Recent Blog Posts
Third Party Liability in Texas
The negligent driver may not be the only person responsible for your injuries in a serious car crash. There may be third party liability elements to your claim. If you were hurt in a wreck with a delivery truck, eighteen-wheeler, tour bus, taxicab, or any other commercial vehicle, the negligent driver’s employer may be vicariously liable. Respondeat Superior, or “let the master answer,” can be a very important tool for a plaintiff’s lawyer, especially if the driver was uninsured or underinsured.
The theory behind respondeat superior is that an employee is an agent of an employer, and since the employer controls the time, place, and manner of doing work, the employer should also be responsible for any torts.
Elements of a Claim
Texas courts have consistently held that, in order for respondeat superior to apply, employees must be acting within the course and scope of employment when the accident took place. Specifically, a negligent worker must be acting:
Elder Abuse: Nationwide Assisted Care Provider under Fire
A Texas-based nursing home company may soon find itself answering for allegedly abusive practices in a New Mexico courtroom. The company operates over 100 assisted living facilities in 12 states. The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office recently filed suit against the organization, alleging that low staffing levels led to abusive practices, including soiled beds and unattended emergency situations, such as falls. According to court documents, the nursing home facilities were deficient by as much as 50 percent on state assessment scores. The state recorded 450 complaints from 2011 to 2014, although only four of them resulted in actual cases. Since 2008, the nursing home company has collected over $236 million in revenue, with about 80 percent of that money coming from Medicare or Medicaid.
Nursing Home Abuse
Reliable statistics are very hard to ascertain, since so many elder abuse situations are unreported. Many seniors fear retaliation if they report abuse, or they do not want a relative or friend to “get into trouble.” About nine million cases a year are reported to authorities, and with the over 65 population set to explode in coming decades, incidents of abuse will almost surely escalate commensurately. Elder abuse can happen anywhere, whether in a care facility or in a private home. Some common examples include:
Negligent Driver Causes Major Downtown Crash
A serious collision between a passenger car and a pickup truck completely shut down a major downtown interchange, and authorities speculate that the negligent driver may have been distracted.
When first responders arrived at the scene, the truck driver was trapped inside his vehicle. Firefighters worked feverishly to free him. According to witnesses, the man appeared to be lost. He cut across several lanes before slamming into the back of another car, spinning out, and smashing into a retaining wall.
The driver was immobilized and rushed to a local hospital, but he is expected to survive.
Distracted Driving
Cell phones garner much attention in the ongoing debate over distracted driving laws and privacy rights, because these hand-held devices involve all three forms of distraction: motorists take their eyes off the road, take their hands off the wheel, and take their minds off driving. However, any one element can cause a serious crash.
Traumatic Brain Injury: Michigan Lineman Walks Away from Football
Starting center Jack Miller will not be lining up for the Wolverines, or anyone else, this coming fall. The 21-year-old senior from Perrysville, Ohio announced that he was leaving the sport due to brain injury fears.
Mr. Miller stated that he had one concussion in high school and as many as three more in 22 games, and 16 starts, at Michigan. He admitted that an incident last September, when team officials allowed quarterback Shane Morris to continue playing after he suffered an apparent concussion, had some bearing on his decision. Mr. Miller said that “this concussion thing” frightened him, adding that he was unsure whether or not he would allow a future son to play football. Mr. Miller was a three-year letterman who won the Hugh R. Rader Memorial Award as the team’s top offensive lineman following the 2014 season.
Distracted Driving: Many Teen Drivers Do Not Watch the Road
Distracted driving may be a much more significant element in the roughly one million car crashes per year involving teenage drivers than was previously believed. An American Automobile Association (AAA) study found that distracted driving is a factor in 58 percent of these collisions. Researchers examined nearly 7,000 video feeds from dash-mounted cameras which provided both a view out the windshield and a look at the driver. Nearly 1,700 videos involved a collision or a near-collision. Talking or messaging on a cellphone and speaking with a passenger were the two most common distractions. Other drivers were distracted by objects in the car, sights outside the car, singing or moving to music, reaching for an object inside the car, and grooming. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety CEO Peter Kissinger claimed that the study provided “indisputable evidence that teen drivers are distracted in a much greater percentage of crashes than we previously realized.” Some time ago, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration pegged the crash contribution figure at 14 percent.
Sudden Emergency Doctrine: Serious Truck-SUV Collision Raises Fault Questions
A teenager is dead after her car was rear-ended on the North Side, and although liability seems fairly clear, a jury may be asked to decide who was at fault for this car crash. According to the San Antonio Police Department, a Mitsubishi SUV pulled to a stop in the left lane of westbound Interstate 10 near Wurzbach Road after one of its tires blew out. On that stretch of highway, the left shoulder is not wide enough for a vehicle. A Ford F-150 apparently did not see the Mitsubishi and slammed into it from behind. A 19-year-old woman was in the Mitsubishi’s front passenger seat, and although she was rushed to University Hospital in critical condition, she was later pronounced dead.
The Mitsubishi’s driver was also injured, but that person is expected to survive. The collision occurred at about 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon.
