Harris County Jury Awards $18,260 for Motor Vehicle Negligence

On August 22, 2019, an incident occurred on Spring Cypress Road in Harris County, Texas, when a defendant driver, operating a vehicle within the course of employment for a corporate defendant, pulled out of a private driveway and struck the passenger side rear of a plaintiff driver's vehicle. The defendant driver allegedly failed to yield the right of way while attempting to enter eastbound traffic lanes. The plaintiff driver and a minor plaintiff filed a lawsuit, alleging the defendant driver was negligent by failing to maintain a proper lookout, yield, and control the vehicle. Plaintiffs also claimed violations of the Texas Transportation Code, constituting negligence per se and gross negligence.

The plaintiffs additionally alleged the corporate defendant was negligent in its training, supervision, and investigation of the driver's history, and for fostering unsafe driving practices, including allowing cell phone use while driving. They sought damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, property damage to the vehicle (which was a total loss), and punitive damages. The defendants filed a general denial and asserted comparative negligence, arguing the plaintiff driver's own actions contributed to or were the sole cause of the incident, and that the plaintiff driver failed to mitigate damages. During discovery, the court granted the plaintiffs' motion to compel and later sanctioned the corporate defendant for failing to appear for a court-ordered deposition.

The case proceeded to trial, and on June 7, 2021, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. The jury awarded the adult plaintiff $500 and an additional $7,260 in general damages against the defendant driver. The minor plaintiff received $10,500 in general damages against the defendant driver. Following the jury verdict, the case was terminated, likely through a settlement between the parties.