• Personal Injury Law: Transportation
  • Automobile Accidents
  • Maritime Personal Injury
  • Railroad Accidents
  • Aviation Accidents
  • Resources

Though accidents can occur virtually anywhere and under any circumstances, some of the most serious and costly accidents occur while people are involved in transportation-related activities. Although some transportation accidents may subject the wrongdoer to criminal sanctions, injuries suffered in such an accident usually are compensable also through a personal injury civil lawsuit. The Personal Injury Law: General Chapter describes the framework of a personal injury suit. Most civil suits arising from transportation accidents are based in negligence. This chapter provides a brief overview of the laws and issues regarding automobile, maritime, railroad, and aviation accidents. Tort litigation involving transportation-related activities can be extremely complicated. Retaining an inexperienced lawyer may result in a plaintiff losing a lawsuit or not receiving the recovery that he or she deserves. It is important that a person injured in a transportation-related accident choose an attorney with appropriate experience and familiarity with the subject matter of the lawsuit.

Like any state, Texas has its share of serious automobile accidents. Recognizing that accidents can be costly, Texas requires that every driver and owner of a motor vehicle maintain at all times an approved form of financial responsibility. In general, this is accomplished through the purchase of motor vehicle liability insurance. The minimum amount of insurance coverage that may be purchased under Texas law is $20,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in an accident, $40,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more persons in one accident, and $15,000 for property damage. Insurance companies also must provide coverage with these policy limits for the insureds to protect them against uninsured or underinsured motorists. Maximum deductibles of $250, $500, and $250, respectively, are allowed for such insurance coverage. Failure to obtain and maintain such insurance coverage (or other proof of financial responsibility, such as a surety bond or self-insurance) can lead to revocation of a driver's license and car registration, a fine, and/or imprisonment.

Purchasing motor vehicle insurance does not prevent a person at fault in an accident from being sued. However, there are steps to take to reduce one's liability. For example, drivers are encouraged to make sure all reasonable steps are taken to warn approaching drivers after an accident has occurred. Otherwise, drivers involved in an accident may be liable for damages suffered by the approaching drivers.

Under Texas law, drivers are required by law to exhibit their driver's licenses to each other after an accident. Further, an accident report must be filed with the Department of Public Safety within ten days from the date of the accident if the accident was not investigated by a law enforcement officer and if there was an injury, death, or total damages exceeded $500. Official accident report forms are available from a police station, sheriff's department, highway patrol office, or the Texas Department of Public Safety. Finally, anyone involved in an accident must inform his or her insurance company promptly. Failure to do so may void an insurance policy. Evidence of insurance must be carried in every vehicle and furnished to a law enforcement officer or another person involved in an accident.

If you are in an accident, particularly if someone is injured or there is a great deal of property damage, try to collect the following information from the other driver(s) involved in the accident:

• Name and address

• License plate number

• Make, model, and year of car

• Driver's license number

• Had any driver apparently been drinking?

• Any verbal statements made by other driver(s) as to the cause of the accident

• Names and addresses of passengers in other car(s)

Before moving any of the vehicle(s) involved in the accident, attempt to note:

• Position of your vehicle

• Position of any other vehicles

• Location of any tire marks, blood, broken glass, etc., on the road or side of the road

• Location of point of impact in relation to the center of the road

• Road conditions

• Traffic conditions

• Weather conditions

While the accident is still fresh in your memory, write down:

• Date and time of accident

• Location of accident

• Speed of your car just before the accident

• Direction of your car and other car(s) involved in the accident

• Was either car turning?

• Did the car turning have its turn signal on?

• If the accident occurred at night, did you have your vehicle lights on? Did the other car(s)?

• Any other pertinent facts

Recreational boaters, cruise ship passengers, sailors on commercial ships, longshore and harbor workers, and off-shore oil employees may at some point in time become injured and require the services of an attorney to sue the business or person they believe to be responsible. When choosing an attorney regarding a maritime matter, it is very important to choose someone experienced in maritime law. The law governing maritime issues is a complicated jumble of federal statutes, United States Supreme Court decisions, and centuries-old common law. For example, a suit for an injury occurring on a boat may be subject to federal maritime law or to state statutory law, depending on where the boat was in the water at the time of injury. A general practitioner unfamiliar with the dips and turns of maritime law may have difficulty properly representing a client.

The October 1995 deaths of seven high school students in Fox River, Illinois, whose school bus was hit by a commuter train at a railroad crossing, is a reminder that railroad accidents remain an all-too-frequent occurrence. By law, railroad carriers have a duty to maintain the reasonable safety of their tracks, particularly around railroad crossings. A railroad carrier can be held liable if an accident occurs where there are defective or insufficient numbers of warning lights and signs. Additionally, railroad engineers and crews have a duty to keep a lookout for potential problems and to sound the train's blowhorn when approaching potentially dangerous areas. Persons crossing or near railroad tracks also have a duty to act reasonably. Texas recognizes the doctrine of comparative responsibility. If a person is partially responsible for an accident, any damage award he or she receives can be reduced by the extent to which he or she was responsible.

Railroad employees who are hurt on the job are entitled to recover damages from their employer under the Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA). FELA is similar to a workers' compensation program for railroad employees. FELA enables railroad employees to recover for any injury "resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of [the railroad], or by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence, in its cars, engines, appliances, machinery, tracks, roadbeds, works, boats, wharves or other equipment." Recovery under FELA is the exclusive remedy for railroad employees injured on the job.

While travel by commercial aircraft remains the safest way to travel long distance, accidents do happen, and the litigation that follows an airline crash is notoriously complicated. Lawyers representing plaintiffs in airline cases face a variety of difficult issues. For example: What law (federal or state) should be used? Where is the best forum for the trial? Should lawsuits be filed individually or as a class action? Who should be sued (the aircraft manufacturer, operator, or owner; the airport operator; corporate officers; or component part manufacturers)? What is the best theory of recovery (strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, statutory provisions)? What is the best method of proving damages? How should evidence of the crash be preserved? It is obvious, therefore, that a person choosing an attorney to represent his or her interests after an airplane accident should choose someone with experience in airline tort litigation.

To obtain a free pamphlet called What to do in Case of an Auto Accident, write or call the State Bar of Texas, P.O. Box 12487, Austin, TX 78711-2487, (800) 204-2222.