Negligence cases in Midland Texas

Negligence cases in Texas are governed by Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001, which states that the theory of proportionate responsibility applies and a person cannot recover damages if their percentage of fault is more than 50 percent. The law makes Texas a modified comparative fault state, and you should understand that any award you receive may be reduced by your share of responsibility for an accident, meaning that if you are awarded $100,000 in a car accident claim you are found to have been 30 percent responsible for, your award is reduced by $30,000 and you ultimately receive $70,000.

You should know that Texas imposes limits on some kinds of damages in certain cases, more commonly known as damage caps. For example, medical malpractice cases involve a noneconomic damage cap of $250,000 for every defendant and $750,000 maximum overall regardless of the total number of defendants.

Claims against government entities can involve damage caps of $250,000 per defendant or $500,000 per case for bodily injuries and miscellaneous costs as well as another $100,000 cap for property damage. Punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, will not exceed an amount equal to the greater of two times the economic damages plus an amount equal to any non-economic damages up to $750,000, or $200,000.

Elements of Personal Injury Cases

Filing a claim against another party for possible damages will mean that you have to prove four basic elements of a personal injury case:

• A defendant owed a legal duty of care to the victim
• A defendant breached their legal duty of care
• A victim suffered injuries
• A victim was injured because of the defendant’s breach of duty

The duty of care means a duty to act as a reasonable person would under particular circumstances, while a special duty of care refers to a person being obligated to perform in a way an average person might not necessarily be expected or obligated to do. A person is not negligent if they fulfill their duty of care.

A breach of duty involves either an actual cause or cause in fact, which is an action that produces foreseeable consequences without any other intervention. A proximate cause relates to an event that is sufficiently related to an injury and the court deems an event causing injury.

Proving injuries usually involve a medical report after visiting a hospital. Most medical records indicate the nature and degree of injuries a  person suffers.

Connecting injuries to a breach of duty often require proving that a victim suffered some kind of damage because of the breach of duty. This type of evidence could include medical bills, proof of lost income, repair bills for property damage, or other forms of evidence.