Source: https://www.themundyfirm.com/blog/2013/03/18/car-wreck-law-non-use-123274
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 09:09:06+00:00

Document:
A trial court's decision to admit or exclude evidence is generally reviewed for an abuse of discretion. All Metals Fabricating, Inc. v. Ramer Concrete, Inc., 338 S.W.3d 557, 561 (Tex.App.--El Paso 2009, no pet.). Even if error occurs, the case will not be reversed unless the error probably caused the rendition of an improper judgment. See TEX.R.APP.P. 44.1; Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation v. Malone, 972 S.W.2d 35, 43 (Tex. 1998).
The standard of review for a pure legal question is de novo, and a reviewing court must determine if the trial court acted without reference to any guiding rules or principles. Worford v. Stamper, 801 S.W.2d 108, 109 (Tex. 1990). When conducting a de novo review, an appellate court exercises its own judgment and redetermines each issue of fact and law. Quick v. City of Austin, 7 S.W.3d 109 (Tex. 1998). In so doing, we accord no deference to the trial court. See State v. Heal, 917 S.W.2d 6, 9 (Tex. 1996).
Prior to repeal in 2003, Texas Transportation Code Sections 545.413(g) and 545.412(d) provided a statutory bar to the admissibility of evidence regarding seat belt non-usage.
However, long before these provisions (and their predecessors) were enacted, it was well established in Texas jurisprudence that such evidence did not constitute contributory negligence, nor was it properly considered as a means to mitigate damages. See Carnation Co. v. Wong, 516 S.W.2d 116, 117 (Tex. 1974); Kerby v. Abilene Christian College, 503 S.W.2d 526, 528 (Tex. 1974); Pool v. Ford Motor Co., 715 S.W.2d 629, 633 (Tex. 1986); see also Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. v. Glyn-Jones, 878 S.W.2d 132, 134 (Tex. 1994)("[T]he legislature could have overruled our decision in Kerby and Carnation and established a basis for a negligence per se defense whenever a plaintiff failed to wear a seat belt. Instead, the legislature . . . ratif[ied] Carnation's holding.").
The first case in Texas to address the issue of a seat belt defense held there was insufficient evidence to show that the decedents, whose deaths resulted from a motor vehicle collision, would have lived had they worn their seat belts. Tom Brown Drilling Co. v. Nieman, 418 S.W.2d 337, 341 (Tex.Civ.App.--Eastland 1967, writ ref'd n.r.e). The court noted that there was neither a mandatory seat belt usage statute in Texas nor authority to determine whether a plaintiff had a duty to wear a seat belt. The court discussed the split in other jurisdictions with respect to recognizing the so called "seat belt defense" but it did not directly address whether the plaintiff had a responsibility to use an available seat belt. One year later, an intermediate court again refused to decide whether the plaintiff had a duty to wear a seat belt. Sonnier v. Ramsey, 424 S.W.2d 684 (Tex.Civ.App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1968, writ ref'd n.r.e). But the opinion appeared to suggest the possibility of considering the seat belt defense in subsequent cases. The court noted that should such a scenario occur, the seat belt defense should be used when addressing damages, rather than when determining liability. The question was finally answered in Quinius v. Estrada, 448 S.W.2d 552, 554 (Tex.Civ.App.--Austin 1969, writ ref'd n.r.e.). The answer was no. See id. (determining that the plaintiff had no duty to fasten the seat belt and therefore failure to fasten was not negligent).
We draw a sharp distinction between negligence contributing to the accident and negligence contributing to the damages sustained. Contributory negligence must have the causal connection with the accident that but for the conduct the accident would not have happened. Negligence that merely increases or adds to the extent of the loss or injury occasioned by another's negligence is not such contributory negligence as will defeat recovery. The conduct of driving . . . without use of available seat belts has been held not to be contributory negligence.
Kerby, 503 S.W.2d at 528. The decision was important because it distinguished between negligence that contributes to the accident and negligence that worsens the injuries sustained. While the court did not specifically say that evidence of non-use was irrelevant, it criticized the suitability of the evidence. Further, the court's distinction between the two types of negligence pointed out the inadequacies of a negligence theory in addressing the seat belt defense.
