Texas Accident Victims - News You Can Use

Texas Court Throws Out Wrongful Death Lawsuit Involving Unsafe Bridge

The Texas Supreme Court has decided to throw out a wrongful death lawsuit involving a Cedar Park teenager who drowned after the car she was in drove off of a bridge and into the water below. The court’s decision stated that the construction company that left the bridge in a dangerous condition was not responsible for the death since they simply filled their contractual obligations.

In 2004, 18-year-old Courtney Foreman was in a car with two others on a rainy night when the vehicle slid through a 15-foot gap in a narrow bridge and plunged into the water below. While the other two people in the car escaped and swam to safety, Foreman drowned. After the accident, Foreman’s parents sued Allen Keller Co., the construction company that left the 15-foot space without a guardrail.

While the court agreed that the bridge was certainly a danger, it also stated that the construction company did not have a duty to keep drivers safe or warn them of the dangerous spot. In addition, the court stated that making construction companies responsible for these types of accidents would significantly raise the cost of construction.

Foreman’s family has settled wrongful death lawsuits already with O'Malley Engineers of San Antonio (for $400,000) and Gillespie County (for $50,000). The gap in the bridge has been closed by the county with a guardrail.

Read More About Texas Court Throws Out Wrongful Death Lawsuit Involving Unsafe Bridge...

back to top