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Earlier this month, six El Salvadoran citizens were killed and five others seriously injured in a Texas car accident. According to a local news report covering the tragic accident, the single-vehicle crash occurred when an SUV crashed into a roadside ditch near Robstown. Apparently, shortly before the accident, the vehicle was being pursued by police. However, law enforcement gave up on the pursuit due to the wet conditions. The SUV was traveling at estimated speeds of up to 50 miles per hour before the crash.

The authorities have not yet released several important details surrounding the fatal accident. For example, it is unclear what the basis of the traffic stop was and whether it justified a high-speed chase. Additionally, it is unknown how long after the authorities called off the chase the crash occurred. What is known is that the people involved in the accident were undocumented.

Because police gave up on the pursuit, they were not immediately aware of the accident, which was only reported after passers-by noticed two injured men walking along the side of the road. Once the crash was reported, emergency medical crews responded to the scene, removing several from the wreckage.

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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.

  1. 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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The state’s high court recently ruled in a Texas personal injury case involving the notice requirements in lawsuits against government entities. According to the court’s opinion, two individuals were riding on a motorcycle when they hit a large mound of dirt on an unlit asphalt road in Killeen, Texas. While both driver and passenger initially survived the crash, they ultimately died as a result of their injuries. The accident victims’ relatives sued the city, claiming that the mound of dirt was a “special defect” for which the city was responsible. The city argued that the plaintiffs failed to give formal notice of the claim, as required under the Texas Tort Claims Act. In response, the plaintiffs argued that the city already had actual notice of the claim and therefore the plaintiffs should be excused from providing additional notice.

Under section 101.101(a) of the Texas Tort Claims Act, a claimant must provide a government entity with notice of a claim against it within six months of the “incident giving rise to the claim.” The notice must describe the incident, the time and place where the incident occurred, and the damage or injury that resulted. However, under section 101.101(c), a claimant does not need to provide notice if the governmental entity has “actual notice” that the claimant was injured, the claimant’s property was damaged, or that a death has occurred.

In a 2004 Texas Supreme Court case, the court held in order to have actual notice, the government must be subjectively aware of its alleged fault in the resulting death, injury, or property damage. The plaintiffs argued that the case should be overturned because this requirement was not part of the statute. However, the court declined to overturn its previous decision, and held that in this case, the city had actual notice.

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In late June, seven motorcyclists were killed and four seriously injured in a tragic accident that occurred when a pickup truck inexplicably veered out of its lane and into oncoming traffic, crashing into a group of ten motorcycles. Since the fatal accident, reports have surfaced indicating that the driver of the pickup truck involved in that fatal collision was also involved in a number of other incidents, including a Texas truck accident a few weeks earlier.

According to a local news report, on June 3, 2019, just three weeks before the fatal motorcycle accident, police responded to reports of a crash on Interstate 10 in Baytown. When they arrived, officers found a red Mack truck rolled over onto its side. The driver of the truck told police that another motorist cut him off, and that he lost control of the truck when he attempted to avoid a collision. Police officers were unable to locate any sign of the other vehicle, but did not cite or arrest the truck driver because there was no indication of intoxication or any other wrongdoing. However, the man was fired after this incident.

After looking into the man’s record more closely, reporters discovered that he was arrested back in February of 2019 for possession of a crack pipe. The man was placed on a deferment, meaning that the charges would be dropped if he stayed out of trouble. Just a week before the fatal motorcycle accident, the charges were dropped.

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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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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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As the second largest state in the U.S., Texas has a diverse range of terrain making it a great state for recreationalists. However, in Texas, approximately 95% of all the land is privately owned and landowners are not required to allow others on their land. To encourage landowners to open up their property for the public’s recreational use, Texas lawmakers have passed a recreational use statute (RUS). Texas recreationalists should be aware of the state’s RUS, as it can limit an accident victim’s ability to recover for their injuries through a Texas premises liability lawsuit, even if their injuries were the result of a landowner’s negligence.

Texas Statutes Chapter 75 discusses limitations on a landowner’s liability. Collectively, these statutes constitute the Texas RUS. Specific to this discussion, sections 75.002 and 75.003 pertain to the private, non-agricultural land that is used for recreational purposes. The RUS defines recreational activity broadly, including hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, camping, hiking, exploring, bicycling, dog-walking, and “pleasure driving”, among other activities.

Under the Texas RUS, a landowner who gives permission for others to enter their property for recreational purposes does not assure that the property is safe and does not owe their guest any greater duty than they would owe to a trespasser. Similarly, the landowner cannot be held liable for any injuries that are caused by the guest while on their property.

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While any Texas car accident lawsuit has the potential to become very complicated, as a general rule the more parties that are involved in an accident, the more complex a subsequent personal injury case will be. In Texas, courts apply several doctrines to determine which accident victims are entitled to compensation for their injuries and the amount of compensation each at-fault party owes the plaintiff.

Under Texas’ comparative negligence law, an accident victim who is less than 51% at fault for causing the accident that resulted in their injuries can pursue claims for compensation against the other parties involved in the crash. After the case, the jury will assign each party, including the plaintiff, a percentage of fault. Under Section 33.013 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, each defendant is then liable only for their percentage of fault. Thus, a plaintiff may be required to recover several judgments to obtain full compensation for their injuries.

If, however, a defendant is more than 50% at fault, the defendant is considered jointly and severally liable for the plaintiff’s injuries. This means that, while a defendant who is more than 50% at fault is technically only responsible for their percentage of fault, at the plaintiff’s option, the defendant can be required to pay the full damages amount to the plaintiff. Then, the defendant would be able to pursue a claim against those defendants with a lesser percentage of fault. When joint-and-several liability applies, the burden of recovering on smaller judgments is shifted onto the defendant who is primarily responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries.

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The Texas Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in a Texas personal injury case involving the death of a 19-year-old pregnant woman who fell into a dam near Fort Worth. According to the court’s opinion, the woman tried to walk across the dam when she slipped and fell into the river and drowned. She was five months pregnant at the time. The woman’s parents sued the local water district, which built and maintained the dam, alleging that it was at fault for their daughter’s death. The water district, which is considered a governmental entity, claimed that it was immune from suit for that reason. The plaintiffs claimed that the district was not immune from suit because the claim fell under a specified waiver of immunity.

Governmental immunity generally protects political subdivisions of the state, including cities and counties. However, there are exceptions to the general rule of immunity. For example, the state is not immune for claims involving “use of publicly owned automobiles, premises defects, and injuries arising out of conditions or use of property.” Under section 101.056 of the Texas Tort Claims Act, there is an exception to waivers of immunity if the claim is based on:

(1) the failure of a governmental unit to perform an act that the unit is not required by law to perform; or

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Judges who preside over Texas personal injury cases have an immense amount of influence over the outcome of the case. While the judge is not usually the one who makes the ultimate determination regarding a defendant’s liability (that issue is reserved for the jury), judges make all pre-trial and evidentiary rulings that come up throughout the trial. Thus, it has been said that a judge creates the “landscape” in which a case is brought.

Of course, judges are elected officials who, at the end of the day, are human and can make mistakes. For this reason, the Texas court system allows a party who believes that a judge made a legal error during the proceedings to appeal the issue to a higher court. Typically, appellate courts will only review the issues that are raised on appeal, and will only hear claims that comply with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Appellate courts are designed to resolve conflicts between trial courts and to correct incorrect applications of the law. For example, if a court in Dallas is resolving an issue of state law differently than a court in San Antonio, an appellate court may decide to hear a case that presents the issue to clarify how the law should be interpreted. Also, appellate courts can reverse incorrect rulings that were made by trial judges.

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