Texas Injury Lawyers Blog

Published on: September 12, 2019

Texas Supreme Court Holds Notice Requirement Was Met in Governmental Tort Lawsuit

Recently, the Supreme Court of Texas issued an opinion stemming from a wrongful death lawsuit brought against the City of Killeen, Texas (the “City”). According to the court’s opinion, the victims died after striking an un-barricaded dirt mound on an unlit road in the City. The victims’ relatives filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that the dirt mound was a “special defect” on the City’s property.

Generally, under the theory of sovereign immunity, governments cannot be sued by their citizens based on a tort claim. However, the Texas Tort Claims Act (TTCA) allows citizens to sue the government in specific situations. The TTCA enables personal injury lawsuits based on two grounds. First, when a citizen suffers property damage, personal injury, or death from a Texas employee’s use or operation of a motor vehicle during their scope of employment. And second, if personal injury or death occurs because of a condition or use of personal or real government property.

To succeed on the second ground, the TTCA breaks down the claim into two additional classes: special and premise defects. Special defects, such as the one that was alleged in the above case, are conditions created by the government. These are conditions such as excavations and construction sites. Premises defect lawsuits often mirror typical personal injury lawsuits such as slip and fall cases. Unlike special defect lawsuits, premises liability lawsuit requires the defendant to have actual knowledge of the defect.

Continue reading →

Published on: August 21, 2019

Texas Personal Injury Case Dismissed Due to Plaintiff’s Use of Drugs While Driving

By Carabin Shaw

A Texas appeals court recently considered a wrongful death case in which a Texas man was killed in an accident on the job. The man was involved in a single-vehicle accident involving a 1987 Freightliner, and died shortly after the accident occurred. The man was acting within the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident. The employer was a nonsubscriber under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act, and the plaintiff, the man’s husband, filed suit against the defendant for negligence and gross negligence. The employer argued that it was not liable because the man was intoxicated at the time of the accident. After a hearing, a trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the employer.

Under the Texas summary judgment standard, the party moving for summary judgment has the burden to prove that there is no genuine issue of material fact on at least one essential issue and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. If the moving party succeeds in satisfying its burden, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to show that an issue or evidence should preclude summary judgment. In addition, all motions for summary judgment must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.

On appeal, the plaintiff argued that summary judgment should not have been granted because there were genuine issues of material fact concerning whether the man was legally intoxicated when the accident occurred. In support of its defense, the employer submitted an autopsy report and a toxicology report. The autopsy report showed that there was amphetamine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl in the man’s blood when he died. A doctor’s report stated that the amount found reflected a “voluntary introduction” of the drugs.

Continue reading →

Published on: August 21, 2019

Tragic Texas Head-On Car Accident Involving Five Vehicles Results in Two Deaths

By Carabin Shaw

Texas drivers have a duty to drive carefully, as well as to respond to dangerous situations in a reasonable and thoughtful manner. This means that Texas personal injury plaintiffs may be able to recover compensation if another party fails to operate a vehicle with due care or act reasonably, even when that party is responding to a dangerous situation.

Under Texas law, the sudden emergency doctrine (or the imminent peril doctrine) concerns the response of a defendant to a sudden and unexpected emergency. A defendant may be protected under the doctrine only if the defendant can prove the following. First, that there was a sudden and unexpected emergency, and that someone was in actual or apparent danger of immediate injury. Second, that the defendant did not cause the sudden and unexpected emergency. Third, that the defendant acted as a reasonably careful person would have acted under the circumstances, even if another course of action would have been safer. The doctrine is applicable if a driver who was acting with reasonable care was suddenly and unexpectedly confronted by an emergency situation that the defendant did not cause. Essentially, it protects a person who acts in response to a sudden emergency, and it later becomes clear that another course of action would have avoided an injury.

However, the doctrine applies only in cases where an unexpected physical danger comes about that is so sudden that it deprives the driver of the ability to use reasonable judgment. In addition, a party cannot be protected by the doctrine if that party’s negligence caused or contributed to the dangerous situation.

