Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

While driving a forklift at work, Lori Chandler was hit by another forklift and injured. She retained Turner & Associates to file a workers’ compensation claim. But Turner & Associates failed to file her claim within the statute of limitations. Adding to that, the firm’s case manager engaged in a year-and-a-half-long cover-up, which included false assurances of settlement negotiations, fake settlement offers, and a forged settlement letter purporting to be from Chandler’s former employer. Because of this professional negligence, Chandler filed a legal malpractice action. The only issue at trial was damages. The trial judge, sitting as fact-finder, concluded that Chandler had suffered a compensable work-related injury—an injury that caused her to lose her job and left her unemployed for nearly two years. Based on her hourly wage, the trial judge determined, had Turner & Associates timely filed Chandler’s workers’ compensation claim, Chandler could have reasonably recovered $50,000 in disability benefits. So the trial judge awarded her $50,000 in compensatory damages. The trial judge also awarded Chandler $100,000 in punitive damages against the case manager due to her egregious conduct. The Court of Appeals affirmed the punitive-damages award. But the court reversed and remanded the compensatory-damages award. Essentially, the Court of Appeals held that Chandler had failed to present sufficient medical evidence to support a $50,000 workers’ compensation claim. The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the appellate court: "Were this a workers’ compensation case, we might agree with the Court of Appeals. But this is a legal malpractice case. And part of what Chandler lost, due to attorney negligence, was her ability to prove her work-related injury led to her temporary total disability. ... the Court of Appeals erred by applying exacting statutory requirements for a workers’ compensation claim to Chandler’s common-law legal malpractice claim." The Court reversed on the issue of compensatory damages and reinstated the trial judge’s $50,000 compensatory-damages award. Because this was the only issue for which Chandler sought certiorari review, it affirmed the remainder of the Court of Appeals’ decision, which affirmed the punitive-damages award but reversed and remanded the grant of partial summary judgment against attorney Angela Lairy in her individual capacity. View "Turner & Associates, PLLC, et al. v. Chandler" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment in favor of Plaintiffs in this negligence action, holding that the court of appeals erred.Plaintiffs, an elderly infirm couple, sued Defendant for negligence and punitive damages, alleging that they hired Defendant as their in-home health provider and that Defendant negligently assigned a certain personal care aide to them, and that aide was a proximate cause of suspected thefts from their home and the resulting injuries they sustained. The jury found that Plaintiffs were entitled to $750,000 in damages from Defendant for their personal injuries. The trial court denied Defendant's ensuing motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). The court of appeals reversed and remanded for the entry of JNOV in Defendant's favor. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Plaintiffs submitted sufficient evidence for each element of the claim; and (2) the court of appeals erred by holding that the trial court erred by denying Defendant's requested instructions. View "Keith v. Health-Pro Home Care Services Inc." on Justia Law

In this workplace injury case, the Supreme Court conditionally granted YRC, Inc.'s petition for writ of mandamus and directed the trial court to vacate its order denying YRC's motion for leave to designate a responsible third party and to grant the motion, holding that YMC's motion was timely, contrary to the trial court's conclusion.Defendants in this case sought to designate Plaintiff's employer as a responsible party sixty-two days before the suit's third trial setting and more than five years the injury. The trial court denied the motion, concluding that it was untimely. The court of appeals denied mandamus relief. The Supreme Court conditionally granted mandamus relief, holding (1) the motion was timely filed and pleaded sufficient facts; and (2) there was no applicable limitations period for Plaintiff to join the third-party employer as a defendant on tort cause of action because workers' compensation was his exclusive remedy. View "In re YRC Inc." on Justia Law

