Negligence matters because it determines whether you are likely to win a settlement if you were involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault. However, negligence can be criminal or civil.
When most people think of negligence, they think about it in terms of filing a lawsuit and receiving monetary damages. Still, negligence can also be a criminal act, resulting in harsh penalties, including a criminal record and even jail time.
If you’ve suffered injuries due to someone else’s negligence, consulting with Austin personal injury lawyers can help you understand your legal options and pursue compensation.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the concept of criminal negligence, negligence as a whole, and what it could mean for your case.
Key Takeaways
Criminal negligence is the failure to exercise due care and is considered a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would do to prevent serious bodily harm or a risk to human life.
Examples of criminal negligence cases can include involuntary manslaughter, negligent vehicular homicide, and the endangerment of a child.
The bar for a successful criminal negligence conviction is far higher than for civil negligence. Prosecutors must prove that the defendant was aware of the risk and chose to act in a way that grossly deviated from what a reasonable person would do anyway.
Every state has its own criminal and civil negligence laws. The former can result in substantial periods of incarceration, depending on the circumstances and the nature of the conviction.
Criminal negligence cases can only be brought by the state, whereas private citizens bring civil cases. The presence of a criminal negligence case doesn’t impact your legal right to recover damages.
Common defenses for criminal negligence include that the defendant exercised a reasonable duty of care, they were unaware of the risk, and that a genuine mistake was made.
All injured parties have the legal right to bring negligence cases and recover monetary compensation for any economic and non-economic losses they sustained.
What is Criminal Negligence in Simple Terms?
Criminal negligence, or culpable negligence, occurs when a party acts with such disregard that they have placed someone at risk of serious bodily harm or death. The action assumes that a reasonable person in the same situation would have perceived the risk and acted accordingly.
According to Cornell University, criminal negligence may include how a person acted in a situation or how they didn’t act in a situation. In short, it’s a gross deviation from the standard of care expected.
But what does Section 6.03(d) of the Texas Penal Code say?
“A person acts with criminal negligence, or is criminally negligent, with respect to circumstances surrounding his conduct or the result of his conduct when he ought to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the actor’s standpoint.”
Types of offenses that may fall under the umbrella of criminal negligence include but aren’t limited to:
Endangerment of a child
Negligent storage of firearms
Negligent keeping of a dangerous dog
Involuntary manslaughter
Negligent vehicular homicide
The barrier to criminal negligence is far higher than that of civil negligence, otherwise known as ordinary negligence. Generally, if someone is charged with criminal negligence, they would have had to ignore an obvious or known risk that an ordinary person would have seen coming.
Criminal Negligence vs. Civil Negligence in Texas
Civil negligence in Texas means you didn’t use ordinary care to protect others. On the other hand, criminal negligence is conduct that presents a greater risk to others. The level of carelessness is much higher to qualify as criminal.
Every state has its own barriers to what’s considered criminal negligence, and that’s why things can get complicated. In the Lone Star State, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals gave an example of this:
They ruled that the bar for criminally negligent homicide requires three points to be met:
The failure to perceive the risk of death.
Substantial blameworthiness in the actions/omissions of actions that caused it.
The failure to perceive must be a “gross” deviation from what’s considered a reasonable standard of care.
What is an Example of a Negligence Case?
Countless cases within the Texas justice system have indicated the difficulties involved in upholding a charge of criminal negligence. Using the Texas Court of Appeals criteria, here are two examples of how pushing for a criminal negligence charge can be extremely difficult.
Tello v. State, 180 S.W.3d 150 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005)
In this case, the defendant was convicted of criminally negligent homicide after their trailer was unhitched from their truck on a public road and killed a pedestrian. The Court of Criminal Appeals said that the defendant should have noted the substantial and unjustifiable risk of death by using a faulty trailer hitch with no safety chains.
McKay v. State, 474 S.W.3d 266 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015)
The defendant was convicted of injury to a child after spilling hot water on a two-year-old child while in the kitchen. He appealed the conviction successfully because there was deemed to be insufficient evidence that the defendant had failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk.
His defense team successfully proved there was no evidence that the child was often underfoot or that the defendant could have known the child would have been likely under his feet as he moved around the kitchen.
Is Recklessness the Same as Criminal Negligence?
Recklessness and negligence are two different legal concepts. Someone convicted of negligence has failed to exercise reasonable care that a reasonable person would have done in the same circumstances. Recklessness means knowingly disregarding potential dangers.
