Pedestrian accidents send many people to the emergency room with major injuries, including fractures and back injuries. As they recover, many pedestrians are shocked to discover they are being blamed for the accident, at least partially. They fear that this allegation can impede their ability to receive compensation at a time when they have expensive medical bills.
Texas has a comparative fault law, which is called “proportionate responsibility.” This law comes into play in many accident cases, as our Texas pedestrian accident lawyer explains in this article.
Texas’s Proportionate Responsibility Law
You can find the law at Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Procedure and Remedies Code. It states that you cannot receive damages if your share of responsibility for an accident is greater than 50%. That means someone who is 51% responsible will end up with $0, even if they are suffering from catastrophic injuries.
The law states that the trier of fact in each case will determine each side’s share. That would be a jury if your case ended up in court or the lawyers and insurance companies if you negotiate a settlement.
Section 33.012 also states that a claimant will see their damages reduced by their share of responsibility. When a pedestrian is 40% responsible, then they will receive 40% less. That means a case worth $50,000 might only be worth $30,000 to account for the pedestrian’s share of responsibility.
Examples of Shared Responsibility
What are examples of pedestrian negligence which can result in a reduced settlement?
- Crossing against a light. The light might tell you not to cross, but you fling yourself into the crosswalk to get to the other side anyway. Although motorists must use reasonable care, they can expect pedestrians to follow traffic control devices.
- Darting in front of a car. You cannot jump right in front of a vehicle, causing an unavoidable accident.
- Jaywalking. Crossing outside the crosswalk can also contribute to accidents, so a jaywalking pedestrian might be partially to blame for a crash.
- Standing in the road. Pedestrians should walk on the sidewalk. Any pedestrian standing or walking in the road has possibly contributed to their crash.
- Wearing headphones or earbuds. A pedestrian who cannot hear traffic is more likely to get hit because they cannot take defensive action. For this reason, a pedestrian who is wearing headphones or earbuds possibly has some responsibility for an accident.
- Walking with traffic. Pedestrians should walk against traffic so they can see vehicles approaching them.
- Texting while walking. This might also qualify as negligence. Pedestrians must pay attention to where they are walking. If you are staring at your phone, you might accidentally step into the road and cause a collision.
These are all examples of contributory negligence. Any motorist who hits a pedestrian will probably blame them for contributing to the crash. And if you are more than 50% at fault, you will receive nothing.
How The Stano Law Firm Can Help
Injured pedestrians cannot ignore allegations they were negligent. Anyone who has the majority of fault can end up with no money, even if you have large medical bills. That is a very real possibility given the laws in Texas. Now is the time to get legal help with making an injury claim.
Our pedestrian accident lawyer can start collecting evidence to reconstruct what happened. We can speak with witnesses and look for any photographs of the accident scene. We might even stop into nearby businesses to search for video footage of the accident. This evidence gives us a better understanding of any mistakes our client might have made, such as jaywalking.
Once we know what happened, we can shift all the blame onto the negligent driver who hit you. Too many motorists are driving while distracted or fatigued. They crash into pedestrians because they are not watching what they are doing or are in a rush to get home. They should not be able to avoid paying compensation by blaming injured pedestrians.
Contact an established law firm to represent you. The driver’s insurer is probably working overtime to reduce liability and justify a small settlement offer. Our job as your law firm is to minimize your share of responsibility for an accident and increase your compensation in the process.
Call our Pedestrian Accident Attorneys in Texas
Pedestrians struggle with major injuries, including cervical fractures and back injuries. Now is not the time to handle your own claim. Instead, contact The Stano Law Firm for immediate assistance. We can meet to discuss your accident and injuries. Call our office, 832-777-0390, to schedule a free consultation.