed in their duty to you through negligent means, you have the right to seek damages that pay for all you have suffered. Your attorney can help you collect documentation showing how your injuries can result in more harm and future medical debt.
The Wolf Law PLLC team will work one-on-one with you to understand the impact of the injury on your life and prepare a comprehensive evaluation documenting how negligence resulted in your damages.
Exemplary Damages
When an act of negligence possesses specific characteristics, your attorney may ask the court to consider awarding exemplary damages (Sec. 41.003). These are rare, and if your case is successful, they are paid in addition to compensatory damages. Exemplary damages serve as a penalty or punishment to the at-fault party and a means of deterring others from committing similar negligent acts.
These punitive damages are awarded by a jury when clear and convincing evidence exists that harm resulted from one of the following:
- Fraud
- Malice
- Gross negligence
A jury’s decision must be unanimous in awarding punitive damages in a personal injury case in Texas.
Texas Comparative Negligence Explained
Texas uses a legal framework called comparative negligence. This system allows courts to assign fault percentages to all involved parties in an incident.
For example, imagine slipping on a wet floor in a grocery store while checking your grocery list on your phone. If you didn’t notice the hazard because you were distracted, a court could rule the store bears most responsibility but still find you partially at fault.
Under Texas law, if you’re found 51% or more responsible, you’re barred from recovering compensation. Even if your fault is lower, your assigned fault percentage directly reduces compensation in settlements or trial awards.
Insurance companies often work to inflate your fault percentage—this lowers their payout obligations. With strong evidence and assertive advocacy, our legal team fights to minimize your assigned fault, ensuring you receive fair compensation for your injuries.
Is It Necessary to Work with A Personal Injury Attorney In Dallas To Prove Negligence?
It’s possible to manage your case on your own, but your results may be less than satisfactory. Without the assistance of a personal injury attorney in Texas to prove negligence resulted in the damages an individual suffers, an insurance company may be less likely to agree to a fair settlement for many of the damages a victim experiences.
When a personal injury case goes to trial, a jury will require that solid evidence be presented on the injured party’s behalf that negligence caused damage. The other party will usually try to reduce what they must pay by pushing some of the fault onto your shoulders, known as proportionate responsibility. How does proportionate responsibility apply in a personal injury case?
Suppose you’re picking up last-minute ingredients for dinner at the local grocery store and reading an incoming text when you suddenly slip and fall in the store on liquid spilled from a broken jar. The store management may have failed to secure the aisle until clean-up occurred, but their insurer may argue the fall could have been avoided had you not been reading texts while shopping. Having a personal injury lawyer in Dallas advocate for your rights may play a critical role in your compensation outcome.
Do You Have Questions About Negligence In A Personal Injury Case?
Wolf Law, PLLC can help determine if negligence contributed to your damages in a personal injury lawsuit in Dallas or Grand Prairie. We offer sound guidance and relentlessly work to seek the compensation you deserve when negligence results in personal harm.
Our Texas personal injury attorneys possess a comprehensive knowledge of state and federal laws to help you seek maximum compensation. Our legal team serves Texas through fierce advocacy and personal detail to each personal injury client we represent. Schedule a free consultation today.