If you know someone who has been injured in a car accident, truck accident, or other personal injury accident in Texas, you may have heard that they were assigned some of the blame for the accident. But what happens if you are partially at fault for a car accident in Texas? Can you still recover compensation for your injuries?

Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule, sometimes referred to as the 51% rule, that can affect how much an injured person is entitled to recover after an accident.

What Is Comparative Fault in Texas?

When more than one party is at fault in a Texas personal injury case, courts apply comparative fault to determine the amount, if any, the plaintiff can recover.

Comparative fault, also called comparative negligence or proportionate responsibility, is a legal principle used to determine each party’s responsibility for an accident and the resulting injuries.

For example, suppose a driver was speeding down a road and another driver disregarded a yield sign and struck the speeding driver’s car. Both drivers may be found to have contributed to the car accident.

Comparative fault can also arise in a commercial vehicle or truck accident. For example, a commercial truck driver may have made an unsafe lane change, while another driver involved in the collision may have been speeding. Determining who was at fault for the accident may require evaluating the conduct of each driver.

Comparative fault can arise in other personal injury cases as well. In a slip-and-fall lawsuit, for example, the plaintiff may be found to bear some responsibility for the fall due to a lack of care while walking, such as looking at a cell phone instead of paying attention to the floor or surroundings.

In these cases, the principle of comparative fault is used to assign a percentage of fault to each party involved in the accident.

Can You Recover Damages if You Are Partially at Fault for an Accident in Texas?

Yes, depending on your percentage of responsibility.

Under Texas law, the jury may assign responsibility to plaintiffs who cause or contribute to their injuries. When a plaintiff is found to be partially responsible for their own damages, their recovery is reduced by the percentage of responsibility attributed to the plaintiff.

In Texas, a plaintiff may not recover damages if their percentage of responsibility is more than 50%. If the plaintiff’s percentage of fault is 50% or less, they can still recover damages, but their compensation will be reduced by their percentage of fault.

For this reason, defendants and insurance companies may use comparative fault as a defense in a Texas personal injury claim in an attempt to prevent the injured person from recovering damages or to reduce the amount they are required to pay.

How Does the Texas 51% Rule Work After a Car Accident?

Texas’s comparative fault system is sometimes called the 51% rule because a person who is found to be 51% or more responsible for an accident cannot recover damages.

Let’s return to the auto accident example. If the driver who was hit by another driver who failed to yield is found to be 30% at fault for the accident, the injured driver’s recovery would be reduced by 30%.

For example, if the injured driver had $100,000 in recoverable damages but was found to be 30% responsible for the wreck, the recovery could be reduced to $70,000.

On the other hand, if the speeding driver was found to be 60% at fault for the accident, that driver would not be able to recover damages because their percentage of responsibility exceeds 50%.

This is why determining fault after a Texas car accident or truck accident can have such a significant impact on the value of a personal injury claim.

What Actions Can Cause You to Be Found Partially at Fault?

Some actions by plaintiffs that Texas courts have found to have contributed to their injuries include:

• failing to control the speed of a vehicle;
• not paying attention to surroundings when walking;
• failing to follow safety rules or recommendations;
• failing to follow instructions for using a product or operating a machine;
• intoxication;
• trespassing;
• crossing a road outside of a crosswalk in low-visibility conditions; and
• not disclosing an accurate medical history to a medical provider.

In a car, truck, or commercial vehicle accident claim, allegations of comparative fault might include speeding, distracted driving, following too closely, failing to keep a proper lookout, or other driving conduct that allegedly contributed to the collision.

If that conduct contributed to the plaintiff’s injuries, the plaintiff may be found to be partially at fault.

What if the Insurance Company Says You Were Partially at Fault for the Car Accident?

An insurance company’s determination that you were partially responsible for a wreck does not necessarily end your claim.

After a car or commercial vehicle accident, the other driver’s insurance company may attempt to place some or all of the blame on you to reduce the amount it has to pay. Determining fault may require reviewing the police report, photographs and videos, witness statements, vehicle damage, electronic data, and other evidence surrounding the collision.

This can be especially important in commercial truck and company vehicle accidents, where additional evidence may exist regarding the commercial driver, vehicle, or company involved.

Because even a relatively small change in your assigned percentage of fault can significantly affect your recovery, you should not assume that an insurance company’s assessment of fault is final.

What Happens if Several Defendants Are at Fault for the Plaintiff’s Injury?

Sometimes, multiple defendants contribute to the plaintiff’s injuries. This can happen in multi-vehicle car accidents, commercial vehicle accidents, and truck accidents involving several potentially responsible parties.

That’s when contribution can come into play. After the percentage of fault attributable to each defendant is calculated, if a defendant paid more than its share of the damages claimed by the plaintiff, that defendant may seek contribution from defendants who paid less than their share of the damages.

In other words, a defendant that overpaid may have the right to seek reimbursement from other liable defendants for the overpayment.

Why You Should Speak to a Texas Car Accident Attorney

If you were injured in a car accident, truck accident, commercial vehicle accident, or other accident in Texas, the other party or its insurance company may attempt to assign some of the fault to you.

Determining each party’s responsibility can be a complex process that requires a thorough investigation of the facts and available evidence. In some cases, expert testimony may also be necessary. Because your percentage of fault can significantly affect how much compensation you can recover, it is important to have someone working to protect your interests.

The Texas personal injury attorneys at Mostyn Law can investigate the accident, preserve important evidence, address allegations that you were partially at fault, and help you pursue the compensation available under Texas law.

If an insurance company is blaming you for a car accident or you have questions about how comparative fault could affect your claim, contact Mostyn Law for a free consultation about your Texas car accident, truck accident, or personal injury claim.