Smith County DWI Rear-End Collision Settles for $1.1 Million

On September 16, 2016, a sport utility vehicle carrying two plaintiffs was traveling on Mineola Highway in Smith County when its rear end was struck by a trailing pickup truck. The pickup truck was driven by a defendant employee. Following the collision, the defendant driver failed field sobriety tests, was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and was later convicted. A breath test two hours after the accident showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.176. One plaintiff claimed neck injuries, including disc herniations, while the other plaintiff reported back and hip injuries, including a herniated disc.

The plaintiffs subsequently filed a lawsuit against the defendant driver and the driver's employer. They alleged that the defendant driver was negligent and grossly negligent in operating the employer's vehicle. Furthermore, the plaintiffs claimed the employer was negligent and grossly negligent in its hiring and entrustment of the vehicle, citing the defendant driver's prior driving offenses, including a 1985 conviction and a 2010 arrest for DWI. The plaintiffs presented evidence that the employer allegedly failed to conduct criminal background checks or verify the driver's account of the 2010 incident, despite internal policies regarding DWI convictions.

The defendants acknowledged that the driver was within the course and scope of employment at the time of the accident and was solely responsible for the collision. However, the defense argued that the driver's prior convictions were too remote to establish negligent hiring or entrustment. The defense also disputed the extent of the plaintiffs' claimed injuries, asserting that medical records indicated rapid resolution of symptoms or that some conditions were pre-existing and unrelated to the accident. One plaintiff incurred approximately $190,000 in medical expenses, undergoing chiropractic care, epidural steroid injections, and a cervical discectomy and fusion. The other plaintiff incurred about $24,000 in medical expenses, received injections, and was recommended for lumbar surgery.

The case concluded in mediation with a settlement of $1.1 million. The defendants had two insurance policies from the same carrier, totaling $2 million in coverage.