Typically, a recklessness charge is substantially more problematic because it shows that the defendant was both aware of the dangers and chose to act anyway. Drinking and driving would be examples of reckless behavior. Likewise, you could be charged with recklessness if you engaged in a drag race through a residential area.
What is the Difference Between Criminal Intent and Negligence?
Criminal intent pertains to the mental state of the person who committed a crime, whereas negligence is a failure to take reasonable care to prevent harm to others. The concept of criminal intent is often connected to whether someone is charged criminally for their negligence.
For example, if a driver crashes into a pedestrian but there isn’t any criminal intent, then this would be manslaughter, which would command a sentence of a few months or years. However, if the driver saw their ex-partner crossing the road, sped up, and killed them, this would be an example of murder because they had criminal intent, meaning a likely life sentence.
Due to the obvious consequences of criminal intent being proven, the standard of proof is far higher for criminal intent than for negligence.
What are the Elements Required to Prove Criminal Negligence?
Proving criminal negligence means demonstrating a drastic departure from how a reasonable person would have acted. The standard of proof is higher, meaning that it’s down to a prosecutor to prove that the defendant both knew the risk and that their actions/inactions constitute a gross departure from what a reasonable standard of care looks like.
Here are the various elements that go into a criminal negligence case:
Duty of Care – There must have been a duty of care. For example, a driver has the duty of operating their vehicle safely on public roads.
Breach of Duty – That duty of care must have been breached through recklessness, carelessness, or failure to act.
Gross Deviation – The conduct of the accused must represent a “gross deviation” from how a reasonable person would have acted in similar circumstances. For example, perhaps a parent left their child in a hot car in the middle of a summer heatwave.
Awareness – Has the defendant acted knowing the risks involved? Proving criminal negligence means they must have had some awareness.
Causation – The negligent act in question must be directly connected to the injuries caused.
Harm – Criminal negligence typically requires serious harm or death to have been caused.
As you can see, the issues of awareness and gross deviation often mean that proving criminal negligence is a challenge. In contrast, civil negligence is much easier to prove, which is why most car accident cases involve civil negligence.
What are Some Defenses to Criminal Negligence?
Getting charged with criminal negligence can result in serious penalties, including substantial jail time. Defense lawyers can fall back upon several legal strategies to fight a charge of criminal negligence, including that you made a mistake, you didn’t know about the risk of harm, or that you did exercise reasonable care.
It Was a Mistake or Accident
Criminal negligence is much more than making a mistake or being careless. Defense lawyers can prove that their client's conduct wasn’t outrageous or reckless but a mistake in their judgment in the heat of the moment or a complete accident.
It’s usually the most common legal strategy to fight back against a charge of criminal negligence.
The Risk of Harm Wasn’t Perceived
Criminal negligence also requires that the defendant was aware of the obvious risks of harm and should have known about those risks. A common legal strategy is to show that the defendant didn’t have this knowledge.
For example, let’s say that a driver was charged with criminal negligence because their brakes failed, causing a car accident that led to the death of another driver.
The driver can prove that they did not know the risk through various forms of proof, including:
They recently had the car inspected by a certified mechanic.
There were no noticeable warning signs that the brakes were about to fail.
The brake failure in question was sudden because of a hidden manufacturing defect.
The driver didn’t commit any traffic violations before the accident.
If the driver’s defense attorney provided these four types of proof, the charge of criminal negligence would likely be dropped since there’s evidence to show that the driver couldn’t have possibly known that their brakes were about to fail.
Reasonable Care was Exercised
Successful criminal charges of negligence must demonstrate that reasonable care to avoid causing harm wasn’t exercised. Since the defendant exercised a degree of reasonableness, it doesn’t count as criminally negligent behavior.
For example, a driver has been charged with criminal negligence because of an accident they caused on an icy road. The reasonable care defense could include showing:
The driver was traveling below the speed limit.
The driver maintained a safe following distance.
The driver was using winter tires.
The driver was following traffic laws.
The driver struck black ice, making the car spin out of control.
Proving these things doesn’t mean that a charge of negligence won’t stick, but it could mean the case falls far below the bar needed for negligence to become criminal because of the precautions the driver took.
What are the Laws & Penalties for Negligence in Each State?
Criminal negligence laws vary hugely between states because every state may have slightly different legal definitions and, therefore, punishments. It’s also vital to mention that some states rely on unique statutes relating to different types of criminal negligence, such as vehicle manslaughter and child endangerment.
For example, Texas Penal Code § 19.05 considers criminally negligent homicide a felony, with a maximum penalty of two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. In contrast, Arkansas’ Ark. Code Ann. § 5-10-105 statute only makes negligent homicide a Class A misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine of $2,500.
