Harris County, Texas Court Awards $683,751 in Rear-End Collision

In October 2017, a male plaintiff operating a vehicle with a female plaintiff as a passenger was rear-ended on Chimney Rock Road in Harris County, Texas. The defendant driver, operating a taxi owned by defendant transportation companies, allegedly struck the plaintiffs' vehicle without warning. The plaintiffs later filed a motor vehicle negligence action, asserting the defendant driver was negligent due to inattentiveness, failure to control speed, and improper braking. They also claimed the defendant companies were negligent in entrusting the vehicle to an unlicensed and unsafe driver.

As a result of the collision, the male plaintiff sustained a broad-based disc herniation in his cervical spine and disc protrusions in his lumbar spine, requiring injections and future spinal surgery. The female plaintiff suffered cervical disc protrusions and bulges with radiculopathy, along with thoracic and lumbar sprain and strain. The defendants generally denied all allegations of negligence and injury.

The plaintiffs moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability, which the court granted. The defendants subsequently failed to appear for trial and were found to be in default. The court then found in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding the male plaintiff total damages of $353,734.45 and the female plaintiff total damages of $333,017.25, for a combined verdict of $683,751.70.