Texas Bar Journal • December 2024
Personal Injury Law
Written by Julian C. Gomez
Below are some of the more notable statewide events that affected personal injury law in Texas in 2024.
Artificial Intelligence
AI continues to be the new toy all the cool kids want. When I asked the
major large language models to write this article, results ranged from
the “Texas Supreme Court has not issued any cases or opinions in
2024 related to personal injury” to a few mediocre case
summaries.1 Proceed with caution.
Owner’s Duty Ends at Property Line
The Supreme Court of Texas began the year with HNMC, Inc. v. Chan,
and held, subject to exceptions, that a property owner is
generally not responsible for someone’s safety after they leave
their property and are injured on nearby public property.2
Racial Bias That Begins and Ends With Counsel Cannot Be
Cured
Next, in Alonzo v. John, the court concluded that resulting
harm could not be cured when racial bias, without provocation or
influence from the opposing side, originates and emanates solely from a
party’s counsel.3
Mental Anguish Damages Mean Mental Health Records Are
Discoverable
In In re Richardson Motorsports, Ltd., the court set aside
the mental health and patient-doctor privilege and clarified that a
party’s mental health records become discoverable if they
pursue mental anguish damages.4
TCPRC § 16.012(b) Is a 15-Year Statute of
Repose
The court, in Ford Motor Co. v. Parks, formally held that Texas
Civil Practice and Remedies Code (TCPRC) § 16.012(b) is a 15-year
statute of repose, which begins to run upon the transfer of title or
property for a price, and that a defendant need only prove the sale
occurred before the 15 years.5
Watermelon Bearing Wooden Pallet Is Not Unreasonably
Dangerous
In Pay & Save, Inc. v. Canales, the court held, as a
matter of law, that a wooden pallet used to support a large cardboard
box of watermelons in a South Texas grocery store was not unreasonably
dangerous.6
Defect and Inadequate Federal Safety Standard Are Not
Always Synonymous
Finally, in Am. Honda Motor Co. v. Milburn, the court held that
the determination of a product defect and the inadequacy of a federal
safety standard are distinct inquiries; thus, evidence of a defect may
but does not inherently establish that a federal safety standard is
inadequate.7
Manufacturing Defects Require Deviation From
Design
Moving to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in
Oglesby v. Medtronic, Inc. Medtronic USA, Inc., the court held
that while circumstantial evidence can establish a manufacturing
defect, plaintiffs must still plead and prove a deviation from the
product’s design.8
Post-Removal Amended Complaint Amplifies Texas Petition and
Improper Joinder
In Palmquist v. Hain Celestial Grp., Inc., the 5th Circuit,
while analyzing improper joinder, held that after removal, since
federal pleading standards are more rigorous than Texas’, a
plaintiff may file an amended complaint, and the federal court must
review the original allegations in light of the amended complaint,
resolving all doubts or ambiguity in favor of remand but without
considering new theories not raised in the petition.9
Seamen Stay in State Court
Then, in Santee v. Oceaneering Int’l, Inc., the 5th
Circuit held that it is “axiomatic” that an adequately
pleaded Jones Act Seaman personal injury claim may not be removed from
state court, but if it is removed—after resolving any doubts of fact
and law in the plaintiff ’s favor—it must be remanded to state
court.10
Stowers
Finally, while analyzing Stowers, the 5th Circuit, in
Westport Ins. Corp. v. Pa. Nat’l Mut. Cas. Ins. Co.,
recounted a Stowers demand’s prerequisites and the
elements necessary to trigger the Stowers duty and,
ultimately, determined
that three distinct demands were valid Stowers demands: a
written demand with a 15-day expiration and two discrete oral
counteroffers lacking express terms and conditions that were extensions
or continuations of a mediator’s proposed settlement agreement
that contained them.11
JULIAN
C. GOMEZ is the managing member of the
Julian C. Gomez Law Firm, the treasurer and second president-elect of
the Attorney Information Exchange Group, a member of the American
Association for Justice Executive Committee and past chair of its
Products Liability Section, and a past chair of its Technology and
Science Section. Gomez previously served as a law clerk to Judge
Reynaldo Garza, U.S. Court of
Appeals for the 5th Circuit, and Judge Filemón Vela Sr., U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of Texas.
