You were recently in a car accident near the North Star Mall that totaled your vehicle and left you with broken bones and a painful spinal cord injury. Now, as you try to piece your life back together, a new problem appears: the insurance company for the negligent driver has found you to be partially at fault for the crash.
Your first thought is that it’s a mistake. But then you see it in black and white: a percentage next to your name, cutting into what you thought you were owed. Does this mean you won’t get your medical expenses covered? What about your lost wages? Can you even sue, or are you stuck with whatever they decide to offer – if they offer anything at all? What if they pin so much blame on you that you walk away with nothing?
Fortunately, you still have options. Texas law doesn’t automatically bar you from financial compensation just because you share some fault. But the insurance company knows that too, and they’ll do everything they can to push your percentage of responsibility higher. In this article, we explain what happens if both drivers are at fault in an accident and how you can fight back.
Texas Follows a Modified Comparative Negligence Rule
Motor vehicle accidents are rarely clear-cut. Two people can be involved in the same crash and tell completely different stories about what happened. The law recognizes that fault isn’t always one-sided, which is why Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule. It states that you can still file a car accident lawsuit as long as you aren’t more than 50% responsible for the accident. But there’s a catch: the more fault they assign to you, the less money you receive.
Here’s how it plays out:
- If you’re less than 51% responsible, you can still file a personal injury lawsuit and recover monetary damages, but your final compensation gets reduced by your percentage of fault.
- If you’re found 51% or more responsible, you get nothing: no reimbursement for medical expenses, hospital bills, lost wages, or vehicle damage.
Let’s assume your total economic and non-economic damages (medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, loss of enjoyment of life, etc.) add up to $200,000. If the insurance company argues that you were 20% at fault, your payout is reduced by that percentage, leaving you with $160,000. But what if they push harder? What if they claim you were 40% at fault? Suddenly, your recovery drops to $120,000. If they manage to push it past 50%, you lose everything.
And that’s exactly what they’ll try to do. Insurance companies play the blame game because it saves them money. If they can tip fault just past the 50% mark, they don’t have to pay an injured party a single cent.
That’s why proving fault isn’t strictly about fairness: it’s also about protecting your right to fair compensation. The lower your percentage of fault, the more money you walk away with in a car accident claim. The higher it climbs, the less you get. If you don’t push back against an unfair blame assessment, you could end up with nothing at all.
What If You’re Partially at Fault? You Can Still Fight for Compensation
What happens if both drivers are at fault in an accident? First off, making a mistake does not mean you have to accept whatever the insurance company decides. Texas law gives you the right to push back, challenge unfair blame, and fight for the fair compensation you deserve. Here’s what you can do:
- Gather Your Own Evidence: Don’t rely on the insurance company to tell the full story. If you took photos at the scene, have dashcam footage, or collected witness contact information, use it to back up your case. Also, collect your medical records to prove the extent of your car accident injuries and emotional distress. The more proof you have, the harder it is for them to manipulate the facts.
- Get a Copy of the Police Report: Officers do their best, but they can make mistakes. If the report contains incorrect details, missing information, or a fault assessment that doesn’t match what actually happened, you can dispute it.
- Be Careful With Your Statements: Anything you say can be twisted and used against you. Even an innocent remark like “I didn’t see them” could be framed as an admission of fault. Keep your responses short and factual when speaking with insurance adjusters. Better yet, don’t speak to them at all until you’ve consulted a lawyer.
- Talk to a Lawyer Before Accepting a Car Accident Settlement: Insurance companies are notorious for offering lowball settlements, especially when they claim you were partially at fault. A car accident attorney can push back against unfair blame, negotiate for a higher payout, and take your case to court if necessary.
How Do They Determine Fault?
In Texas, fault is based on negligence: who was careless, distracted, or violated traffic laws in a way that contributed to the crash. Sometimes, it’s obvious: if a drunk driver veers into oncoming traffic or a speeding truck rear-ends a stopped car at a red light, it’s easy to assign blame.
Other accidents that aren’t so clear. What if you were driving slightly over the speed limit when someone ran a stop sign? What if you were looking in your rearview mirror for a split second when another driver swerved into your lane? Suddenly, fault becomes a gray area, and that’s where insurance companies look for opportunities to push blame onto you.
Determining fault comes down to evidence, and multiple sources can be involved:
- Police Reports: Officers who respond to the crash will document the accident scene, take statements from both drivers, and sometimes assign fault, but their assessment isn’t the final word. Police reports can be challenged if they contain errors or don’t include all the facts.
- Traffic Camera or Dashcam Footage: Video evidence can make or break your case. A traffic cam might show the other driver running a red light, or a dashcam could prove that you were obeying traffic laws when the collision happened.
