When a defendant puts forth an affirmative defense they are not denying their responsibility for the accident. Rather, they are arguing that there is some other reason why they should not be held liable.
Defenses to a Texas personal injury lawsuit can be put into one of two basic categories: “I didn’t do it” and “I did it but…” An “I didn’t do it” defense is essentially a denial of one or more of the plaintiff’s claims. For example, the defendant in a car accident lawsuit may deny that they were speeding as the plaintiff has claimed.
An affirmative defense is an “I did it but…” defense. It is used by a defendant to either limit or excuse any wrongdoing on their part. For example, the defendant does not deny that they were speeding but instead asserts that the statute of limitations has run out, making the victim ineligible to bring a lawsuit.
Contributory negligence is another type of affirmative defense. For instance, the defendant could argue that the plaintiff can’t recover for their injuries because they contributed to the car accident by talking on their cell phone and failing to pay attention to the road.
Fears | Nachawati is a Texas personal injury lawsuit firm representing victims of all types of accidents in seeking compensation for their injuries. To receive free legal advice from one of our personal injury attorneys, email us at info@fnlawfirm.com or call our toll-free number at 1.866.705.7584.