“My torts professor taught us that uncertainty about the standard of care creates what he calls a ‘cliff problem’… When we know there’s a liability cliff—some line that will be catastrophic to step across—but we don’t know exactly where the edge of the cliff is, we will avoid the ground near the cliff altogether.” That testimony, provided by Texas Christian University General Counsel Leroy Tyner to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, puts into clear focus the tremendously difficult decisions businesses across our state and nation are facing today. While everyone looks forward to the day when we can resume business as usual, we all understand that given the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, its side effects will linger for many years to come. But we also know that people must work. Businesses must operate. And they are increasingly being given the greenlight to do so by state and local governments. TLR has been working with state and federal leaders to determine if there is a way to give businesses some reassurance that they are not blindly approaching a liability cliff. At the federal level, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has designated Senator John Cornyn as the lead on liability issues.

Any Imposition of Liability Related to the Coronavirus Must be Based on Standards that Recognize these Extraordinary Circumstances April 20, 2020 As our nation copes with the coronavirus pandemic, we are all concerned about the health and well being of our families and neighbors. We are in this together. We are experiencing a devotion to duty and a level of responsibility throughout our society that is inspiring and reminiscent of our national effort during World War II.  Great courage and determination are being displayed by our healthcare providers, first responders, and the workers who are keeping the essential elements of our economy functioning – food producers, truckers, manufacturers of needed products, warehouse workers, and grocers, to name a few. As a nation, we have before us the formidable tasks of controlling and defeating the virus, restoring our society, and rebuilding our economy. A tsunami of plaintiff-lawyer inspired litigation will not assist our efforts. Quite the contrary. Greed-driven mass litigation will cause delay and division and impose costs that will hamper our recovery and impede the ability of our businesses and industries to restore our economy to its pre-virus vigor and bring us back to full employment.  Businesses and professionals are

World Health Day was last week, on April 7, and there couldn’t be a more appropriate time to recognize the work and sacrifices of the healthcare profession across the globe. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen these men and women run toward danger, working around the clock and putting their own lives on the line to help those affected by COVID-19. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has created a task force to help ensure these professionals have the personal protection equipment they need and that their hospitals have the resources necessary to respond to a surge in coronavirus patients. The governor has also issued orders easing licensing requirements for healthcare workers to ensure Texas has the medical workforce it needs in the coming weeks. But there’s an additional layer of protection that we should grant to the men and women on the frontlines of this pandemic: liability protection. TLR recently joined with the Texas Alliance for Patient Access, Texas Medical Association, Texas Hospital Association and others to request that Gov. Abbott issue an executive order providing liability protection during the declared disaster for physicians and other healthcare providers. “These healthcare professionals are literally risking their lives to care for

“If the freight’s there, it’s got to move. If people are going to eat, the trucks are gonna move. If they need medical supplies, the trucks are gonna move. If we stop, the world stops.” Those are the words of 57-year-old trucker Ron Applegate, one of the individuals on the frontlines of our nation’s commercial transportation industry. On any given day, these men and women provide an essential service, ferrying the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the products that fill our homes from one destination to another. As COVID-19 has proven, that service is more critical now than ever.  We’ve recently taken a closer look at a growing cottage industry that is driving litigation against commercial trucking companies. The increase in nuclear verdicts in litigation involving commercial vehicle accidents has created a corresponding increase in insurance costs for trucking companies. Because transportation costs are a meaningful component of the retail prices of consumer products, the costs of unnecessary lawsuits and unreasonable verdicts are ultimately borne by consumers. But the Tort Tax is only one consequence of the spike in trucking litigation. In some cases, companies have been forced out of business because they are unable to handle

Over the past few weeks, we’ve highlighted the phenomenon of nuclear verdicts in Texas, and some of the questionable tactics used by personal injury trial lawyers pursuing trucking litigation in the Lone Star State. While trucking litigation has always existed, it seems a new cottage industry has sprung up in the last several years. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, trucking is big business in Texas: 1 in 16 Texans are employed by the trucking industry 73% of goods manufactured in Texas are transported by truck 85% of trade between Texas and Mexico is handled by trucks Texas has more interstate mileage than other state (3,200 miles) There are over 66,000 trucking industries in Texas Trucking industry wages exceed $22.5 billion with average salary of $45,000 There are over 185,000 truck drivers employed in Texas But what is it about the trucking industry, specifically, that landed it in the litigation crosshairs? To answer this question, all you have to do is follow the money. While you and I may only have $30,000 in motor vehicle liability insurance, trucking companies often have multi-million-dollar insurance policies. In other words, they have deep pockets.  While it makes sense for trucking companies to

You’ve heard of nuclear explosions and the nuclear option. Nuclear verdicts? Maybe not. But as the name implies, we should all be wary of them. The widely accepted definition of a nuclear verdict is one that exceeds $10 million. But if that’s the threshold for nuclear, then Texas is quickly gaining a reputation as the home of the ultra-nuclear verdict in trucking litigation. We’ll have more on that in a future blog post. To better understand this, we need a refresher on the elements of damages in a tort action in Texas. For injury to a person or property (a tort action), a plaintiff may recover actual damages and punitive damages. The amount of money that is actually required to make the plaintiff whole constitutes actual damages. This includes economic damages, like the cost of past and future medical bills related to the injury, loss of future wages, and other quantifiable economic losses. It also includes non-economic damages, which are awarded for pain and suffering and similar items not subject to exact quantification. Punitive damages, which are awarded only in extreme circumstances, are meant to serve as a punishment or deterrent for the defendant, whose grossly negligent or intentional behavior