Texas Jury Awards $24.7 Million in Drunk Driving Case

August 13, 2004

  • August 13, 2004 at 2:59 am
    Steve R says:
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    This is a tragic case,but how is the insurance company to know about the DWI and suspension unless they recently checked the MVR. I do not think our company checks MVRs before approving a rental car.

  • August 13, 2004 at 3:21 am
    Jack says:
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    HOW many millions?????????????

    what exactly did toyota do to incur this liability?
    our society desperately needs tort reform…

  • August 13, 2004 at 3:38 am
    ANDY says:
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    WHAT A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE. HOW MANY MILLIONS ?!?!?!?!?! WHAT IN THE WORLD DID TOYOTA DO TO HAVE ANY LIABILITY? FROM NOW ON, I GUESS ALL OF THE RENTAL CAR COMPANIES SHOULD VERIFY MVR’s BEFORE RENTING VEHICLES!! THAT WILL CERTAINLY HELP TO HOLD DOWN THEIR EVER INCREASING COSTS !!

  • August 13, 2004 at 4:01 am
    David says:
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    They just have to have it bigger in Texas.
    They still consider themselves a republic.

  • August 13, 2004 at 4:18 am
    Jon says:
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    If the accident was reported to Progressive and they had the initial facts of loss the adjuster would have been able to figure out their insured’s license would be subject to automatic suspension.

    You can’t blame it on technology if you’re Progressive. With the best IT systems in the industry they should have known.

    The award – sounds like something you’d hear in Mississippi.

  • August 13, 2004 at 4:23 am
    Brett Calder says:
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    Let’s take a look at the facts here:
    1) The insured’s contract specified that he had coverage for a rental vehicle.
    2) The insured was handed back his license and received no notice personally that advised him his license was revoked.
    3) The insured called his insurance company, who transferred his call to the rental agency. The company had no knowledge of his suspension. They agreed, per the terms of his policy, to pay Enterprise for the rental charges.
    4) Enterprise, who looked at a valid license, rented him a car.

    Now the companies are liable for millions of dollars because of the acts of this drunk? And everyone thinks underwriters are just too conservative? Everyone screams that looking at other traits (like responsible handling of credit) is too “unrelated”, yet everyone wants “cheap” insurance.

    Where is the money supposed to come from? I’ll bet these same jurors go home and complain about the ridiculous cost of their own car insurance.

    Yet lawyers say they’re merely protecting our “rights”.

    It’s not just Texas folks, it happens everywhere! Pretty sad travesty of justice!

  • August 13, 2004 at 5:26 am
    Dan Fagan says:
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    How about making the charge to get an MVR reasonable instead of making it a huge profit item for the states? If it only cost $1 to run one instead of $5 to $10, running one would not be a big deal.

  • August 13, 2004 at 5:50 am
    Mark says:
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    Progressive DOES rerun MVRs every renewal in Texas. And if you have a suspended license, you’re not supposed to be able to get insurance in Texas, unless it’s through the AR. Also, apparently he was recently released from jail on a prior conviction. Does this mean that he was arrested for an accident he had before? If Progressive had arranged for the rental car, it leads me to believe he was using their “bring you car in and we’ll take care of everything” claim process. They arranged for the rental car, probable due to the fact that his car might have already been wrecked. You have to look at the whole story that the media may not be reporting. Progressive should not have arranged anything for him, he should have gotten his own rental car. This is why agents and companies need to let the insured handle their own claim.

  • August 13, 2004 at 6:28 am
    Rod says:
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    What a great way to make money. Have a relative die in a crash and sue everybody under the sun. America is great!

  • August 13, 2004 at 6:42 am
    Dody says:
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    Until most of the people in the USA comprehend that “the money” you get from an insurance company or from the government comes from “the people” there won’t be any improvement!

    Our juries are made up of quite a cross section of people … but so often Mr. and Mrs. Average need to go to work and beg off of jury duty!

    While it is true that everyone should be careful when doing their job, over 24 million dollars hardly seems reasonable. And, as someone already pointed out, no doubt everyone on the jury is always looking for lower premiums! Go figure!



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