How Is Fault Determined in Texas for Vehicular Accidents?

Texas law accounts for fault in vehicular accidents for everyone involved. So anyone that may have contributed to the collision or been negligent in some fashion, will be, have the jury will have an opportunity to apportion fault to that person. So sometimes we try a case and the jury says, well, it’s 100% the fault of the truck driver or sometimes we try a case and they say, well, it’s 50% the fault of the truck driver and 50% the fault of the plaintiff. The plaintiff is the people that we represent, someone who’s been injured in a collision. And so damages are apportioned accordingly. If the jury awards a certain amount of damage but has put 50% of fault on the plaintiff, then they will recover 50% of their damages. In the event that plaintiffs in Texas are found more than 50% responsible in a, a collision, then they will recover nothing. There are states that have, what’s called pure comparative fault, where if you prove someone was 1% at fault, then you’ll recover 1% of your damage. It’s not so in Texas. In Texas, you will be barred if the jury determines you have more than half the responsibility in a collision.