You can sue for negligence in Texas when someone fails to use reasonable care and that failure causes you injury or loss. To win, you must prove four elements: the other party owed you a duty, breached it, and caused your damages, which must be real and measurable. Our team handles negligence claims every day, and this guide explains how they work.
Negligence is the legal foundation of most injury cases, from car wrecks and falls to workplace accidents. Texas law adds its own rules on top of the basic definition, including how fault is divided, how long you have to file, and when a jury can award punitive damages. Understanding those rules early can protect the value of your claim.
Negligence is the failure to act with the care a reasonably prudent person would use in the same or similar circumstances. It does not require intent to hurt anyone. A driver who glances at a text, a store that ignores a leaking freezer, or an employer that skips required safety training can all be negligent, even though none of them meant to cause harm.
The standard is objective. A jury does not ask whether the defendant was doing his personal best. It asks what a reasonable person, business, or professional would have done, and whether the defendant fell short of that.
Texas courts describe a negligence claim as a legal duty, a breach of that duty, and damages proximately caused by the breach. Most lawyers break this into four parts, and you must prove each one by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not.
The defendant must have owed you a legal duty of care. Some duties are well established: drivers owe everyone on the road a duty to drive safely, property owners owe invited guests a duty to address dangerous conditions, and doctors owe patients a duty to meet professional standards. Whether a duty exists is usually a question the judge decides.
The defendant must have failed to meet that duty. Evidence of breach might include speeding data, surveillance video, maintenance logs, safety violations, witness statements, or expert testimony about what a careful company would have done.
The breach must have caused your injury. Texas requires proximate cause, which has two parts: cause in fact, meaning the harm would not have happened without the negligent act, and foreseeability, meaning a person of ordinary intelligence should have anticipated the danger. Causation is often where insurance companies fight hardest, especially when you had a prior injury.
You must have suffered actual losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, physical pain, or property damage. A near miss, however frightening, generally does not support a negligence lawsuit.
Two related doctrines can make a claim easier to prove or more valuable. They are different concepts, and the difference matters.
When someone violates a safety statute or regulation designed to protect people like you from the type of harm you suffered, Texas courts may treat the violation itself as a breach of duty. Running a red light, driving drunk, or ignoring a safety rule can qualify. You still must prove causation and damages, but you may not need to argue about what a reasonable person would have done. A police report documenting a traffic citation is often early evidence of negligence per se.
Gross negligence is far more serious than ordinary carelessness. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 41.001(11), it means conduct that, viewed objectively, involved an extreme degree of risk, and that the defendant knew about the risk but went ahead with conscious indifference to the safety of others. Proving gross negligence opens the door to punitive damages, which Texas calls exemplary damages.
The bar is high. You must prove gross negligence by clear and convincing evidence, and the jury must agree unanimously on both liability for exemplary damages and the amount. Section 41.008 generally caps those damages at the greater of $200,000 or two times economic damages plus noneconomic damages up to $750,000, with exceptions for certain felony conduct such as intoxication assault.
Texas follows a modified comparative fault system called proportionate responsibility. The jury assigns each party a percentage of responsibility. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 33.001, you cannot recover anything if your share is greater than 50%. If your share is 50% or less, your damages are reduced by your percentage.
For example, if a jury awards $100,000 and finds you 20% responsible for a crash, you recover $80,000. At 51%, you recover nothing. This is why insurers often try to shift blame to injured people, and why early evidence matters so much. Under Section 33.013, a defendant found more than 50% responsible can also be held jointly and severally liable for the full amount of recoverable damages.
Every case is different, but most Texas negligence claims follow a similar path.
1. Get medical care right away and follow your treatment plan. Medical records are the backbone of your damages.
2. Document the scene: photos, video, names of witnesses, and any incident or police report.
3. Keep records of your losses, including bills, pay stubs, mileage to appointments, and a journal of your symptoms.
4. Avoid recorded statements to the other side's insurer until you have advice.
5. Talk to a lawyer about liability, insurance coverage, and deadlines.
6. Your lawyer investigates and usually sends a demand to the insurer. Many cases settle at this stage.
7. If the case does not settle, a lawsuit is filed, followed by the exchange of evidence, depositions, and often mediation.
8. If needed, the case goes to trial, where a jury decides fault percentages and damages.
Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003, most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years from the date the claim accrues, usually the date of the injury. For a death, the two years generally run from the date of death, and a wrongful death claim has its own rules on who may file.
Some cases have much shorter deadlines. Claims against a Texas governmental unit generally require written notice within six months of the incident under the Texas Tort Claims Act, and some cities require notice even sooner. Medical negligence claims have separate notice and expert report requirements. Missing a deadline can end a valid claim, so it is wise to get advice well before the cutoff.
A successful negligence claim can compensate you for:
• Past and future medical expenses.
• Lost wages and loss of earning capacity.
• Physical pain and mental anguish.
• Physical impairment and disfigurement.
• Property damage, such as vehicle repairs.
• Exemplary damages when gross negligence is proven by clear and convincing evidence.
Common negligence cases include car accidents, unsafe property conditions, workplace injuries, and industrial disasters. The value of each depends on the severity of the injury, the clarity of fault, and the insurance available.
Our founder, John Daspit, began his career at Fulbright & Jaworski and also worked in insurance defense, so our team understands how insurers evaluate and defend negligence claims. He also devoted 7,000 to 8,000 hours to litigation over the 2005 BP Texas City Refinery explosion. Today, more than 50 attorneys at our firm have recovered over $500 million for clients from offices in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Beaumont, Galveston, and beyond.
• Free consultations, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• No legal fees unless we win.
• Home and hospital visits when you cannot come to us.
If someone else's carelessness left you hurt, you do not have to sort out the law alone. Call The Daspit Law Firm at (888) 273-1045 for a free review of your negligence claim. This article is general information, not legal advice, and every case depends on its own facts.
Negligence is the failure to use the care a reasonably prudent person would use in the same or similar circumstances. It does not require intent. In Texas, a negligence claim requires a legal duty, a breach of that duty, and damages proximately caused by the breach. Most injury cases, including car accidents and falls, are based on negligence.
The four elements are duty, breach, causation, and damages. The defendant must have owed you a duty of care, failed to meet it, and caused your injury, and you must have suffered real losses such as medical bills or lost wages. You must prove each element by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not.
Yes, as long as your share of responsibility is 50% or less. Texas uses proportionate responsibility under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, so 20% fault reduces a $100,000 award to $80,000. If you are found more than 50% responsible, you recover nothing.
Most Texas personal injury negligence lawsuits must be filed within two years under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003. Shorter deadlines can apply. Claims against government entities generally require written notice within six months, and some cities require it sooner. Speaking with a lawyer early helps make sure no deadline is missed.
Ordinary negligence is a failure to use reasonable care. Gross negligence means the defendant knew about an extreme risk of harm and acted with conscious indifference to others' safety. In Texas, gross negligence must be proven by clear and convincing evidence and can support exemplary damages, which are generally subject to the caps in Section 41.008.
All too often, accident victims are steamrolled by insurance companies determined to minimize or deny their claims. Don't let this happen to you. Hire us to fight for the compensation you deserve.
At The Daspit Law Firm, Our Team of Attorneys Handles the Full Range of Personal Injury Cases, Including Car and Truck Accidents, Industrial Accidents, Construction Accidents, Maritime & Offshore Accidents, and Much More.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
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