Martinez v. Kwas

• Decision Date: 04 June 2020
• Docket Number: NO. 01-18-01085-CV,01-18-01085-CV
• Citation: 606 S.W.3d 446
• Parties: Julio Edwin MARTINEZ, Lone Star Disposal (Texas), LLC, and Lone Star Disposal, L.P., Appellants v. Jennifer KWAS, Appellee
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

606 S.W.3d 446

Julio Edwin MARTINEZ, Lone Star Disposal (Texas), LLC, and Lone Star Disposal, L.P., Appellants

v.Jennifer KWAS, Appellee

NO. 01-18-01085-CV

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st Dist.).

Opinion issued June 4, 2020

Sydney Meriwether, Robert E. Ammons, John Blaise Gsanger, Scott Marshall, Houston, for Appellee.

Jack McKinley, Houston, Wade R. Quinn, Lance Olinde, Jr., for Appellants.

Panel consists of Justices Keyes, Lloyd, and Hightower.

Richard Hightower, Justice Appellee Jennifer Kwas sued appellants Julio Edwin Martinez, Lone Star Disposal (Texas), LLC, and Lone Star Disposal, L.P. (collectively, Lone Star) for injuries she sustained when a dump truck, owned by Lone Star and driven by Martinez, struck the ambulance in which she was riding as a paramedic for the City of La Porte, Texas. A jury found both Martinez and Lone Star negligent and awarded Kwas $400,000 in past damages and $700,000 for her future pain and mental anguish. The jury further found that Lone Star was grossly negligent, and it awarded Kwas $250,000 in punitive damages based on that finding. The trial court rendered judgment based on the jury's verdict.

On appeal, Lone Star argues in its first three issues that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of certain motor vehicle citations issued to Lone Star drivers and in allowing Kwas's accident reconstruction expert to give "speculative" opinions. Lone Star further argues in its fourth and fifth issues that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's finding of gross negligence and award of damages for future pain and mental anguish.

We affirm.

Background

In December 2015, Kwas, who was a paramedic, was working with a patient in the back of an ambulance that was traveling through the intersection of the Beltway 8 feeder road and Vista Road when a dump truck, owned by Lone Star and driven by Martinez, crashed into the ambulance.

Witnesses observed various aspects of the crash. Some witnesses saw the ambulance approach with its lights flashing. Some also heard the sirens. Several witnesses testified that the ambulance approached the intersection, blew its air horn, and slowed or paused before observing that the cars at the intersection had stopped. The ambulance proceeded into the intersection a short way until it saw the dump truck quickly approaching the intersection. The ambulance driver stopped as soon as he saw the truck. Witnesses testified that it was clear the truck would not be able to stop in time and that the driver swerved away from the ambulance, appeared to over-correct, and then tipped over on top of the ambulance, spilling its load of broken concrete onto the ambulance and the roadway.

Other witnesses testified that they saw the dump truck pass stopped cars in the left lane of the intersection, and one witness stated that the collision could have been avoided if the truck driver had heeded the warning lights and sirens. Specifically, Michael Sharp, who saw the ambulance approach the intersection and stopped, testified about his observations. He stated that he saw the ambulance pass by him and saw "the driver of the dump truck swerve one way and then swerve the other, kind of countering, I guess, not to hit somebody else. And then it stopped and it crushed the front of the ambulance." He clarified that the truck had tipped over, stating, "When the dump truck, I guess, noticed there was somebody in his lane, he turned. And then when he turned back to the—so he turned right. Then he turned back to the left. When that happened, all the weight, I guess, shifted" and the truck fell over. Sharp stated that the truck "landed" and crushed concrete "just went everywhere" when the truck stopped on its side.

Regarding the crash itself, Martinez testified that he never heard the ambulance sirens. He stated that he was stopped at the intersection behind another dump truck and two smaller vehicles, and he started to go when the light turned green. He testified that his view of the intersection from the direction the ambulance was coming was blocked by "the wall" or embankment along the roadway. He had previously told an investigator that he saw the cars to his right stop at the green light and wondered why they were stopping, but at trial he testified that he did not notice any cars stopping at the intersection. When he finally saw the ambulance, he "wasn't able to stop the truck because the ambulance was coming too fast," so he swerved in an attempt to avoid the collision, resulting in the truck turning over. He stated, "[A]ll of a sudden, I saw the ambulance right in front of my truck at a stop.... I wanted to apply the brakes. I applied the brakes all the way. But, no, when I saw that it wasn't responding, that's when I did that crazy thing I did," attempting a sharp right turn to avoid a collision. When asked if he thought the weight of his truck caused the accident, Martinez testified that he would not have been able to stop in time, even if his truck had been empty.