Continue reading →

Published on: August 21, 2019

Recovering after a Texas Pharmacy Error

By Carabin Shaw

Texas patients have to put a great deal of trust in their health care providers. This includes pharmacists, who are responsible for safely and correctly filling and dispensing medications. Texas pharmacy errors can be devastating for victims and their families.

According to a local news source, an Austin woman suffered a terrible injury after receiving a shot from a compounding pharmacy. The woman has a genetic disorder that causes her seizures, which she was able to control several years ago when doctors prescribed her a specific shot. Compounding pharmacies tailor medicine for their patients in cases where those people cannot take a standard drug as manufactured. The woman took her prescription to a compounding pharmacy, and was given the medication in the form of a specific B-12 shot. She received over 250 rounds of the medicine without incident.

Recently, the woman received her tailored shot, and felt a burning sensation. She then developed a headache, dizziness, and disorientation. She looked in a mirror and at that point saw that the shot had burned her skin “and was going deeper.” She went to the emergency room, but because she also had Stage 3 breast cancer she was unable to receive anesthesia because of potential contamination—so, she was forced to do the procedure to scrape out the burn completely awake. A dermatologist said that it was a chemical burn, and lab results showed that the B-12 had a pH level of 13.2, similar to that of bleach. She continued to undergo treatment for the burn to scrape out the wound. The patient, a mom of three, said the pain was extreme, and continued to experience pain at home.

Continue reading →

Published on: August 21, 2019

E-cigarettes and Vaporizers Present Serious Risks to Texas Adolescents

By Carabin Shaw

Smoking has long been known to present serious health risks to young adults. However, when the use of e-cigarettes, also known as vape pens, became popular a few years back, many young adults assumed that this new form of smoking was safer than traditional cigarettes. For several reasons, that is not the case. In fact, e-cigarette and vape pen accidents have been the basis of many Texas personal injury lawsuits.

Since the U.S. Fire Administration began keeping track of e-cigarette injuries in 2009, there have been 195 documented incidents of vape pens exploding. These incidents injured 133 people, and of those, 38 people required hospitalization as a result of their injuries. Most of these injuries consisted of chemical burns and blast injuries to the face, hands, thighs, and groin.

Vaping presents many of the same risks as smoking traditional cigarettes, and also carries several unique risks. For example, according to a recent report by WebMD, in 2018, a vape pen exploded in a teen’s face, breaking his jaw. Apparently, the pen exploded during regular use.

Continue reading →

Published on: July 8, 2019

Texas Supreme Court Considers Property Owner’s Liability to Independent Contractors

By Carabin Shaw

The state’s high court recently released an opinion in a Texas wrongful death case involving the death of an employee that worked for an independent contractor that was hired by the defendant property owner. The issue in the case was whether the property owner could be held liable for the employee’s death based on a theory of negligently hiring.

According to the court’s opinion, the property owner was an energy company that had hired a drilling company as a contractor to drill a well. A drilling company employee died while working on the well. He was working on the well when a rope caught on a pulley, causing a pipe to hit the employee in the head, which eventually resulted in his death. The employee’s family sued the energy company, alleging that the energy company negligently hired, retained, and supervised the drilling company.

A property owner can be held liable for a claim that harms an independent contractor or the contractor’s employees if the property owner controlled the work and knew or should have known of the risk or danger that caused the contractor harm. Under Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a property owner can be held liable for an injury to a contractor that is repairing, renovating, constructing, or modifying property, but only if the property owner controlled the work and “had actual knowledge of the danger or condition.”

Continue reading →

Published on: July 8, 2019

Texas Workplace Injury Lawsuits

By Carabin Shaw

When a Texas employee is injured on the job, they may be able to obtain Texas workers’ compensation benefits until they are able to return to work. However, a workers’ compensation claimant is limited in the amount they can recover for their injuries. Typically, an injured worker can only recover for their medical expenses and lost wages.

