Automobile Accidents

Published on: December 23, 2019

Accident Injury Report – Drunk Driver Crashes into Elderly Woman’s House El Paso

El Paso, Texas (December 23, 2019) – An elderly woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after another woman crashed into her home early Monday morning. At about 1AM on December 23, Margaret Cantu (41) was speeding south on Junction Avenue at Kenworthy Street in northeast El Paso when she lost control of her SUV, hit a rock wall, and then crashed into the bedroom of Rurkio Denison (87) while she was sleeping. Denison sustained critical injuries and was taken to University Medical Center in serious condition. There were also 2 other unnamed parties injured in the incident. Cantu has been charged with Intoxication Assault and is currently being held on bail at the El Paso County jail.

Drunk Driving in Texas

In 2018 there was a total of 773 drunk driving related accidents in the city of El Paso with 33 of those resulting in serious injuries. El Paso ranks 5th in the state with these types of alcohol related crashes, coming in behind Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin. Statewide, driving under the influence is one of the top ten reasons for accidents in Texas(TX Dept of Transportation). Drunk Driving accidents ruin the lives of thousands of people each year by injury or death across the U.S. For more information about the specific statistics for your city, visit the Texas Department of Transportation.

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Published on: December 19, 2019

Accident Injury Report – Tyler County Horse Trailer Accident

By Carabin Shaw

TYLER COUNTY, SATURDAY Dec. 14: A multi-vehicle accident over the weekend in northeast Tyler County sent two people to the hospital with serious injuries. The Hyundai driver, Cora Goneau, 36, failed to yield the right of way to the GMC pickup truck which was towing a horse trailer. The car turned onto Highway 92 in the path of the GMC. Driver Cora Goneauand and her passenger Joseph Griffith, 31, were taken to Baptist Hospital Beaumont with serious injuries. Laramie Dunn, 21, driver of GMC truck – sustained minor injuries. Two horses and six dogs traveling in the vehicles were not injured.

The truck towing a horse trailer was eastbound on Highway 190, while the Hyundai car was traveling westbound. The collision happened at the intersection of U.S. Highway 190 at State Highway 92, just west of Exxon Dam B convenience store, at about 2:00 Saturday afternoon. The GMC pickup truck then struck a Chevrolet Trailblazer and a Ford pickup truck before crashing into the convenience store wall.

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Google Street View

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Published on: November 15, 2019

Court Addresses Recreational Use Statute and Governmental Immunity in Texas Bike Accident Case

By Carabin Shaw

The Supreme Court of Texas recently released an opinion addressing the state’s recreational use statute (RUS) and governmental immunity laws after a plaintiff sued the University of Texas at Austin for negligence. The plaintiff filed a personal injury claim against the University after an employee struck her with a University-owned car while she was riding her bike. The woman suffered various injuries, including bruises, fractures, and facial cuts. The employee admitted that his view was partially blocked, and he failed to see the biker. However, the school argued that it was not liable based on the RUS and Tort Claims Act (TCA).

Historically, citizens could not sue governmental entities for any injuries they suffered because of the government or their agent’s negligence. However, the TCA partially waives Texas’s sovereign immunity in specific cases. The TCA allows individuals to sue governmental agencies if, the government employee was acting within the scope of their employment, the claim was filed within the statute of limitations, and the at-fault party was not acting in response to an emergency.

The RUS provides that landowners who make their property available for recreational use owe only a limited duty of care to those who use their land. Property owners in these cases must only refrain from acting grossly negligently or intentionally injuring people who use their land for recreational use. Texas broadly defines “recreational use,” as any activity that is related to “enjoying the outdoors.” This includes activities such as, camping, biking, water activities, hunting, fishing, using a swing set, and golfing. Landowners can only assert this defense if they do not charge a fee or if they meet specific monetary guidelines. If a landowner charges a fee, they cannot benefit from the RUS unless the total payments they collected the previous year were less than 20 times the property tax. In instances where the RUS intersects with the TCA, plaintiffs must establish that the governmental entity was grossly negligent, acted maliciously, or in bad faith.

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Published on: July 8, 2019

Ten Things to Do Following a Texas Car Accident

By Carabin Shaw

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, each year 17,500 people are seriously injured in Texas car accidents. Human nature is such that most of us operate under the assumption that we will never be included in that statistic. However, the reality is that a car accident occurs in Texas every 59 seconds, and someone is injured in an accident nearly every two minutes.

Knowing what to do in the aftermath of a serious car accident is essential knowledge that all drivers should possess. The moments after a car accident are incredibly stressful, and many motorists go into autopilot mode, relying on their instincts rather than thinking through the situation as they usually would. Thus, it is important that Texas motorists commit the following essential “to dos” to memory.

Stop, even if it wasn’t your fault – Even in the event of a minor accident, stop to evaluate the damage. The body has a remarkable way of masking pain in the moments immediately following a traumatic event. Motorists who brush off a minor accident may wake up a few days later with significant pain or other related issues.

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Published on: April 29, 2019

Understanding Texas Car Insurance

By Carabin Shaw

Those who have been involved in a Texas car accident understand that the road to recovery entails more than just the healing of physical wounds. Being involved in a serious car accident takes an emotional toll on accident victims for several reasons, including the stress and potential difficulties that an accident victim may encounter when trying to obtain fair compensation for their injuries.

All drivers in Texas are required to maintain a certain amount of car insurance. Specifically, motorists must obtain a policy with coverage for at least $30,000 per person ($60,000 per accident) and $25,000 for personal property. These limits refer to the amount that the insurance company will cover for an accident caused by the insured.

Many Texas car accidents, however, result in damages far in excess of these limits. In these cases, an injured motorist may file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company as well as with their own insurance company, under the underinsured motorist (UIM) provision.

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Published on: April 29, 2019

$125 Million Lawsuit Filed against The Weather Channel Following Fatal Texas “Storm Chasers” Car Accident

By Carabin Shaw

Earlier this month, a lawsuit was filed against The Weather Channel based on a 2017 Texas car accident that claimed the lives of all three men involved. According to a recent news report, the lawsuit seeks $125 million for the wrongful death of the accident victim, and was filed against The Weather Channel because the accident was allegedly caused by two of its employees.

Back in March of 2017, two storm chasers were filming footage for The Weather Channel show, “Storm Wranglers.” According to the plaintiff’s complaint, their vehicle ran a stop sign and collided with the vehicle of a 25-year-old storm spotter who was employed by the National Weather Service. At the time of the accident, it is claimed that the men were traveling at approximately 70 miles per hour. The force from the crash propelled the satellite equipment atop one of the vehicles over a five-foot fence, ultimately landing 150 feet away from the scene of the accident. All three men died as a result of the collision.

Family members of the deceased accident victim filed a case against The Weather Channel, claiming that the two men had a “well-documented history of dangerous behavior behind the wheel” that the Channel ignored and may have even encouraged. Family members claimed that The Weather Channel had knowledge of the men’s poor driving habits and encouraged them to run stop signs and violate other traffic laws to obtain exciting footage that could be included in the show. The complaint further alleges that The Weather Channel had ample opportunity to replace the men with “competent, law-abiding” drivers, but failed to do so.

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Published on: December 11, 2018

The Legal Doctrine of Negligent Entrustment in Texas Car Accident Cases

By Carabin Shaw

One of the first considerations in a Texas car accident case is which of the parties involved should be named as defendants. This is an important decision for several reasons. First, failing to name a potentially liable party could result in the named defendants shifting blame onto the unnamed party. Second, given the low insurance requirements in Texas, an accident victim can very easily sustain more serious injuries than can be recovered under a single insurance policy.

Of course, only parties that were potentially negligent can be named in a Texas personal injury case. However, it is a common misconception that the at-fault driver is the only negligent party. In many cases, an at-fault driver was not the owner of the vehicle involved in the accident and was permitted to use the vehicle by a friend, family member, or employer. This is where the doctrine of negligent entrustment comes in.

The doctrine of negligent entrustment allows an injury victim to hold the owner of a vehicle liable for negligently allowing another person to use the vehicle. Under Texas case law, a plaintiff must be able to establish:

The owner entrusted the vehicle to the driver;
The driver was unlicensed, reckless, or incompetent;
The owner knew the driver was unlicensed, reckless, or incompetent;
The driver was negligent; and
The driver’s negligence caused the plaintiff’s injuries.

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Published on: December 11, 2018

The Impact of Traffic Tickets in Texas Car Accident Cases

By Carabin Shaw

In some Texas car accident cases, one or more drivers involved in the accident may be issued a traffic citation, causing some to wonder what impact that could have on a subsequent personal injury claim. Under Texas law, a motor vehicle driver must exercise reasonable care under the circumstances presented. This means that the level of care that is required in ordinary circumstances may not be sufficient in other situations. For example, the reasonable care required may be different when it is raining or snowing, or while driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

If a driver is issued a citation for a traffic violation, some evidence concerning the violation may be able to be used in a Texas personal injury claim. If a driver violates a traffic law or similar statute, evidence of that violation may constitute negligence per se, or negligence as a matter of law. However, the violation of a statute does not always mean there will be a finding of negligence per se. If the court determines that the defendant was negligent per se, then the jury will be instructed that is the case and the only issues for the jury to determine are causation and damages.

Texas courts consider various factors in determining whether a violation of the statute constitutes per se liability, including whether the plaintiff’s injury is due to a direct or indirect violation of the statute, and whether the statute would impose liability without fault.

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Published on: December 11, 2018

Proportionate Liability in Texas Personal Injury Cases

By Carabin Shaw

Determining fault in a Texas car accident can be a very complex matter, depending on the surrounding circumstances. While some accidents involve few parties and present straightforward issues, other cases involve complex fact patterns that require judges and juries to consider and apply numerous legal doctrines.

One of the more common issues that can arise in a Texas personal injury lawsuit that may make the case more complicated is the presence of multiple parties, each of which shares some amount of fault in causing an accident. A common example of this type of case is a Texas chain reaction accident.

In these cases, Texas courts apply what is commonly known as the doctrine of comparative fault. In Texas, however, the doctrine is referred to as “proportionate liability.” Chapter 33 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code discusses proportionate liability and how it applies in Texas personal injury cases.

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Published on: October 19, 2018

Court Finds State Liable for Injuries Caused by Drop-off on Road’s Edge

By Carabin Shaw

Texas plaintiffs can have difficulty bringing claims against a governmental entity due to governmental immunity. However, there are many exceptions to governmental immunity that allow plaintiffs to bring claims against governmental entities. In a recent case before a Texas appeals court, the court upheld a claim against the Texas Department of Transportation after the plaintiff was involved in a car accident.

The plaintiff was driving a tractor-trailer on Highway 83 traveling toward Laredo. Another tractor-trailer stopped in front him, and he slowed and went onto the shoulder to avoid colliding with the tractor-trailer. The plaintiff hit an 8 ¾ inch drop-off between the shoulder and the ground. One of the truck’s tires went onto the ground and as the plaintiff tried to bring the tire back onto the shoulder, the tire popped, causing the tractor-trailer to tip over onto its side. The plaintiff brought a premises liability claim against the Texas Department of Transportation, but the Department argued that it was immune from suit. A jury found the Department was negligent, and the court awarded the plaintiff $250,000 in damages. The Department appealed the decision, arguing again it was immune from suit.

Governmental Immunity under Texas Law

Governmental immunity protects the political subdivisions of the state from suit, such as counties, cities, and school districts. A Texas governmental entity is normally immune from lawsuit unless specifically waived under Texas law. The plaintiff has the burden of showing how immunity has been waived. Governmental immunity is waived for certain claims under the Texas Tort Claims Act.

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