- Witness Statements: If bystanders saw the accident unfold, their testimony can help back up your side of the story. Insurance companies prefer independent witnesses over passengers in your car, so getting contact info from neutral third parties can support your case.
- Expert Witness Reports: In more complicated cases, accident reconstruction specialists analyze skid marks, impact angles, property damage, and even black box data to piece together exactly what happened. Their findings can challenge an insurance company’s version of events and help reduce your assigned fault.
Even if the other driver demonstrated reckless behavior, their insurance company won’t just accept responsibility without a fight. They’ll examine every detail and search for ways to shift part of the blame onto you because the more fault they assign to you, the less they have to pay.
Ways Insurance Companies Try to Blame You
Insurance adjusters might sound polite on the phone, but make no mistake: they’re not on your side. Their job isn’t to help you recover, it’s to protect their company’s bottom line. And the easiest way to do that is to shift as much blame onto you as possible. Here’s how they do it:
- Twisting Your Words: Something as innocent as “I didn’t see them coming” can be turned into an admission that you weren’t paying attention. Even saying “I’m sorry” at the scene can be used to argue that you admitted fault. That’s why it’s critical to choose your words carefully when speaking with an insurance adjuster.
- Cherry-Picking Evidence: They’ll zero in on anything that makes you look negligent while conveniently ignoring proof that their driver caused the crash. If a witness says the other driver was speeding but also mentions that you hesitated before turning, they’ll highlight your hesitation and ignore the at-fault party’s careless actions.
- Claiming Distraction: If they find out you were adjusting the radio, checking GPS, drinking coffee, or even just talking to a passenger, they’ll argue that you weren’t fully focused on the road. Even if the accident had nothing to do with distraction, they’ll use it as a way to assign you partial fault.
- Blaming Speed: Going just a few miles per hour over the speed limit? They’ll say that contributed to the crash. Even if their driver ran a red light or cut you off, they’ll argue that your slightly higher speed made the impact worse and that you should take part of the blame.
- Using Texas Traffic Laws Against You: If you rolled through a stop sign, didn’t use a turn signal, or even legally merged but didn’t see the other driver in time, they’ll latch onto it as additional evidence of negligence.
That’s why you can’t just accept their version of events. You have the right to challenge their findings, dispute unfair blame, and fight for every dollar you’re owed.
How a San Antonio Car Accident Lawyer Can Help
As we’ve explained, insurance companies don’t fight fair. Behind every insurance claim, they have a team of attorneys working to minimize your payout or eliminate it completely. They count on accident victims not knowing their rights, accepting blame too easily, or settling for far less than they deserve. An experienced personal injury lawyer levels the playing field by:
- Disputing Unfair Fault Claims: Insurance providers will twist the facts to increase your percentage of blame over that of the liable party. A personal injury attorney knows how to challenge their arguments with police and medical reports and prove what really happened.
- Negotiating For a Higher Settlement: Adjusters start with low offers, hoping you’ll take whatever you can get. A lawyer pushes back, forcing them to offer a fair payout that actually covers your financial losses.
- Bringing in Accident Experts: Sometimes evidence alone isn’t enough. Experienced car accident attorneys work with accident reconstruction specialists, medical professionals, and industry experts to make your car accident lawsuit stronger and assign fault where it actually belongs.
- Taking the Fight to Court: If the auto insurance company refuses to settle, an experienced car accident lawyer won’t back down. They’ll be ready to present your case in front of a judge and jury and fight for the compensatory damages you are entitled to.
At the end of the day, an auto accident attorney’s job is simple: maximize your payout and protect your interests. If the insurance company won’t play fair, they’ll make sure you have someone in your corner who will.
Our Texas Car Accident Lawyers Are Ready to Help
When you’ve been in an auto accident, medical bills and lost income can add up fast. But just because you weren’t 100% innocent doesn’t mean you have to accept a lowball settlement. Texas law gives you the right to file a personal injury claim, as long as you stay under that 51% fault threshold.
If an insurance company is trying to pin too much blame on you, don’t accept it. Get legal help. An experienced attorney at the Texas Law Guns, Injury & Accident Lawyers can challenge their claims, protect your rights, and push for maximum compensation in a fair settlement. To schedule a confidential consultation, call our law firm at (210) 800-0000 or contact us online today.
Related: Medical Bills Piling Up After a Car Accident? Here’s What to Do
The Villarreal & Begum, LAW GUNS boasts a team of professionals who focus on personal injury cases for the San Antonio area. This means that if you receive significant physical or emotional injuries we are around to help you understand your rights and seek compensation. If you’re hurt in a car accident, animal attack, slip and fall accident or 18 wheeler, we’re the law firm that cares about your problems.