Four young women from North Central Texas College were killed in a motor vehicle accident in 2014. Several others were seriously injured. The women were all members of a college softball team, and they were on their way home from a sporting event in Oklahoma. The National Transportation Safety Board…
One of the core components of the American legal system is the right to a trial by jury. While not every civil lawsuit triggers a jury trial, those that do sometimes come with a myriad of issues that the jury must resolve. In a car accident case, for instance, the jury…
Many issues, including proportionate responsibility (sometimes known as contributory negligence or comparative fault), can arise in a vehicle accident case. Recently, a Texas appeals court was asked to consider this issue, along with several evidentiary issues, after an accident involving an armored truck left a man with serious injuries. The…
Although any motor vehicle accident case can be contentious, those resulting from 18-wheeler wrecks are particularly so. This is because semi-truck wrecks so often result in staggering medical expenses and other damages for those who are hurt by a trucker or trucking company’s negligence. In order to protect the sizable financial…
In some cases proceeding under Texas negligence law, the doctrine of respondeat superior can be used hold an employer vicariously liable for the tortious acts of a servant. This includes situations in which an employee’s negligent operation of an automobile results in injuries to an innocent motorist or passenger. Of course,…
In lawsuits involving tractor-trailer accidents, it is often to the plaintiff’s advantage to name as many potential defendants as possible, including the owner of the truck and the truck driver’s employer, if they are different entities. This is because the doctrine of vicarious liability can serve to hold not only…
Personal injury lawsuits, such as those arising from automobile accidents, are most often based on a theory of negligence. In order to be successful in a negligence lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove each of the four elements of negligence by a preponderance of the evidence. These elements are duty, breach of…
Fatigued driving is one of the leading causes of truck accidents in east Texas and across the nation. Although regulations are in place limiting a trucker’s daily and weekly working hours, not all truckers or trucking companies obey the law. Instead, they falsify log books and other records to make it seem as…
A car accident lawsuit involves three distinct phases: pre-trial discovery, trial, and post-trial proceedings (including, in some cases, an appeal). During discovery, each party has an opportunity to discover facts and theories about the other’s case. The idea is that full disclosure will encourage settlement, and it often does. However, although…
It can take a long time for victims of truck and car accidents to receive fair compensation for injuries suffered in a crash caused by a negligent or reckless driver. In addition to time spent in the discovery and trial phases of litigation, a party who is not satisfied with…