Texas Jury Issues Defense Verdict in Car Crash, Plaintiff Pays $35K

On June 18, 2018, a motor vehicle accident occurred when the defendant driver, operating a vehicle for the corporate defendant, allegedly changed lanes unsafely and collided with the plaintiff's vehicle at high speed. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit claiming the collision caused severe injuries to her head, neck, back, and other body parts. The plaintiff alleged the driver was negligent and grossly negligent, and that the corporate defendant was negligent in its hiring, training, supervision, retention, monitoring, and entrustment of a vehicle to the driver.

Before trial, the court partially granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment, dismissing certain negligence claims. The case then proceeded to trial, where expert witnesses provided testimony. The jury received instructions on negligence, ordinary care, and proximate cause, and was tasked with determining whether the plaintiff's and/or the defendant driver's negligence proximately caused the accident, and to assign percentages of responsibility if both were found negligent.

On March 10, 2021, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant driver and the corporate defendant. The jury found that the plaintiff's contributory negligence was a factor in the accident, thereby supporting the defendants' contributory/comparative negligence defense. Judgment was entered against the plaintiff, who was later ordered to pay $35,283.03 in attorneys' fees and costs to the defendants.