Posted on January 13, 2016 in Uncategorized

A high speed collision on the South Side between a speeding car and a large SUV raises interesting questions regarding fault and liability.

The wreck took place near the intersection of Southwest Military Drive and Somerset Road. A Chevrolet Caprice and SUV were traveling in the same direction, when the Caprice apparently cut in front of the SUV while traveling at a high rate of speed. The Caprice driver lost control of the vehicle, which then careened into a utility pole before being partially rear-ended by the SUV.

Three people were rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries, but all of them are expected to survive.

Common Defenses in a Negligence Case

As a preliminary note, insurance companies will do almost anything to deny fair compensation to victims, or at least reduce the amount of damages they receive, and there are a number of recognized defenses that defendants use to accomplish this objective.

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 Posted on January 08, 2016 in Uncategorized

A head-on crash on Loop 1604 in southwestern Bexar County left one person dead and two people in the hospital.

The wreck took place in the early morning hours close to Benton City Road. According to police, a 19-year-old driver of a large SUV crossed the center line into the northbound lane, where the vehicle slammed head-on at full speed into a smaller car. The 49-year-old driver was declared dead at the scene. Her teenage daughter, who was in the passenger seat, was rushed to a local hospital along with the SUV driver. Both of them are expected to survive.

Loop 1604 was closed for several hours while police searched for clues.

Evidence Collection and Preservation

In cases like these which have no witnesses, it can be difficult to establish liability. After all, the plaintiff does have the burden of proof, and although the victim’s testimony alone is often sufficient, sometimes the jury wants more.

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 Posted on January 06, 2016 in Uncategorized

One of the largest verdicts in the history of defective drug cases came last year, when a Missouri jury awarded $23 million to a family whose daughter was born with birth defects related to the mother’s Depakote use.

Drug manufacturer Abbot Laboratories currently faces about 800 lawsuits stemming from the popular anti-seizure medication and its link to birth defects. The drug’s popularity peaked in 2007 with over $1.5 billion in sales. But at roughly the same time, the federal government insisted that the manufacturer include additional warnings on the label; in 2010, the New England Journal of Medicine published a major study on the subject. Two years later, Abbot Laboratories paid $1.6 billion to settle state and federal government claims regarding deceptive marketing practices.

With regard to the St. Louis lawsuit and verdict, a company spokesperson insisted that the plaintiff “made an informed decision” to take Depakote during her pregnancy.

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 Posted on December 28, 2015 in Uncategorized

In one of his many songs about alcoholism, Austin singer Junior Brown once lamented that “when I see those party lights come on, the party’s over for me.” And, during this time of year, the “man in that patrol car who don’t wanna party with me” is out in force, seeking to avoid alcohol-related car crashes before they start.

Despite a seemingly-endless police crackdown, the number of fatal alcohol-related vehicle wrecks remains alarmingly high. In 2013, over 10,000 Americans died in such collisions, resulting in an annual cost of $59 billion. Texas tort law allows victims to attack the problem at one of its sources, which is the people who negligently overserve guests at holiday parties and everyday gatherings. While the Texas Supreme Court has consistently refused to hold social hosts liable for the damages that their intoxicated guests inflict, two back doors are wide open.

Dram Shop Law

Although this provision normally applies only to commercial alcohol sales, the Legislature made some important amendments in 2005. Section 2.02 explicitly makes social hosts liable for the actions of their intoxicated guests if the tortfeasor (negligent person) was under 18.

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 Posted on December 23, 2015 in Uncategorized

A Dallas man wants the Texas opt-out system to become the norm in workers’ compensation plans across the United States.

With a client list that includes some of the country’s largest retailers, his plan is to get opt-out laws passed in a dozen states over the next ten years. Generally, employer-sponsored plans are much more limited than state-mandated workers’ compensation; for example, one large fast-food retailer does not cover carpal tunnel syndrome, which is rather common in cashiers, and a senior living center does not cover most bacterial infections. Moreover, in Texas, most employer-sponsored plans only expenses for two years, even if the victim suffered a lifelong disability.

Advocates claim that opt-out plans, although they may not provide as much coverage, remove the uncertainty that comes from lawmakers continually chipping away at workers’ compensation benefits.

Workers’ Compensation

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 Posted on December 18, 2015 in Uncategorized

Out-of-court settlements are a large component of our justice system. In fact, a great majority of truck wrecks and other negligence cases are resolved before trial is held, or even before suit is filed. To facilitate these settlements, some form of alternative dispute resolution is nearly always involved in the process.

