Fatal Hill Country Wreck
One person is dead after two trucks collided near the intersection of Borgfeld Road and U.S. 281 in northern Bexar County.
Sherriff’s deputies reported that one vehicle was pulling out of a subdivision and onto the highway, directly into the path of a speeding truck. The force of the impact propelled both vehicles down the highway, leaving a trail of debris on the roadway before they eventually came to rest not far from each other. One victim was airlifted to a local hospital, but he was pronounced dead en route.
Authorities have yet to determine fault in the crash.
Comparative Fault
In the above incident, it seems that both drivers may have been partially at fault: one apparently failed to yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic and the other one may have been exceeding the speed limit. If taken independently, either act constitutes negligence per se as a violation of a traffic law.
Situations like this are not at all unusual in intersection collisions and other vehicle wrecks. In most cases, the plaintiff is still entitled to recover damages even if the defendant was only partially at fault.
Like many other jurisdictions, Texas is a modified comparative fault state with a 51 percent bar. The theory is that the defendant must be at least half at fault in order for the plaintiff to recover. If there is sufficient evidence of comparative fault, the judge will instruct the jury to apportion liability on a percentage basis.
Assume that in a case where the damages are $20,000, the jury finds Plaintiff Driver to be 40 percent negligent and Defendant Driver to be 60 percent at fault. In such a scenario, the plaintiff would receive $12,000 in damages (60 percent of the total). But if the jury finds Plaintiff Driver to be 51 percent at fault, the plaintiff would receive nothing, since according to Section 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the defendant must be at least 50 percent at fault for the plaintiff to recover.
Texas is also a tort litigation state, which means that injured victims are entitled to compensation for both their economic and non-economic damages. Punitive damages are also available, in some cases.
For prompt assistance in this area, contact an experienced New Braunfels personal injury attorney. A lawyer can arrange for victims to receive ongoing medical care, even if they have no money and no insurance.
Sources:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/BCSO-working-fatal-crash-on-U-S-281-6752912.php#photo-9238526
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CP/htm/CP.33.htm
