Can I be sued by a a criminal who breaks into my home if I injure him in self defense?

Hello, and thank your for your question.  Please note that I am a licensed, Texas attorney.  I urge you to seek the advice of a local practitioner in all cases.  The answer to your question depends on the exact circumstances of the situation.  I know urban lore is rife with stories of would-be burglars who hit the jackpot by winning a personal injury lawsuit against self-defending home-owners.  However, the Texas government chose to limit the likelihood of bad-guy jackpots.

The legislation is commonly known as the “Castle Doctrine” and sought to limit an actor’s civil liability for personal injury claims stemming from the use of self defense.  The Castle Doctrine has its roots in English law, where a person’s home was considered his castle, and where he could utilize deadly force to protect his castle.  The Castle Doctrine removed a self-defender’s duty to retreat, much to the delight of many Texas citizens.  The law seeks to limit your civil liability for self-defense actions in your home, your vehicle, and your place of business/employment.

The Texas Castle Doctrine reads, “a person is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect the actor against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful force.”  The law goes on to state that a self-defender’s belief that deadly force was immediately necessary may be presumed in certain circumstances.  The circumstances include the following:  a perpetrator commits breaking and entering; a perpetrator does or attempts to remove the self-defender by force; the perpetrator was committing or attempting murder, aggravated kidnapping, robbery, etc.

The Texas Castle Doctrine does also stipulate that the self-defender must not have also been committing a serious crime for the law’s protection to be triggered.  The limitation on civil liability is triggered when a self defense action is considered justified under the law.  As you can see, the Castle Doctrine offers much protection to self defenders.  However, that law should be the last line of defense.  It’s probably a good idea to consult with your local law enforcement agency to discuss how you can reduce the likelihood that you’ll be a crime victim in the future.  That way, you’ll lower your chances that you’ll ever have to think about the Castle Doctrine as a defense.  If you have any further questions, contact a licensed Texas personal injury attorney.