A Texas personal injury claim, on the other hand, allows for an injured employee to recover more fully for their injuries, including for their pain and suffering. However, under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act, when a workers’ compensation claim is appropriate, it is usually the employee’s sole remedy against their employer. This means that an injured employee may be prevented from pursuing a personal injury case against their employer.

There are several instances in which an injured employee may be able to pursue a Texas personal injury case against one or more parties. For example, if a third party causes an employee’s injuries, the employee may be able to pursue a Texas third-party claim against that person or organization. Third-party claims do not implicate Texas workers’ compensation laws because the named defendant is not the injured worker’s employer.

Continue reading →

Published on: July 8, 2019

Texas Woman Seriously Injured after Pharmacy Error

By Carabin Shaw

Medical errors are consistently ranked as one of the leading causes of accidental death in the United States. While there are many different types of medical errors that contribute to this startling statistic, one of the most common types of mistakes is medication error.

A Texas medication error is typically the result of a pharmacist, nurse, or another medical professional, providing a patient with medication that was not intended for the patient. It may be that the nurse mistook one drug for another with a similar name, or that a pharmacist missed a decimal point when dosing a prescription. In any event, medical professionals are human and, as a result, make mistakes. When mistakes are made, patients suffer.

Two years ago, an Austin woman was given a prescription that was 54,000% stronger than the medication that was prescribed by her doctor. According to a local news report covering the error, as well as the woman’s recovery, the woman suffers from a rare disorder called Hashimoto’s disease that causes her immune system to attack her thyroid. As a result, the woman’s thyroid does not make sufficient levels of hormones.

Continue reading →

Published on: July 8, 2019

Employer Liability in Texas Car Accident Cases

By Carabin Shaw

One of the most critical decisions a Texas car accident victim must make when pursuing a claim for compensation is which parties should be named as defendants. Naming all potentially liable parties is important for several reasons. First, plaintiffs typically only get “one bite at the apple,” meaning that an injury victim can only bring one case based on their injuries. It is the plaintiff’s responsibility to name all potentially liable parties, and if an essential party is not named a plaintiff will not likely be able to file a subsequent lawsuit against the unnamed party. Thus, a plaintiff should name all potentially liable parties because a failure to do so could result in the named defendants shifting a portion of the fault for the accident onto a non-present party.

Another important reason for naming all potentially liable parties is to increase the likelihood that a successful plaintiff will be able to collect on an award. Serious Texas personal injury cases can result in substantial monetary damages. Often, individuals may not have sufficient assets to fully compensate a successful plaintiff and, in some cases, they may not carry enough insurance coverage. By naming additional parties, a plaintiff has the ability to collect a damages award from several parties, increasing the chance that the plaintiff will be able to collect the entirety of what she is entitled to.

Texas Woman Killed When Delivery Truck Runs Red Light

Continue reading →

Published on: July 8, 2019

Texas Supreme Court Determines Off-Duty Officer Was Immune from Liability in Recent Wrongful Death Lawsuit

By Carabin Shaw

In May 2019, the state’s high court issued a written opinion in a Texas wrongful death case discussing whether an off-duty officer could be held individually liable after he shot and killed a suspect while attempting an arrest outside the officer’s jurisdiction. Under the state’s election-of-remedies provision of the Texas Tort Claims Act, the court determined that the officer could not be held liable in his individual capacity.

Under the election-of-remedies provision of the Texas Tort Claims Act, government employees cannot be held individually liable for injuries they cause to others under certain circumstances. Specifically, an injured victim cannot hold a government employee personally liable when: 1.) the employee’s actions were conducted within the scope of their employment, and 2.) the case could have been brought against the government.

According to the court’s recitation of the facts, the plaintiffs’ son was shot and killed by an off-duty officer (the defendant) during an attempted arrest that occurred outside the defendant’s jurisdiction. The plaintiffs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officer in his individual capacity.

Continue reading →

Texas Injury Lawyer Blog