$______ VERDICT - INSURANCE OBLIGATION - UNINSURED MOTORIST BENEFITS - PLAINTIFFS INJURED IN ACCIDENT CAUSED BY UNIDENTIFIED DRIVER WHO FLED SCENE - DEFENDANT INSURANCE COMPANY DENIES PLAINTIFFS PAYMENT OF BENEFITS - MULTIPLE INJURIES TO PLAINTIFF DRIVER AND MINOR PASSENGER - FRACTURES - SURGERY.

• Pages: 4-4

On May 30, 2017, the 39-year-old male plaintiff was

traveling southbound in the right lane of Tomball Park-

way when suddenly and without warning, the defendant

crashed into the rear of the plaintiff’s vehicle. The force

of the impact caused the plaintiff to lose consciousness

briefly. The plaintiff’s airbags deployed as a result of the

collision.

The plaintiff maintained that the defendant driver was

negligent in operating a vehicle at an excessive rate of

speed, operating the vehicle under the influence of

Xanax and alcohol, failing to drive in a single lane and

failing to take proper evasive action to avoid striking the

plaintiff’s vehicle. The plaintiff also sued the defendant

car owner maintaining that she negligently entrusted her

vehicle to a careless and reckless driver. Consequently,

the plaintiff suffered a concussion with post-concussion

syndrome, cervical and lumbar intervertebral disc dis-

placement, and headaches. The defendants main-

tained that the plaintiff only suffered soft tissue injuries of

the neck and back.

The jury found that the defendant driver was negligent.

The jury found that defendant car owner was not negli-

gent. The jury awarded the plaintiff $86,000 in past

damages and $126,000 in future damages, for a total

of $212,000.

REFERENCE

Esdras Jeremias Chitic Franco vs. Mason Ryan Parks and

Karen Lynette Parks. Case no. 201827139; Judge Cory

Sepolio, 05-11-22.

Attorney for plaintiff: Nhan Nguyen of The Law

Office of Nhan Nguyen in Houston, TX. Attorney for

defendant: Allen A. King of David Black and

Associates in Houston, TX.

$142,000 VERDICT – INSURANCE OBLIGATION – UNINSURED MOTORIST BENEFITS –

PLAINTIFFS INJURED IN ACCIDENT CAUSED BY UNIDENTIFIED DRIVER WHO FLED

SCENE – DEFENDANT INSURANCE COMPANY DENIES PLAINTIFFS PAYMENT OF

BENEFITS – MULTIPLE INJURIES TO PLAINTIFF DRIVER AND MINOR PASSENGER –

FRACTURES – SURGERY.

Dallas County, TX

The plaintiffs in this insurance obligation action

maintained that they were denied benefits for

which they were entitled from the plaintiff’s

insurance carrier, the defendant Farmers, after

they were injured when their vehicle was struck

by a hit and run driver and their vehicle struck a

concrete median and utility pole. The defendant

maintained that the plaintiffs did not prove

elements of their claim.

On March 28, 2016, the 31-year-old female plaintiff

driver and her 11-year-old female daughter were travel-

ing in a vehicle being operated northbound on IH 635 in

Dallas County, Texas. Suddenly and without warning, an

unidentified vehicle collided with the plaintiff’s vehicle

causing the plaintiff’s vehicle to lose control and spin

into a concrete barrier and utility pole. The unidentified

vehicle fled the scene. Both plaintiffs suffered serious

and significant injuries in the collision.

The plaintiffs pursued uninsured motorist benefits from

their insurance carrier, the defendant Farmers. The de-

fendant refused to tender full coverage of the plaintiff’s

benefits. Both plaintiffs were seriously injured in the colli-

sion. The plaintiff driver suffered various serious injuries in-

cluding multiple fractures to both legs, traumatic

hemothorax, multiple left-sided rib fractures, post-hem-

orrhagic anemia, and lacerations of the spleen and kid-

ney. The minor suffered a Monteggia fracture requiring

surgery, a concussion, and fractures of cervical facets.

The defendant argued that there are contractual provi-

sions with which the plaintiff has failed to comply. Specif-

ically, the plaintiff has failed to establish that there are

damages which the plaintiff is legally entitled to recover

from the owner or operator of an uninsured or

underinsured motor vehicle, as required by the contract

of insurance between plaintiff and defendant.

The case went to trial for the adult plaintiff’s claim only.

The jury awarded the plaintiff past medicals of $32,000,

past pain and suffering of $60,000, and future pain and

suffering of $50,000, for a total of $142,000.

REFERENCE

Jaymi Henry Individually and as png of J.C. a minor vs.

Farmers Texas County Mutual Insurance Company.

Case no. DC-16-16389; Judge Maricela Moore, 05-25-

22.

Attorney for plaintiff: Jessica Lynn Sepulveda of

Almasri, Marzwanian & Sepulveda Law Group, PLLC

in Dallas, TX. Attorney for defendant: Dan McClain of

Hoagland, Farish & Palmarozzi in Oklahoma City,

OK.

Volume 13, Issue 11, June 2022

4

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