Fight Over Noneconomic Damages Cap Teed Up for Texas Supreme Court

If a trucking company gets its way at the Texas Supreme Court, the grief of rich plaintiffs will be worth more in wrongful death damages than the grief of poorer plaintiffs, numerous law professors and a trial attorney interest group argue.

Later this month, the state’s high court will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit stemming from a fatal pileup that happened on a stretch of dark, icy road in the Texas Panhandle in November 2013. The two families who sued the allegedly responsible driver and her employer were awarded nearly $39 million in damages by a jury — $35.9 million of which was noneconomic damages. Those types of damages are intended to compensate an injured person or their family for physical pain and suffering, mental and emotional anguish, loss of companionship and loss of life.