If you are injured as a result of a third party’s negligent actions, Texas law grants you the right to pursue legal action and recover damages. With the help of a skilled Texas negligence lawyer, you can prove the culpability of the person who injured you and recovers the compensation you deserve.
In this article, we take a look at three negligence laws that are applicable to personal injury claims in Texas.
Statute of Limitations
Chapter 16 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code states that any legal action – whether it is a personal injury claim or a wrongful death claim – must be pursued within a span of two years from the date of the accident.
Except under rare circumstances, the deadline for filing a claim cannot be extended. This is why you should try to contact a Texas negligence lawyer as soon as you possibly can after an accident.
Recovery of Damages
Under Texas law, the victim of an accident has the right to seek compensation for the tangible and intangible losses they suffered.
Tangible Losses
- Cost of treatment and rehabilitation
- Cost of long-term care
- Lost income
- Lost or diminished earning capacity
- Property damage
Intangible Losses
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Diminished quality of life
An experienced Texas negligence lawyer can calculate the value of your claim by taking all your tangible and intangible losses into account and recover the monetary damages you deserve.
Modified Comparative Negligence Law
Texas follows a modified version of the comparative negligence doctrine, under which you are entitled to compensatory damages even if your injuries were caused partially as a result of your own negligent actions.
The law contains two key provisions that might impact your ability to recover compensation. These include:
- The amount of compensation you can recover depends on your degree of fault. For example, if you are found to be 15% at fault for the accident, your compensation will be reduced by 15%.
- If your degree of fault exceeds 51%, you will lose your right to recover compensation from the at-fault party.
This is why you should be extremely careful while choosing a Texas negligence lawyer to represent you. If the at-fault party can prove that you were 51% at fault for the accident – which they will definitely try to do – you might not be able to recover any compensation. So, it is important to choose a skilled attorney who can establish the culpability of the at-fault party, prevent them from reducing the value of your claim, and secure the maximum amount of compensation possible.
Contact Our Texas Negligence Lawyer Today
At Kirk Law Firm, we firmly believe that you should not be forced to pay the price for someone else’s negligent actions. Led by Dana G. Kirk – who is one of the top 100 personal injury lawyers in the country today – our firm has the resources to handle all kinds of third-party personal injury claims.
We will represent you fairly and faithfully, negotiate aggressively with insurance adjusters, take your case to trial if need be, and fight hard to recover the compensation you deserve.
Reach us online for a free review of your personal injury case.
