{"id":1387,"date":"2020-10-30T21:50:42","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T21:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/?post_type=faqs&#038;p=1387"},"modified":"2024-01-03T17:33:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T23:33:43","slug":"i-wasnt-at-fault-in-an-accident-but-my-passenger-still-wants-to-sue-me-what-should-i-do","status":"publish","type":"faqs","link":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/es\/faqs\/no-tuve-la-culpa-de-un-accidente-pero-mi-pasajero-aun-quiere-demandarme-que-tengo-que-hacer\/","title":{"rendered":"I Wasn&#8217;t At Fault In An Accident But My Passenger Still Wants To Sue Me. What Should I Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you were involved in a Texas auto accident while driving, but did not cause the accident, under Texas law you are not responsible for the injuries and property damage arising from that accident. That includes injuries to passengers in your vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some states are called <em>no-fault states<\/em>, where each driver\u2019s insurance pays for their own injuries and car repair, no matter who caused the accident. But Texas is an <em>at-fault state<\/em>. In Texas, the driver who caused an accident is known as the <em>at-fault driver<\/em>. At-fault drivers (and their auto liability insurance) must pay for injuries and damages arising from the accidents they cause. Drivers who were not at-fault do not have to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p>But it\u2019s easier to file a lawsuit than to properly respond to one. As anyone who has been served a legal complaint knows, a minor threat can quickly turn into a big and costly hassle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Defending a Texas auto accident lawsuit can require knowing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"check-list wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rules of Evidence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/how-were-you-injured\/texas-tort-law\/\">Rules of Tort Liability<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Texas Insurance Law<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How the Texas Legal System works<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>State and Local Traffic Laws<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Automotive Engineering (in the case of mechanical failure)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collision Expertise<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why when anyone credible is threatening to sue you, you should speak to an attorney to understand your rights and options.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/I-wasnt-at-fault-in-an-accident-but.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1928\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/I-wasnt-at-fault-in-an-accident-but.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/I-wasnt-at-fault-in-an-accident-but-540x520.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-proving-fault-in-a-texas-auto-accident-lawsuit-can-be-complex\">Proving Fault In A Texas Auto Accident Lawsuit Can Be Complex<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some auto collision cases are clear cut, and the drivers and insurance companies quickly agree who is at-fault. But in many cases, the drivers disagree about who caused the accident. There even may be passengers and other witnesses who remember the accident differently. In some cases, more than one driver is at-fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"556\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Texas-Liability-Laws-And-Comparative.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1930\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Texas-Liability-Laws-And-Comparative.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Texas-Liability-Laws-And-Comparative-540x469.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-texas-liability-laws-and-comparative-fault-proportional-responsibility\">Texas Liability Laws And Comparative Fault (Proportional Responsibility)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When there is more than one at-fault driver in a Texas auto accident, Texas law assigns a percentage of responsibility to each driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At-fault drivers may end up sharing financial responsibility for injuries and property damage arising from the accident. This is known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/faqs\/#what-to-do-if-you-were-partially-at-fault-in-an-accident\"><em>comparative fault <\/em>(or <em>proportional responsibility<\/em>)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under Texas law, a passenger is generally not considered at-fault at all. But the passenger can recover money from all the at-fault drivers in a lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That means if the passenger in your vehicle says that you did something wrong to cause the accident, you may be faced with having to defend yourself in a lawsuit for their medical bills. That can be quite a bit to face on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, an important to know fact: if you&#8217;re in an accident and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/faqs\/what-if-the-at-fault-driver-didnt-own-the-car-he-was-in\/\">at-fault driver didn\u2019t own the car he\/she was in<\/a>, remember that Texas is an at-fault state, and all Texas drivers must have auto insurance and pay for accidents they cause<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At Justinian &amp; Associates, we offer an entirely free consultation with an experienced Texas car accident attorney. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/about-us\/\">Call, text or email us<\/a> to set up an appointment. We will listen to your story and explain your rights under Texas law. There is no obligation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","faq_tax":[11],"class_list":["post-1387","faqs","type-faqs","status-publish","hentry","faq_tax-passengers"],"acf":[],"x_date":"octubre 30, 2020","x_metadata":{"_yoast_wpseo_primary_faq_tax":"11","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"[]","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"[\"\"]","_trp_translated_slug_es_ES":"no-tuve-la-culpa-de-un-accidente-pero-mi-pasajero-aun-quiere-demandarme-que-tengo-que-hacer","_yoast_wpseo_title":"I Wasn't at Fault, But My Passenger Wants to Sue Me. What Should I Do?","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Texas is an at-fault state. Under Texas law you are not responsible for injuries and property damage arising from an accident. Learn more.","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/faqs\/i-wasnt-at-fault-in-an-accident-but-my-passenger-still-wants-to-sue-me-what-should-i-do\/","_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":"1704324825","_yoast_wpseo_estimated_reading_time_minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_wordproof_timestamp":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap_rating":"0"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faqs\/1387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faqs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/faqs"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faq_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq_tax?post=1387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}