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5.14.2009
Civil Court News
A trial just wrapped up at the Decatur courthouse where a guy sued TxDOT and Martin Truck Enterprises out of Boyd. The Plaintiff had broken some bones when his motorcycle hit some hydraulic fluid which had leaked from a TxDOT truck in Bryan/College Station.
The verdict was for $761,800 with TxDOT being found 90% at fault and Martin Truck being found 10% at fault.
In an exclusive interview* with the winning lawyer Lane D. Thibodeaux of Bryan, he said that TxDOT has a statutory cap of $250,000 and never offered to settle the case. Martin Truck had actually settled for $202,000 prior to trial (so they really didn't participate in it.)
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*Meaning I was alone with him in the courtroom and asked, "Hey, what happened?"
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25 comments:
Excellent work there, Geraldo
Way to luck into the scoop!
Triple Fake Ghost of Edward R. Murrow
Help me understand the legal math, counselor. Does that mean TXDOT owes $685,620 and the trucking company overpaid by $125,820 by settling?
Naaa. TxDOT is only on the hook for $250,000 because that's the limit of their liability by law.
And it's probably not fair to Martin overpaid. If they had not of settled, then they would probably have become a bigger target at the trial and their percentage of fault may have ended up much higher.
Green,you're only as good as your last story,now get out there and dig man.
Triple fake Quadruple Bypass.
Wow, BG, I'm impressed with your civil procedure knowledge.
Barry, the lawyer was a criminal defense lawyer. Made $250,000.00. Still hate personal injury lawyers?
Wordkyle, for better or worse, you better not get hit by a state, city, or county-owned vehicle. They all have caps on the amount they can pay regardless of your damages. If a state truck hits you, you become a quad for life, have $1M in past medical bills, and $3M in future medical bills, they still are limited to paying their caps of $250K...even if the state employee was drunk, reckless, etc.
this guy had the golden egg for two broken bones. wow
this guy had no right to sue. he is the one who it a big puddle of fluid on a motorcycle. i hate stupid lawsuits
I'm pretty sure Martin Truck's insurance company settled and they probably didn't have a say one way or the other.
Isn't it true that the Judge wouldn't let anyone say if the guy had already received money from any of the other parties? Otherwise they would have known that the money added up to more than $250,000
Don't ride a murdercycle.
Dang, this is so exciting, who can sleep tonight?
Lawsuits........zzzzzzzzz!
Charlie Martin has donated a lot of his life to helping the Northwest High School Band. Many people have benefitted from his generosity to the Boy Scouts. Typical in today's society to pick on someone like him who helps people instead of screwing them over. Ask any former band member of NWHS how their equipment was paid for.
I think the idea of those lawsuit limits is great. That way the government can decide what to do with cases, and we don't have to let people have a say in the system. The more power we give to the government to make our decisions the better. Ordinary people are simply not qualified to decide damages, guilt, or punishment. Everything, including lawsuit damages and guilt, should be determined by the government. Thomas Jefferson and his thoughts about "trial by jury" are outdated. We can trust our government more than we can trust people and we should give all power to the government.
3:49, your math is off; the total award by the jury was 250K. That has not been paid. If it is not appealed, there might be a settlement in the range of 200-225K, of which the lawyer might get anywhere from 25-40%, depending on the contract. His fee, will then be 50-80K, if there is a recovery. If the state wins on appeal, there will be no recovery from this trial. The lawyer also had to front all of his out-of-pocket expenses, and worked several hundred hours on the case. His hourly rate could end up being $0 for this part of the case or as high as, perhaps, $600/hour. Who knows.
Why does govt get a limit on liability, but no limit for everyone else? What's good for the goose...
Politicians and corporate lobbyists should decide damage awards, not jurors. I thought everybody knew that by now.
Dat lawyer, he got a paralegal name Boudreaux, don' he?
Aiieee!
Very true point 6:55. Martin has devoted a lot of his time to helping children in the area. It's a shame his business is gonna take a hit like this.
I agree these are unnecessary and frivilous lawsuits but, then again, this is America, where too many people are looking for something for free and there is a lawyer on every corner with a promise to get it for them. Interestingly enough, as the lawyer leads the individual down the path to screw someone else it is, in fact, the lawyer that is going to screw you. This guy breaks his leg while wrecking his motorcycle but the lawyer is the one who gets a new timeshare in the Carribean and funds to send his kid to college (to become another butt-sucking lawyer, no doubt). Ain't America grand.
Let's just hope this "butt-sucking lawyer" will go back home to Louisiana and stay out of our county. We have plenty of lawyers. Some good....some illiterate dunderheads....
LOL, Barry, I think 9:13 just called you an illiterate dunderhead
9:08 & 3:53 you really ought to take a look at the limits of liabilty for medical malpractice Drs. and medical practices are nearly bulletproof.
I like being bulletproof. it's super
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