Cujo

It’s happened to us all. We go for a walk or run through the neighborhood and Cujo, the local barking dog frees himself from captivity to chase us down the street! Did you know that if Cujo bites you, you may have claim against his owner?

In Texas, there are two causes of action which may be brought for dog bites: strict liability and negligence. In a strict liability case, the plaintiff must satisfy a 3-part test: (1) the animal is of a vicious, dangerous, or mischievous nature; (2) the owner has actual or constructive knowledge of such characteristics; and (3) the injury or damage resulted from such propensities of which the owner had knowledge.

In a negligence case, the plaintiff must show that the owner had actual or constructive notice of facts which would put an ordinary person on notice that allowing the dog to run at large would cause someone injury. However, a dog on its master’s premises is not “running at large,” and the owner of a domestic animal is not liable for injuries caused by the animal when it is in a place where it has a right to be.
If you or anyone you know has suffered a dog bite, feel free to give us a call.

The Dangers of Tort Reform

Very few people think about their right to sue and hold a corporation accountable until…. Well, they need to sue and hold a corporation accountable. Like many other rights, this right is taken for granted and because it is taken for granted, few Americans realize that everyday certain groups that are funded by corporations, lobby congress to limit these rights!

Imagine this, you get in your car, start it up and it explodes. You’re critically injured in a way that require multiple surgeries and a lifetime of medical care. You then find out that the car company KNEW that this defect was killing people but decided that rather than design the vehicle in safer way, it could save money by keeping it the same and paying out settlements.
Everything stated above is the true story about Ford Motor Company’s 1970 Subcompact vehicle called the Pinto. People DIED and Ford did nothing to prevent it because their math told them that doing nothing was more profitable.

Now imagine that you try to sue your car company and you’re told, that the most you can sue for is a $100,000.00 and that if a jury awards you more than 100k, the judge will reduce it to that amount. Alternatively, imagine a jury awards you 5 million dollars, the car company appeals and pro-company appellate judges who’s campaigns were financed by corporations, state that jury was unreasonable and reduce your award.

This is the work of tort reform. It is an issue that is rarely discussed but that we should all be concerned with.