In this premises-liability suit, the Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing the decision of the trial court rendering summary judgment in favor of the owner of the grocery store and parking lot where Plaintiff tripped and fell, holding that summary judgment was appropriate in favor of the store owner.Plaintiff sued Defendant, the premises owner, after she sustained injuries from tripping over a 3/4-inch divot in the grocery store parking lot. In granting summary judgment for the owner, the trial court concluded that the divot did not rise to the level of being an "unreasonably dangerous condition" as a matter of law. The court of appeals reversed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the defect that caused the accident was not unreasonably dangerous as a matter of law. View "United Supermarkets, LLC v. McIntire" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court conditionally granted mandamus relief in this challenge to certain discovery rulings in the underlying vehicle-collision lawsuit, holding that the challenged rulings contravened this Court's precedents regarding discovery requests that are overbroad as a matter of law.After the Supreme Court requested a response to the mandamus petition the real parties interest withdrew the challenged discovery requests, thus, they argued, rendering Petitioner's petition moot and depriving the Supreme Court of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court conditionally granted relief, holding that the discovery ordered was overbroad and that the trial court abused its discretion. View "In re Contract Freighters, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals reversing in part the trial court's grant of summary judgment for Defendant in this negligence and premises-liability case arising from a fatal construction-site accident, holding that remand was required in light of recent opinion.Plaintiffs sued Defendant for negligence, gross negligence, and premises liability. The trial court granted summary judgment for Defendant. The court of appeals reversed as to the negligence and premises-liability claims. The Supreme Court remanded the case, holding that, in applying the general rule and holding that Plaintiffs' petition could not constitute competent summary-judgment evidence, the court of appeals did not have the benefit of this Court's recent opinions in Regency Field Services, LLC v. Swift Energy Operating, LLC, 622 S.W.3d 807 (Tex. 2021) and Energen Resources Corp. v. Wallace, 642 S.W.3d 502 (Tex. 2022). The Supreme Court remanded this case for further consideration of the instant case in light of Regency and Energen and other subsequently issued opinions providing guidance on the legal issues presented. View "Weekley Homes, LLC v. Paniagua" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court conditionally granted UPS Ground Freight, Inc.'s petition for writ of mandamus and directed the trial court to vacate a portion of a September 30, 2020 discovery order in this wrongful-death suit, holding that the discovery requests were overbroad and that UPS had no adequate remedy by appeal.In the discovery order at issue, the trial court ordered UPS to product the results of alcohol and drug tests conducted on all current and former drivers at its Irving facility for certain periods preceding a fatal multi-vehicle accident. The Supreme Court agreed with UPS that the discovery requested and compelled by the trial court was insufficiently narrowed and was overly broad in scope. The Court ordered the trial court to vacate the portion of the discovery order compelling production of information and records pertaining to drug-and-alcohol test results for current and former UPS driver who were not parties to the litigation and who were not involved in the accident giving rise to this action. View "In UPS Ground Freight, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's judgment declaring invalid the Department of Family and Protective Services Rule 748.7, which governs immigration detention centers, and enjoining the Department from granting licenses under the rule, holding that Plaintiffs had standing to challenge Rule 748.7.Plaintiffs, a nonprofit advocacy group, a day-care operator and several detainee mothers, individually and on behalf of their children, brought this action alleging that the Department lacked authority to adopt Rule 748.7 because it increased the safety risk to the detainees and their children. The trial court declared the rule invalid and enjoined the Department from granting licenses under the rule. The court of appeals reversed, holding that Plaintiffs lacked standing to assert their claims. View "Grassroots Leadership, Inc. v. Texas Department of Family & Protective Services" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the ruling of the court of appeals affirming the jury's verdict on libel-per-se damages and punitive damages, holding that remittitur was appropriate in this case.After a jury trial, Hoffmann Innovations, Inc. and Jerry Hoffmann were awarded $11 million in compensatory and punitive damages against Scott Clark based on defamatory statements that Clark made on social media and in podcasts. During the proceedings, the trial court repeatedly sanctioned Clark for violating a consent order preventing both parties from making disparaging statements about each other. Ultimately, the court struck Clark's answer and affirmative defenses in an attempt to secure compliance with sanctions. Without any defense pleaded to the claims, the trial proceeded on only the amount of damages. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the jury used the wrong measure of damages on the damages awarded and that remittitur was also appropriate for punitive damages. View "Hoffman v. Clark" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants on Plaintiffs' premises liability claims against Alcoa Inc. and on their products liability claims against Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation, Inc. (IITI) for supplying asbestos-containing insulation in the Alcoa plant, holding that the district court erred.At issue was the provision in Iowa Code 686B.7(5) that a "defendant in an asbestos action or silica action shall not be liable for exposures from a product or component part made or sole by a third party." In the instant asbestos case, the district court read the statute to limit liability to manufacturers of the asbestos-containing product at issue. The district court held that section 686B.7(5) granted immunity to Alcoa and IITI because the asbestos-containing insulation was manufactured by third parties. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court failed to appreciate the legal significance of the legislature's use of the phrase "produce or component part made or sold by a third party" to reference a products liability defense known as the component parts defense as described in the specific context of asbestos litigation. View "Beverage v. Alcoa, Inc." on Justia Law