Defective Product Accidents: Six People Injured after Tire Blowout
Four children were among the hurt in an East Side accident that may have involved a defective tire. Police state that six people were in the car when the driver lost control near the intersection of Northwest Loop 410 and Dietrich, apparently due to a blowout. All six occupants, including the mother father, and four children, ages 4, 6, 7, and 9, were transported to a local hospital following the rollover accident. Two of the more seriously-injured children were airlifted to University Hospital. One child stopped breathing at the scene, but first responders were able to revive this victim. All the injured people are expected to survive.
Defective Products
Around 7 percent of all personal injury cases in the United States involve a defective product, on one level or another. Sometimes, as in the above incident, the defective product is the sole cause of the plaintiff’s damages. The item may be a contributing factor in other cases; for example, a car’s tire may explode and the vehicle may slip on wet pavement. Although manufacturers have a legal duty to design and sell products that are safe for consumers, thousands of defective products are sold every day. Typically, injured victims may recover damages from the manufacturer if their injury was due to a:
Dram Shop Laws: Alcohol-Related Crash Raises Liability Questions
One woman is dead and two other people are in the hospital following a wrong-way collision on the South Side, and attorneys may soon be asking when and how the responsible driver became intoxicated.
Authorities state that the crash occurred near the intersection of South Presa Street and East Southcross Boulevard, when a southbound Dodge Ram pickup crossed the center line and smashed into a northbound Buick LeSabre. All three passengers inside the LeSabre – a 38-year-old woman, 1-year-old child, and a third unidentified victim – were rushed to local hospitals. The 38-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries and died on the operating table.
The pickup driver fled the scene on foot, but a witness brought him back to the accident scene. Authorities determined the man to be intoxicated, and charged him with DWI and failure to stop and render aid.
High Court Upholds Exclusive Remedy Doctrine
The Texas Supreme Court recently upheld the exclusive remedy doctrine by declaring that injured workers cannot sue insurance companies for egregious bad faith practices. This latest ruling not only reaffirms an earlier 1989 case; it also substantially extended the prior law, so victims no longer have any legal recourse even if the insurance company is guilty of malicious prosecution and misrepresentation. In Re Crawford stemmed from an Amarillo smelter explosion in 1998. The victim in this case suffered second- and third-degree burns on his neck, face, upper body, arms, and legs. His left arm was amputated and his right arm was permanently disfigured. As part of his ongoing rehabilitation, the man exercised for a couple of hours a day at a local gym. Investigators noticed that there were no electronic records of his attendance, so the state prosecuted him for workers’ compensation fraud. Gym personnel later testified that the man was unable to remove the swipe card from his wallet, so they opened the door for him. In a subsequent lawsuit, the man claimed that the company continually denied him benefits, in addition to prosecuting him maliciously. In a unanimous, unsigned opinion, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that “that the Division of Workers’ Compensation has exclusive jurisdiction over the [family’s] claims and the Workers’ Compensation Act provides their exclusive remedies.” In other words, injured workers can almost never pursue a tort action in civil court to obtain compensation for their non-economic injuries. Workers’ Compensation System These laws first appeared at the turn of the 20th century in the industrial Midwest. In exchange for no-fault insurance to cover workplace injuries, employees agreed to give up their right to sue in court for damages. But, mainly because of recent reforms that have chiseled away at benefits, there is some indication that this so-called “grand bargain” may be breaking down. If you were injured on the job, it is more important than ever to partner with an experienced lawyer, because the insurance company has the legal tools, and the financial incentive, to deny your claim. Workers’ compensation insurance in Texas still provides cash benefits for injuries due to:
Texas Mulls Cell Phone Ban
Should The Lone Star State join 44 other jurisdictions, and pass a law banning, or at least restricting, cell phone use while driving? One West Texas state representative hopes that the third time is the charm for a law that addresses a major cause of car crashes.
Now in his thirtieth year, Midland Republican Tom Craddick is the longest-serving member of the Texas House of Representatives. He was on the floor when the state passed its first seat belt law in 1985. Over the past several years, Rep. Craddick has shown a renewed interest in auto safety laws.
House Bill 80, which would ban talking or texting with a hand-held device while driving, is now pending for the third time. In 2011, then-Governor Rick Perry vetoed the measure. In a statement, he said that he agreed with the spirit of the law but considered it an unnecessary government intrusion into private lives. In 2013, H.B. 80 died in a Senate committee, probably for similar reasons. However, there has been some political turnover recently, so H.B. 80 supporters are optimistic.
Hire a Firm that
Works for You.
Award-Winning
James Bettersworth has been recognized as an Elite Lawyer since 2019.
25+ Years of Experience
Our firm knows how to win complex personal injury cases for our clients.
Hands-On Legal Process
We are always attentive to our clients' needs and available to answer their questions.
Call 830-606-0404 or contact us below
telephone
830-606-0404fax
830-626-1414follow us
From our office in New Braunfels, we serve clients throughout South Central Texas, including New Braunfels, San Antonio, Seguin, Bulverde, Kyle, Garden Ridge, Spring Branch, Comal County, San Marcos, Buda, Gonzalez, Karnes City, Karnes County, Converse, Selma, Universal City, Kerrville, Canyon Lake, Hays County, Schertz, Marion, and Guadalupe County.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
110 West Faust Street, New Braunfels, TX 78130
830-606-0404
