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Negligence in Texas
The general claim behind most personal-injury cases. Appeals in these cases run to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, through 19 intermediate appellate courts.
What our library holds for Texas: 615,391 appellate decisions (1840 through June 2026), 122,681 statute sections, county local rules, and the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence held word for word — so a negligence question here can be answered against real Texas authority, with every citation checked. See the rules quoted verbatim.
The generally recognized elements
These elements are recognized across U.S. jurisdictions; the wording, the burden, and the exceptions vary by state, so confirm them against Texas authority before relying on them.
- A duty of reasonable care owed to the plaintiff
- Breach of that duty
- The breach caused the injury (both actual and proximate cause)
- Actual damages
What actually decides these cases
Duty and causation. Whether a duty existed is usually a question of law for the judge; whether it was breached and whether the breach caused the harm are usually questions for the jury, decided on expert testimony and the physical evidence.
Defenses you should expect
- No duty owed
- No breach — the conduct was reasonable
- Superseding cause
- Comparative or contributory fault
Before you rely on anything
Check the citations
If a letter, a filing, or an AI answer cites a Texas case to you, verify it exists — free, instant, against every U.S. reporter. Fabricated citations are the most common way people are misled about their own case.
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Keep going
This page states generally recognized legal frameworks for orientation; it is not legal advice, not Texas-specific legal guidance, and not a substitute for a lawyer or for reading the authority that governs your case. Statutes of limitation are short and vary by state and claim — if you may have a claim, find out your deadline immediately from your state's courts or a lawyer.