Parties often voluntarily agree to mediation or some other form of ADR. In many instances, mediation may help expedite the dispute resolution process, control litigation costs, and give the parties more control over the final outcome. Other times, the trial judge orders the parties to attempt ADR. In fact, many judges order the parties to mediation in almost all contested cases. In still other instances, there is a binding arbitration clause in the agreement or contract. Hit-and-run cases are a very good example, as most insurance agreements contain such a provision.

Mediation

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 Posted on December 16, 2015 in Uncategorized

The upcoming New Year’s Eve holiday probably means another “no refusal” weekend for DUI suspects. What impact does the source of intoxication have on car crashes in South Central Texas?

Last year, 26 Austin drivers were arrested on suspicion of DUI on New Year’s Eve. During the no-refusal initiatives, drivers who refuse to submit to a breath test are transported to a hospital where authorities take a blood test. Such a procedure is quite cumbersome – mostly because the Fourth Amendment requires officers to obtain a search warrant before administering a blood test – which explains why the no-refusal weekends are mostly held on New Year’s Eve, Labor Day Weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, and other holidays traditionally associated with drinking and driving.

Drivers have the right to refuse a BAC test unless the officer has a valid warrant.

Third Party Liability

When an alcohol-impaired driver is involved in a vehicle crash, one of the most important questions to ask is “where did the driver come from?” If the person was bar-hopping or driving home from a bar, dram shop liability is a legitimate possibility. Bear in mind the that driver does not have to be legally intoxicated to be found negligent in civil court.

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 Posted on December 13, 2015 in Uncategorized

Several months ago, a leading presidential candidate discussed the emergence of the so-called “gig economy” and its impact on the American capitalist system. These comments came shortly after the release of a 2014 study which found that one in three American workers are freelancers.

This development has significant implications in labor law, as the National Labor Relations Act states that only employees have the right to collectively bargain on issues like wages and benefits. This development also has a bearing on truck crashes and other negligence cases, because the question of “employee or contractor?” is becoming more difficult to answer.

Elements of Respondeat Superior

This third party liability theory applies when a tortfeasor (negligent person) is an employee acting within the course and scope of employment. In such an instance, the employer is liable for the plaintiff’s economic and non-economic damages.

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 Posted on December 09, 2015 in Uncategorized

A vicious car wreck on the Northwest Side, in which one car hit another one head-on, left a man dead and a woman clinging to life at a local hospital.

According to police, a woman in a Dodge Caravan was traveling westbound on Highway 1604 between the Bandera and Hausman exits, when she drifted over the grassy median and directly into the path of an oncoming Honda Civic. The man behind the wheel was unable to avoid the collision, and when the two vehicles met, he was killed instantly. Bystanders attempted to revive the man by performing CPR, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The woman was badly injured and transported to University Hospital, where she was placed in the intensive care ward. Police have yet to determine a cause for the crash.

Wrong-Way Collisions

This is the term that traffic safety experts use to describe head-on wrecks that occur on a multi-lane divided highway, like Loop 1604. These types of wrecks are quite rare (about 3 percent of the total) but they have a fatality rate up to 27 times that of normal car crashes, making wrong-way wrecks the most dangerous type of vehicle collision. Nearly all these crashes take place on rural and semi-rural roads. Some of the most prominent contributing causes to these cashes include:

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 Posted on December 04, 2015 in Uncategorized

Liability in a car crash is not always clear cut. For example, a freeway crash might occur on a rural road when the defendant crosses the centerline and the plaintiff is speeding. Or, two delivery trucks may collide when the defendant stops in the middle of traffic and the plaintiff makes an unsafe lane change. In situations like these, Texas law empowers the jurors to become mathematicians, in addition to factfinders. The Lone Star State is a modified comparative fault state, with a twist, in terms of contributory negligence. Plaintiffs may recover a portion of their damages depending on their percentage of fault.

How It Plays Out

In the first example above, assume that the jury determines damages to be $10,000 and the plaintiff to be 40 percent at fault, because the vehicle was traveling too fast to see the defendant and respond to a somewhat predictable emergency situation; on rural roads, it is not unheard of for cars to travel on the left side of the road, for one reason or another. So, the plaintiff would recover $6,000 (60 percent of $10,000).

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