Nothing hits harder than losing someone you love in a work accident. It’s devastating, to say the least. Without warning, you’re thrown into grief with no time to prepare for what’s next.
On top of the sense of loss you feel, questions start coming up in your mind: What happened? Who is responsible? And maybe the hardest one to face is this: what if your loved one made a mistake too?
That last question holds a lot of weight. It causes many families to hesitate to contact a law firm. Some worry that if their loved one is partially at fault, it means there’s no way they can file a lawsuit. Others aren’t even sure they have the right to ask for help in this situation.
Well, here’s some good news. In Texas, fault isn’t an all-or-nothing issue. Partial fault doesn’t automatically end your case or your family’s right to justice.
The law recognizes that an injury often involves multiple factors. Your loved one’s actions could be part of the story, but that doesn’t mean they carry the whole burden.
You still have options. You still have the right to ask questions. And you still have the ability to hold the right parties accountable.
Read on to understand how Texas law actually handles shared fault in a fatal work accident.
Texas has a “modified comparative fault system.” That phrase may sound complicated, but the idea is simpler than you might think. At a base level, it means that more than one person or company can share responsibility for an accident.
In real life, accidents rarely boil down to a single cause. Maybe safety rules weren’t followed. Maybe equipment failed. Maybe someone made a quick decision under pressure. All of those pieces can come together in one moment. The law takes that into account in fatal work accident lawsuits.
Your family can pursue a claim as long as your loved one wasn’t more than 50% responsible. That means if they were 50% at fault or less, you can move forward.
As you can see, even if your family member made a mistake, it doesn’t mean your fight for justice is over. Even if they played a part in the incident, it doesn’t cancel everything out, as long as they didn’t carry the majority of the fault.
When fault is shared, any compensation you win will be reduced based on your loved one’s share of the blame. The higher that percentage, the more gets taken off the total. But as long as they weren’t mostly responsible, your family can still recover a portion of what’s owed.
The percentage tied to your loved one gets taken off the total amount you could recover. So if they’re 20% responsible, that same 20% is deducted from the final number. What’s left, in this case (80%), is what your family can still pursue.
But don’t expect the insurance company to play fair here. The last thing they want to do is pay your family thousands of dollars; they want to hold onto their money. So, they’ll push as much blame onto your loved one as possible, because every extra percentage point saves them money.
What Happens if the Deceased Is Found More Than 50% at Fault in a Fatal Work Accident?
Texas sets a hard cutoff at 50 percent. If your loved one is placed at 51 percent or more of the blame, your family will walk away with nothing.
That line is a big deal. And the other side knows it.
If they can push the blame just over that mark, the whole case will fall apart. So that’s exactly what they try to do. From the start, they build their argument around shifting as much responsibility as possible onto your loved one. They’ll spotlight certain details and brush past anything that points back to them.
At first, it may not seem obvious. Early reports can look clean and straightforward, but they rarely tell the full story. They’re just one version of what happened.
A strong attorney won’t take those early conclusions at face value. They dig deeper. They look at the full chain of events, the work conditions, the safety rules, and whether anything was ignored or overlooked.
Even a small change in that fault percentage can completely shift your case. Dropping from 51 percent to 50 percent puts compensation back on the table.
So if you’re being told your loved one was mostly to blame, don’t take that as the final answer. Get a second opinion from a law firm that knows how to push back and challenge that narrative.
In a fatal work accident case, fault isn’t determined by the insurance company or the employer. It’s usually decided by a jury, a group of everyday people from the community who were selected to hear the case.
To start, each side will present its version of events, including records, testimony, and expert opinions to support its position. Then the jury will look at all the evidence and assign a percentage of fault to each party involved.
That may include your loved one, the employer, contractors, or anyone else connected to what happened.
Does It Matter What Kind of Employer Was Involved in the Fatal Work Accident?
Yes, it matters a lot, more than most people think.
In Texas, some employers carry workers’ compensation insurance, and some don’t. That choice has a huge effect on what your family can do legally.
If the employer doesn’t have workers’ comp, you’re not boxed into a limited system. You can file a wrongful death lawsuit and go straight after the company. That gives you more room to dig into what really caused the accident.
It can also mean more money is on the table. Workers’ compensation claims tend to be limited in what they pay. A lawsuit, on the other hand, allows your attorney to pursue the full scope of what your family has lost. After a lawsuit, some families walk away with hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
And here’s the part people don’t expect. Even if the employer only played a small role, they can still be held responsible. They don’t get the same protections as companies that carry workers’ comp.
So if there were safety issues, lack of training, or bad decisions on the job site, those can be brought out into the open in a much more direct way.
If workers’ compensation is in place, it’s a different situation. The process is more controlled, and your options tend to be narrower than in a lawsuit. Benefits are set by law. They may cover certain expenses like lost income or basic death benefits, but they don’t cover your full loss.
That’s why figuring out what kind of employer you’re dealing with early on is so important.
Contact Grossman Law Offices About Your Fatal Work Accident Case Today
If your family is dealing with a fatal work accident and fault is being questioned, you don’t have to sort it all out by yourself.
Grossman Law Offices has been handling cases like yours for more than 30 years. Over that time, we’ve recovered millions for clients and built a stellar reputation in the industry. When things feel uncertain, we step in and push cases forward.
When you reach out, we’ll give you the time and attention you deserve. We won’t pass you around or leave you guessing. You’ll speak directly with a lawyer who will listen to what happened, ask the right questions, and give you a clear sense of where things stand.
We also take a more personal approach than other firms. We give our clients our personal cell numbers. That way, you can actually reach your attorney when you need to. No waiting days for a callback. No wondering what’s going on behind the scenes, either.
We believe this kind of communication builds trust, and it shows in how we handle each case. Your attorney won’t treat you like a file. They take the time to understand your situation and stay connected throughout the process.
If you’re dealing with loss and uncertainty, having a team that stays present and keeps you informed can make a real difference.
When you’re ready to talk, contact Grossman Law Offices. We’ll give you everything you need to understand your options and move forward with a clear plan.
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