Officer C.D. Williams, a police officer with the City of Pasadena's Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit, investigated the crash and testified regarding his findings. He supervised the city crew that loaded up the broken concrete back into the truck's roll-off container once the truck had been set upright by a wrecker. He also weighed the truck and completed a "DOT inspection report," a report that is filed with the Department of Transportation (DOT), as part of his investigation. Officer Williams testified that "Texas law allows for [that particular truck] to be a certain weight on certain axles. And once we weighed it, we determined that the truck was overweight." Specifically, he testified that the truck was allowed 44,000 pounds on "tandem axles"—i.e. the two rear axles of the three-axle truck—but it weighed 54,600 pounds. He also testified that the truck was over the allowable total weight—the "allowable gross weight is 64,000 for the truck," but its gross weight was 67,750 pounds. Officer Williams recorded these weights in his DOT inspection report. He testified that the report was not a citation, but a "warning" that was sent to the Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Officer Williams testified that, in his opinion, trucking companies should train and supervise their employees not to haul overweight loads and that companies are required by law to ensure that their trucks comply with weight limits. Officer Williams testified that one of the reasons that the State of Texas restricts the weight of certain trucks is for the safety of "the motoring public." He testified that the weight of the truck affects stopping distance, and overweight loads can also cause damage to the trucks themselves or the roadways. He testified that driving big trucks that are overweight is dangerous because "[i]t takes a greater distance to stop" and can ultimately lead to crashes.

Both Kwas and Lone Star presented testimony from accident reconstruction specialists. Chandler Benton Randle testified on behalf of Lone Star that, based on his calculations, the "assumed overweight condition of the vehicle" did not contribute to the crash or rollover. Lone Star's theory at trial was that Martinez would have crashed, even if his truck had been empty, and that the crash occurred because the ambulance ran the red light at the intersection under unsafe conditions, without verifying that the intersection was clear. James Evans, Kwas's accident reconstruction expert, opined, however, that Martinez failed to keep a proper lookout and failed to yield the right-of-way to an emergency vehicle, and he opined that the overweight load of the truck was a factor in reaching his conclusion.

Brett Sarver testified as the representative of Lone Star. He testified new hires would receive forms setting out key policies and that, if the new employee needed help, a Spanish-speaking supervisor or dispatcher would "[g]o through all the forms with them." Sarver testified that forms are provided in Spanish and in English. Martinez, however, testified that when he was hired, he was given documents only in English. He stated that he was not able to read the documents Lone Star gave him and that he had been "careless" about signing the forms without reading them. He also stated that no one from Lone Star discussed the documents with him or asked if he understood what he was signing.

The weight of the truck was a significant issue at trial. Sarver testified that weight restrictions were an important safety issue, but Lone Star left determinations about the weight of the loads up to its drivers. He testified that Lone Star's drivers were experienced, that they were supervised closely before being allowed to haul loads on their own, and that they were trained in how to deal with suspected overweight loads, such as by calling the dispatcher. Sarver further testified that it was "impractical" to expect drivers to be able to weigh the loads they picked up—customers were responsible for loading the containers that got picked up and the drivers "can't carry scales in [the] trucks. We don't have—the trucks are not—you know, they're just not designed for that." He testified that Lone Star did not provide scales to its drivers, even though Evans and Randle had both testified that the truck Martinez was driving at the time of the crash had technologically advanced onboard scales that were capable of functioning.

Martinez testified that he did not receive any training from Lone Star regarding the weight of his loads or other safety issues. Martinez testified that he did not know how much weight he was hauling on the day of the crash. He stated that Lone Star told him not to haul overweight loads, but it never provided him with any means to weigh his loads or with any additional training on the matter. Martinez testified that he knew the weight of a truck impacted its ability to stop and turn. He testified that he had a lot of experience driving "roll-off" dump trucks, which...