Municipality Negligence

[Cliff J]

TEXAS

This past January my son and I were T-Boned at an intersection in Arlington, TX. We were in a Honda Accord and proceeding through an intersection with a green light when we were hit squarely on the passenger side by a Chevy Suburban doing an estimated 50 mph according to an overheard conversation by police officers; however, the offending driver admitted fault but claimed that he was within the 45 mph speed limit - small matter as he has only the state minimum liability insurance coverage. Our vehicle was a total loss. I had to be cut out of our car.

Both my son and I have what appears to be at this point permanent muscle and nerve damage. After 10 months of trying to recover it is becoming apparent that additional recovery is unlikely for my son, IMO . Additional recovery is not in the cards at all for me according to my orthopedic surgeon this past Friday. I am now faced with pain management only.

I did a Google for accidents within the city of Arlington and found a site dated 2005 (I believe) in which the police department was taking the city to task for doing nothing to improve the 10 most dangerous intersections in Arlington. Yes, you guessed correctly, the intersection at which we were injured was listed as the most dangerous intersection of all. The offending driver claimed that he got confused by the traffic signals. I suspect that previous drivers have had the same complaint.

I need to find an attorney who will sue the city of Arlington on our behalf. I don't know what the technical breaches of the law are, but I feel that there must be some given the long-term, often-voiced, public concerns raised by their own police department. Perhaps there is even a basis for a class action law suit here.

Help!

Thanks,

Cliff.

 

[ecmst12]

You will NOT be able to recover anything from the city for this. They were not the driver who hit you. If you'd had sufficient uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your OWN insurance, you would be able to recover the full value of your injuries. You chose not to carry this coverage.

 

[Cliff J]

What about...

I do have some uninsured motorist insurance; however, it could be more...

One more question:

As my son was driving can I sue him? I don't think so as I have him on my insurance policy, but I'd like to know for certain.

Thanks,

Cliff.

 

[Cliff J]

No Responsibility for a confusing intersection?

I know that the city didn't hit me. That was never the issue. The issue is a poorly designed intersection in which the offending driver thought that he had a green light.

That particular intersection is the most dangerous in the city and has the most accidents by far. Even the police department has been trying unsuccessfully for over 5 years to get the city to do something about it. The police have/had a web site calling for the intersection to be improved. The police have attended city council meetings and tried to get the city to act - or at least this is my understanding, and the hazard is still there.
The reason for the confusion and the resulting accidents is that there is another street veering off from, it and the way that the traffic signals are arranged does confuse many drivers. I would think that with this history of such a major problem that there would be some responsibility to correct this dangerous situation, and if the city doesn't fix the problem after a lengthy period of time then they should have some liability.

Cliff.

 

[ecmst12]

Your insurance policy likely excludes 3rd party coverage for immediate family members, but read it to be sure. It's POSSIBLE you could file a claim against your son.

 

[cyjeff]

You may be able to file against your son... however, he was not at fault.

Have you thought about suing the other driver?

 

[ecmst12]

Passengers can usually recover from either/both drivers though.

 

[Cliff J]

Re: suing other driver

cyjeff,

Taking into consideration the medical bills that I have to date and my permanent injuries, the other driver's insurance company appears to be willing to settle for the limits of the policy which they say is only $25,000. It's not exactly a deep pocket to tap into. Indeed, my medical bills probably exceed that amount now.

When one considers the confusing design of the intersection, the poor traffic signal lay-out, the inaction of the city of Arlington to act on the problem intersection, the number of accidents at that intersection, etc. then perhaps a strong case could be made against them by an aggressive, competant attorney. Of course the city has considerably deeper pockets too.

 

[ecmst12]

And they also have governmental immunity. And a poorly designed intersection does not remove the driver's responsibility to maintain control of the vehicle and yield when required and pay attention to surroundings. The accident is NOT the city's fault. But if you want to hear it from a lawyer, call a few. If you find one willing to take a case against the city on contingency, I'll eat my hat.

 

[Cliff J]

Yes...

...this is what I was concerned about - immunity.

It would seem though that a case might be made that a municipality has some duty/responsibility to correct a dangerous situation, especially one that they have know about for such a continuing length of time. There are several not-so-costly remedies that could be set in place. Corporations and individuals do not have the luxury of falling behind the immunity shield, and I can understand why municipalities need it, but surely there should be some place in the sand where a line is drawn. No?

 

[cbg]

Just as an FYI, since your first post indicated that you were looking for an attorney to read your post and take your case, let it be known that reputable attorneys do not troll message boards looking for clients, and that the board does not provide referrals.

If, after this discussion, you still feel that you need an attorney to sue the city, there is a Find a Lawyer section elsewhere on this site.

 

[goddessoflubboc]

cyjeff,

Taking into consideration the medical bills that I have to date and my permanent injuries, the other driver's insurance company appears to be willing to settle for the limits of the policy which they say is only $25,000. It's not exactly a deep pocket to tap into. Indeed, my medical bills probably exceed that amount now.

What cyjeff is saying is to sue the other driver personally - once you've tapped the limits of their insurance you are done with the insurance company.

As to your obsession with suing the city - of course you can file suit against anyone but can you win is the key.

Getting a lawyer will be your first obstacle. I doubt you'll find one willing to take the case. The fact that the city has poor road and signal planning will not overcome their civil immunity.

 

[Cliff J]

Thanks...

...for the advice, one and all.

I'd thought about looking into the offender's assets, but judging from the low rental unit that he lives in I doubt if he has 2 nickels to rub together. Still I'll check it out.

The municipal liability thing isn't an obsession necessarily - more like ignorance of the law and wanting to get brought up to speed quickly. I do appreciate your input.

Now to figure out what to do next...