Many people in Waco are injured because of the negligence of someone else. Negligence has many forms. It can cause injury or death. When the careless actions of another person hurt someone, our Waco negligence lawyers fiercely protect our client’s rights. 

Waco attorneys explain negligence.

Negligence is the primary Cause of Action for Texas personal injury lawsuits. If a plaintiff cannot prove negligence, it is unlikely to win the lawsuit. To establish a negligence claim in Texas, the plaintiff must prove these four essential elements at trial: 1) A duty owed by a defendant to the plaintiff; Duty is defined as the obligation to conform to a particular standard of conduct toward another. It is a question of law for the court to decide from facts surrounding the occurrence in question.  2) Breach of that duty; This duty was breached by the defendant when he or she failed to provide you a standard level of care. The standard of care is usually to act as a reasonably prudent person would act under the same or similar circumstances. 3) The proximate cause of the plaintiff’s damages by the defendant’s breach; and Proximate Cause is made up of two ingredients: Cause in fact, and foreseeability. The test for Cause in fact is: whether the negligent “act or omission was a substantial factor in bringing about the injury,” without which the harm would not have occurred. Foreseeability requires that a person of ordinary intelligence should have anticipated the danger created by a negligent act or omission. 4) Damages. There must be a financial loss paid or incurred by the plaintiff. Although the damages do not have to be catastrophic. Some of the worst damages caused by negligence include: 

• Amputation
• Back injury
• Brain injuries
• Burn injury
• Fatal accidents
• Hearing Loss Injury
• Neck Pain
• Paralysis injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Shoulder injury

What if I was partially at fault?  Texas law has what it calls proportionate responsibility. As long as you are not more than 50% responsible for the accident, your monetary damages will be reduced by the amount of responsibility you share for the occurrence. If you are 51% or more at fault for your injury, then Texas law prohibits you from collecting damages. What if several people caused the negligence?  If several people caused the accident, Texas law would hold them liable “joint and several.” Texas law requires that a defendant pay the percentage of damages that they are legally responsible for. There are a few ways that Texas defendants can be jointly or severally liable to a plaintiff: Causing more than 50% of the plaintiff’s injuries, Acting together with other defendants to cause harm, Acting separately but causing damage that’s indivisible, or Vicarious liability.  What is vicarious liability?  Vicarious liability is a legal concept that holds a principal (employer) generally responsible for its agents’ (employees’) acts. 

What types of cases are negligence claims? 

There are many examples of negligence claims in Waco. These types of matters often include:

• Fires and Explosions
• Motor vehicle accidents, including
  • Auto accidents
  • Airplane accidents
  • Boating accidents
  • Bus accidents
  • Truck accidents
  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Uber & Lyft accidents
• Nursing home injuries
• Daycare abuse
• Professional malpractice, including
  • Medical malpractice
• Products liability claims, including
  • Drug-related injuries
  • Pharmaceutical claims
• Property owner liability
  • Slip and fall accidents
• Workplace injury
• Wrongful death

Results in negligence claims

• $27 million settlement in matter involving the close head injury of a two-week-old child. Read about this case as reported by the Waco Tribune Herald, KCEN-TV, Meat & Poultry Magazine and Topverdict.com.
• $15 million settlement reported in matter involving the death and injuries of ATF agents in the Branch Davidian raid. Read about this case on Justia.com.
• $1.5 million settlement reported for the injuries caused by a straw purchase of a gun at a pawn shop. Read about this case as reported by the Waco Tribune Herald, and MoreLaw.com.
• $800 thousand verdict for motorcycle driver with broken femur involved in collision with a car.

We are proud of our results reported above, but please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each matter depends on the facts of the case.

Why choose Dunnam & Dunnam for my Waco Negligence Claim?

The Waco personal injury lawyers at Dunnam & Dunnam have provided quality services to their Central Texas clients for almost 100 years. Our approach is client-centered. We have a reputation for handling Waco personal injury cases quickly and successfully. Our attorneys are compassionate. We want to know your story. We will give you a free and helpful consultation. You can call us anytime to answer your frequently asked questions. Our Waco negligence attorneys can handle your important case: