Articles Posted in Automobile Accidents

In a tragic set of circumstances, a newlywed couple died in Prosper, Texas after slamming into each other’s car head on.

Nicolas Cruz, age 31, and Kristina Munoz, age 26, were both employed at the same egg farm, Mahard Pullet Farm, but reportedly drove separate cars due to their different schedules. Around 10 am that morning, Cruz drove northbound on County Road 87 in his 1990 Mazda pickup truck, while Munoz drove southbound in a 1999 Saturn. Local investigators state that Cruz had reached the top of a hill when he collided with his wife, who was headed down. Although they are still trying to piece together what happened, investigators believe that Munoz drifted across the center divide into her husband’s path. They noted that County Road 87 is a very narrow, blacktop county road near the Oklahoma border, without highway markings or any central stripe to separate the two directions. Moreover, it lacks any side shoulders that could have allowed for one car to swerve and miss the other.

Neither member of the couple was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision, and there were no indications of skid marks. First responders and fire teams needed to use special tools in order to extricate Cruz and Munoz from their cars. They were both pronounced dead at the scene. Cruz and Munoz leave behind three young children, two boys and a girl. Relatives and friends in the small Texas town of Chillicothe left messages on Munoz’s Facebook page, stating that she and Cruz would always be in their hearts.

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Recently, the Texas Court of Appeals of the Fifth District ruled against a plaintiff who had been injured by a car accident due to the statute of limitations having elapsed.

In Weeks v. Cockrum, Terry Weeks filed a lawsuit following a car accident in September 2009, claiming that the defendant had operated her vehicle in a negligent manner. Less than two years after the accident, Cockrum temporarily left the state from June 16, 2011 to June 19, 2011. Then in September 2011, Weeks filed the lawsuit against Cockrum. Cockrum denied Weeks’s claims and argued that Weeks was barred from bringing a lawsuit by the statute of limitations. The accident had occurred on September 15, 2009, and Weeks had filed the complaint on September 19, 2011. Weeks countered that because Cockrum had left the state, a tolling provision in place extended the statute of limitations for the three days he was gone. The trial court ruled in favor of Cockrum and Weeks appealed.

The Court of Appeals first examined the state’s two-year statute of limitations, which states that the limitations begin to run in a personal injury case at the time of injury, whether or not the injured [arty was aware of the injury. At the same time, the Texas legislature also created a tolling provision that lengthened the time to file a lawsuit under certain circumstances. These circumstances include “the absence from this state of a person against whom a cause of action may be maintained.” That said, while Cockrum did leave the state, the Court of Appeals noted that Weeks never seemed to be aware of his circumstances, and there was no evidence that Cockrum could not have been served otherwise.

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Ethan Couch continues to cause outrage after getting a judicial slap on the wrist for killing four people and seriously injuring one. However, one family hopes that bringing him to trial will force him to be accountable.

Couch receiving probation for his crimes based, in part, on his wealthy parents’ vow to shoulder the cost of a $450,000 per year treatment program. Yet now it appears that they will not need to pay that cost at all. Instead, Couch has been sent to a state hospital in Vernon, where the daily charge is $715. But Couch’s parents’ cost will be just $1,170 per month — or five percent of the overall treatment costs. As for who pays for the remaining $20,000 per month, that falls on the taxpayers.

Meanwhile, families of the victims have reached settlement agreements with the Couch family, except for that of 13-year old Lucas McConnell. Lucas and his family were dear friends with one of the victims, youth pastor Brian Jennings.

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Recently, an injured driver sued the other party for causing the accident allegedly due to texting while driving. Ramon Renteria was traveling north on State Highway 6 near Township Lane in Missouri City when he was allegedly rear ended by a vehicle owned by Even Gardner. Renteria claims that Gardner was sending and receiving texts on his cell phone when the accident occurred. As a result of the accident, Renteria allegedly suffered personal injuries, medical bills, and damage to his vehicle. He seeks monetary relief, including penalties, expenses, and attorney’s fees.

Lawsuits like the one filed by Renteria have come against a backdrop of state officials trying to crack down on texting while driving. Currently Texas is one of just nine states that does not ban texting for all drivers. While a bipartisan bill that banned texting reached Governor Rick Perry’s desk, he vetoed the bill due to an expressed belief that it was overreach. Instead, this state has bans targeting select groups: bus drivers, novice drivers, and drivers in school zones. However, there are plans to introduce another bill that bans texting, and several cities have already done so, including Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio.

Other cities, like Houston, and counties like Rusk County, have found some success through awareness campaigns. While in 2013, Rusk County experienced the deaths of nearly 30 people in roadside accidents, so far there have been no fatal accidents in 2014. That is due in part to an increased awareness campaign by organizations like Pay Attention East Texas (PAET), which is dedicated to promoting safe driving through public education.

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Recently, in Gracia v. Davis, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District ruled that a trial court’s directed verdict granting Curtis Davis damages should be overturned and a new trial on damages held. The trial court had granted Davis $17,400 for past medical expenses, while the jury awarded Davis another $300,000 for past and future medical expenses.

The events began in May 2008, when Jesus Gracia rear-ended a Ford Explorer Davis was driving while Gracia was using his cell phone. During the ensuing trial, Gracia filed a written stipulation to his liability and testified that he had been the cause of the accident, which left damages the case’s only contested issue. Following the accident, Davis drove himself to the hospital, where he told them of pain in his back, neck, and shoulder. Davis was given prescriptions for Tramadol and Flexeril, as well as discharge instructions for medical strain. Then two weeks later, Davis visited Dr. Glenn Smith, a chiropractor, who gave him several treatments and diagnostic examinations of his back, neck, and shoulders. Although an MRI taken that August did not reveal any disc bulges or hernias, Davis continued to receive treatment for a four months total, until he reached a “plateau” in September.

Davis continued to take pain medication and had difficulty performing his job duties at a Wal-Mart distribution center, which required constant lifting, pushing, pulling, and carrying tools, equipment, and supplies, some weighing up to 60 pounds. Davis found the work so demanding that sometimes he could not come in the next day because of the pain. Davis never disclosed to him employer that he had been in a car accident. He stopped using his pain medication due to work policy requirements and returned to Dr. Smith for pain treatment. Dr. Smith found that he had exacerbated his injuries due to increased activity at his new job and that he suffered from “soft tissue injuries” that would get worse as he aged.

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