Some states take a hardline stance on criminal negligence. For example, Alaska’s Alaska Stat. § 11.41.13 classifies criminally negligent homicide as a Class B felony, with a fine of up to $100,000 and ten years in jail.
Due to the array of specific statutes and laws between the states, the best way to handle this is to consult a lawyer to learn more about what being convicted of criminal negligence could mean where you are.
Laws & Penalties for Ordinary Negligence in Each State
Civil negligence also varies based on the state, with four different models in use. Each model determines in what circumstances injured parties can claim financial compensation for their injuries. The four models are contributory negligence, pure comparative negligence, modified comparative negligence, and slight/gross negligence comparative.
Here’s a breakdown of what each of these models looks like:
Contributory Negligence Model – Drivers who contributed to an accident in any way are legally prohibited from recovering compensation, meaning if you’re even 1% responsible for an accident, you can’t claim. Only four states rely on this model: Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Pure Comparative Negligence Model – The 13 states using this model allow you to seek compensation no matter your degree of fault. However, your settlement will be reduced accordingly. For example, if you’re 75% responsible for an accident, you can only claim for the other 25%.
Modified Comparative Negligence Model – 33 states utilize this model, meaning you can only claim compensation if your fault falls below a certain threshold. 10 states use a 50% threshold, and 23 states use a 51% threshold. Drivers with a degree of fault above these limits are barred from seeking monetary compensation.
Slight/Gross Negligence Comparative Model – Used only by South Dakota, this is a hybrid of the comparative and contributory negligence models. It states you can only claim monetary compensation if your fault was “slight” and the other driver’s fault was “gross.” And the distinction must be made, meaning it’s one of the most complex systems to recover damages under.
Texas is a modified comparative negligence state. Under Texas law, you can't recover monetary damages if you’re 51% or more responsible for an accident.
What Role Do Insurance Companies Play in Negligence Cases?
Auto insurance firms play an enormous role in negligence cases because their primary role is to investigate the case and prove that the other driver was liable. If their driver was found to have been negligent, it will almost certainly mean they’ll have to pay out a substantial amount in damages.
Insurance adjusters are there to determine who was at fault using all the evidence available to them. Likewise, lawyers are also there to investigate the claim and prove or disprove negligent behavior, whether civil or criminal.
Examples of evidence that comes into play in proving negligence include:
Medical reports
Eyewitness testimonies
Police crash reports
Expert witness testimony
Accident reconstruction
In all cases, each auto insurance company will likely provide evidence that supports its driver’s view of events. The legal teams on both sides must then negotiate a settlement or prepare for a court trial.
What are Your Legal Rights if You Are Injured by Someone’s Negligence?
Being injured by someone else’s negligence gives you the right to recover your losses. These include tangible and intangible losses, including medical bills, the cost of repairing your car, or mental anguish.
Understand that criminal negligence cases cannot be filed by private citizens. All criminal negligence cases are filed by the state. However, most car accidents are civil cases, and any private citizen can bring these through their legal teams. Everyone has a right to legal representation and to file a lawsuit. Texas personal injury law sets the statute of limitations at two years from the date of the accident.
In short, every injured party has:
The right to recover compensation for their economic and non-economic losses.
The right to legal representation.
The right to hold the negligent party to account.
Ensuring your legal rights are respected, and you have access to a fair settlement means hiring a personal injury lawyer in Austin. It’s the best way to hold the other party accountable and guarantee that you receive compensation that reflects your losses.
Criminal and Civil Negligence FAQs
Is negligence federal or state law?
Negligence laws are determined at the state level. Suppose the negligence case involves a representative of the federal government. In that case, the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) states that even when jurisdiction is given to the federal government, they’ll follow the negligence laws of the state where the incident occurred.
Is criminal negligence a felony in Texas?
Criminal negligence is a felony in Texas. Criminally negligent homicide is classified as one of the four types of criminal homicide, with penalties including jail time. Most states consider criminal negligence related convictions a felony, meaning incarceration is a very substantial risk if convicted.
How does being criminally negligent impact personal injury settlements?
Criminal negligence cases are separate from civil cases because the former is brought by the state, and the latter is brought by you. If the other driver is convicted of criminal negligence, this evidence can be used to prove that they were negligent as part of your civil case.
However, criminal negligence convictions can also adversely impact your ability to recover damages. Many states also levy hefty financial penalties on those convicted of criminal negligence, meaning a conviction could impact their ability to pay your settlement.