The Texas Supreme Court this week threw out a verdict for $15.8 million awarded to a family in northern Texas in a fatal truck accident that killed four people in 2002.
The accident occurred in Wise County. Kimberly Hughes was driving four members of her family members to Fort Worth, when their GMC Yukon pickup sideswiped a gravel truck. Only a one-year-old boy survived the crash. Hughes, the boy’s great-grandmother, uncle and mother were killed in the accident.
During the trial, the Hughes family lawyers repeatedly made at least 80 references to the truck driver Ricardo Rodriguez’s poor immigration record. A Wise County jury awarded the Hughes family $22.4 billion. That was reduced to $15.8 million after the trucking company, TXI Construction appealed.
The Texas Supreme Court has now thrown out the judgment. The constant reference to Ricardo’s immigrant status seems to have been the basis for the court decision. According to the 8-0 decision, Rodriguez’s immigrant status should not have been an issue in the trial. According to Judge Medina, courts have constantly held that a person’s immigrant status must not be used to attack the individual’s character because it was more likely to prejudice jurors against the person, than add any value to the trial. The Hughes lawyers insist that the information about Rodriguez’s immigration status was important to attack his credibility, especially when he said that he had never lied in order to obtain a driver’s license.
It’s not a complete loss for the Hughes family. The Texas Supreme Court has also in its decision ruled that testimony from an accident reconstruction expert that had been denied earlier, could be reintroduced. The Hughes family is likely to go back to court again
Houston truck accident lawyer Vuk Vujasinovic is a Board Certified Trial Lawyer representing victims of auto/truck/motorcycle accidents, industrial and workplace accidents and defective products in Houston, Texas as well as throughout Texas and the United States.
To access valuable information about your Texas truck accident case, please click here and order your copy of the controversial book that insurance companies and trucking companies wish you wouldn’t read-The Insiders Guide to Winning Your Texas Truck Accident Case.
Vuk Vujasinovic is a Board Certified Houston personal injury attorney who practices Houston auto accident and other personal injury cases.
For more info on how Vuk can help you with your potential case please call him at (877) 724-7800 or fill out the contact form on the right.
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
