Injury Lawyers Reeling After Texas Supreme Court Decision

The recent Texas Supreme Court decision in Ruttiger has staggered injury lawyers everywhere after holding that plaintiffs cannot sue workers compensation insurers for knowing violations of the Texas Insurance Code or deceptive trade practices.  This dramatic overhaul of Texas law will have far-reaching consequences.

The Ruttiger case involved a plaintiff who was injured at work.  In trial, the carrier admitted that it did not follow its own guidelines by denying the claim when it failed to even contact the employee/plaintiff or plaintiff’s physician.  The jury found that this constituted a knowing refusal to conduct a reasonable investigation and held that the plaintiff was entitled to treble damages under the DTPA and Texas Insurance Code.

On appeal, the Texas Supreme Court disagreed and imposed a ground-breaking new rule that the Texas Labor Code precludes such a suit made under the Insurance Code or DTPA.  As a result, the workers compensation act will be the exclusive remedy, barring even knowing violations of the DTPA or Texas Insurance Code.  It appears that Texas injury lawyers and their clients are now facing yet another obstacle to recovering in the Lone Star State.

Personal injury lawyers and assault

Even though personal injury lawyers are concerned with injury to the body, they are also concerned about injuries to the mind.  One cause of action, called, "assault," involves injury to the plaintiff's mind.

Typically, personal injury lawyers take cases where a person was physically injured.  However, there are also cases in which the lawyer may sue for assault when their client suffered mental injuries.  For instance, say person X throws a baseball at person Y's head, but they don't intend to hit them, just to scare them.  If you think that's permissible, think again.  Person X just committed an assault.

The tort of assault is called a "common law" tort, meaning it's typically a cause of action that is not codified into law, but it is still recognized by most courts.  To prove an assault under the facts above, the personal injury lawyer or personal injury lawyers would have to prove that X intended to cause an imminent apprehension of contact and that Y was put in such imminent apprehension.  Under these facts, it would look like X committed an assault because he injured the mind of Y but putting him in an imminent apprehension of contact.

Keep in mind that assault has a different meaning in civil cases than it does in criminal ones, but it's one of the tools in the personal injury lawyer's toolbox.  It's also one of the many things that can make personal injury law a complicated and tricky matter.

Why Should I Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer?

We are frequently surprised to find that most people think that unless they have a serious injury, they don’t need to talk to a personal injury lawyer.  To the contrary, an attorney, including one that practices personal injury law, can be a useful and inexpensive source of wisdom and advice.

Attorneys are also counselors.  In fact, the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct section II is titled, “Counselor.”  And Rule 2.01 states that a lawyer shall “render candid advice.”  This advice isn’t merely confined to technical, legal advice.  In fact, comment 3 to the rule states that lawyers are expected to refer to relevant moral and ethical considerations.

This means that lawyers can provide invaluable information for potential clients and actual clients alike.  Just because you don’t have a legal question, that does not mean an attorney can’t help.  Attorneys can provide insight into matters that aren’t often considered to be “legal” in nature, and sometimes an attorney can direct you to the professional you need.

That’s why we encourage the public to call a attorney if they have questions.  In fact, calling a personal injury lawyer may be the most cost-effective move you make because many lawyers provide free initial consultations.  So take advantage of that resource and ask away.  A good attorney is probably more than happy to help.

Dog Bites and Lillian's Law

Have you heard about Lillian’s law?  People who have suffered from dog bites may have legal recourse by means of this intriguing 2007 Texas law.

On November 26, 2005, Lillian Stiles, who was 76 years old, was riding her lawnmower in the front yard when she was viciously mauled to death by a pack of six Pit Bull/Rottweiler dogs.  Although criminal charges were leveled against the dogs’ owner, he was found innocent of criminally negligent homicide.  Outraged by the events, Texas Senator Eliot Shapleigh sponsored H.B. 1355, which imposed strict penalties for owners of violent dogs in Texas.  In memory of Mrs. Stiles, the bill was referred to as, “Lillian’s Law.”

Since then, victims of dog bites have been able to take advantage of the 2007 law.  Specifically, the bill enacted section 822.005 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.  This law punishes owners who, with criminal negligence, fail to secure their dog and the dog makes an unprovoked attack at a location other than the owner’s property.  The punishment is a third degree felony unless the attack results in death, in which case, it is a second degree felony.

So to owners of dangerous dogs, beware: you could face stiff criminal penalties for the attacks of your dog and possibly even find yourself in civil court for  negligence.  And to those who are victims of unprovoked dog attacks, remember Lillian’s law; it may just help you to protect your rights.

Dallas Injury Attorneys Face New Law

After months of debate and controversy, Governor Perry finally signed H.B. 274 into law. This will mean that, beginning September 1, 2011, dallas injury attorneys will see some significant changes.

First, much of the law will not apply to actions brought under the family code.  Some relevant aspects of the new law include:

-Revisions that encourage the use of the settlement provisions of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, including a change that would allow the recovery of reasonable deposition costs;

-Requirement that the Texas Supreme Court adopt rules that will expedite certain civil actions in which the controversy does not exceed $100,000;

-Requirement that the Texas Supreme Court adopt rules to encourage the dismissal of actions that have no basis in law or fact, and providing for reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees for the party that prevails on a motion to dismiss; and

-Changes to responsible 3rd party designations.

Although the new law is a compromise of good and bad, we believe it is a much better version of the “Loser Pays” law than what was originally proposed.  While Dallas Injury Attorneys will face some difficult legal battles ahead, this may not be the dreaded tort reform we originally feared.

Texas Child Support Update

Effective immediately is a new law that will help countless individuals who wish to legitimately contest their Texas child support obligations.  Specifically, S.B. 785 allows individuals who successfully contest paternity through DNA testing to be relieved of future child support obligations.  You may be shocked to learn that although convicted criminals could be exonerated through DNA testing, putative fathers were, until now, not allowed to escape child support obligations through DNA evidence.  Presumably, this is part of the reason the law passed with widespread support.

Although our office remains committed to personal injury matters, we are also committed to the idea that only adoptive or biological fathers should be saddled with the financial burdens that come with paying Texas child support.  Consequently, we our happy to assist those who wish to challenge these obligations with DNA testing.  We invite anyone with questions or concerns about this issue to call our office for more information.

Texas Lawyer Liability with Tort Reform

We want to thank those of you who commented on our blog earlier.  H.B. 274, which until very recently, contained provisions that would punish a Texas Lawyer who files a pleading that a jury determines to be an “abusive civil action.” Fortunately, the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee and the Texas House have removed that provision.  We hope it will not reappear in the Senate, and we remain cautious about some of the other “loser pays” remnants of H.B. 274.

This is a volatile period for H.B. 274, as many changes have been made.  We are working as quickly as possible to address those changes, but naturally, responding to these changes take time.  Currently, some of the core principles of H.B. 274 remain.  In particular, the current bill delegates to the Texas Supreme Court the duty to enact rules to quickly and efficiently resolve civil claims.  The bill also contains a provision that would eliminate implied causes of action unless unambigiously indicated by statue.

Fortunately, however, the portion of the law that would punish a Texas Lawyer for filing an abusive civil action has, for now, been removed.  The Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct already deter attorneys from filing frivolous pleadings, so the “abusive civil action” provision was not only harsh but unnecessary.

Although we are relieved, there are no doubt future developments that will occur, and we will act as promptly as possible to cover them as they become available.