Shortly after Kerby was decided, the Texas Supreme Court, in a per curiam opinion, denied a petition for writ of error in King Son Wong v. Carnation Co. The Wongs sued Carnation after sustaining injuries when their automobile was negligently struck by a truck owned by Carnation. The trial court admitted seat belt evidence and found that the plaintiffs' failure to buckle their seat belts constituted negligence and was a proximate cause of the injuries they sustained. The appellate court reversed, holding that under Kerby, there was no duty to wear a seat belt in order to mitigate damages. 509 S.W.2d 385, 387 (Tex.Civ.App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1974). The Texas Supreme Court refused the application for writ of error, rejecting all cases from other jurisdictions that allowed the seat belt defense to completely bar a plaintiff's recovery through contributory negligence. 516 S.W.2d at 116. The court then dismissed the mitigation of damages approach, stating that "there was no evidence to prove that had plaintiff been wearing seat belts [sic], the injuries suffered would have been less than those actually sustained." Id. at 117. The Supreme Court determined that the Court of Civil Appeals' decision was correct because "persons whose negligence did not contribute to an automobile accident should not have the damages awarded to them reduced or mitigated because of their failure to wear available seat belts."
In 1985, the Texas Legislature enacted the mandatory seat belt statute. See former TEX.REV.CIV.STAT. art. 6701d, § 107C(j). In addition to making non-use of a seat belt an offense, Section 107C(j) provided that "[u]se or nonuse of a safety belt is not admissible evidence in a civil trial." In other words, the Legislature codified the holding in Carnation. As a result, there was no possibility for a tort litigant to raise a seat belt defense in Texas because for nearly two decades the statute continued to prevent admission of seat belt nonuse evidence when it was being offered in an attempt to reduce a defendant's liability. Section 107C(j) was later replaced with Sections 545.412(d) and 545.413(g) of the Texas Transportation Code. Accordingly, notwithstanding the repeal of Sections 545.412(d) and 545.413(g), evidence of non-use is inadmissible because it is an act which precedes the crash-causing negligence and the duty to mitigate damages rises only after those acts which led to the crash.
In 2003, as part of House Bill 4, the Legislature repealed Texas Transportation Code Sections 545.412(d) and 545.413(g) without substituting any language whatsoever. Surprisingly few opinions have addressed the seat-belt defense in light of the legislative amendments. However, there are a handful of cases which we find relevant to our analysis.
Id., citing Carnation, 516 S.W.2d at 117; and Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 878 S.W.2d at 134. It then concluded that the alleged failure to wear a seatbelt, "did not contribute to the automobile accident, and, under current Texas law, they should not have their damages reduced or mitigated because of this failure." Id. at 11, citing Carnation Co.,516 S.W.2d at 117; Ramirez v. Michelin N. Am., Inc., No. 5:07-CV-01032-OLG, Doc. No. 199 (W.D. Tex. Feb. 18, 2010)("The current state of the law in Texas is that evidence of a plaintiff's negligence antedating the defendant's wrongful conduct is not admissible to reduce or mitigate the plaintiff's damages."); Pool v. Ford Motor Co., 715 S.W.2d 629, 633 (Tex. 1986)(failure to wear available seat belts); Kerby v. Abilene Christian College, 503 S.W.2d 526, 528 (Tex. 1973)(driving with an open delivery van door); Haney Elec. Co. v. Hurst, 624 S.W.2d 602, 611 (Tex.Civ.App.--Dallas 1981, writ dism'd)(driving with a can of gasoline in the rear of a station wagon); Block v. Mora, No. 07-08-0092-CV, 2009 WL 35421 *7 (Tex.App.--Amarillo Jan. 7, 2009, pet. dism'd)(driving with an unsecured tire in the bed of a pickup truck); and Goldberg v. Dicks, No. 12-02-00053-CV, 2004 WL 253250, at *15-16 (Tex.App.--Tyler February 11, 2004, pet. denied)(riding in an open pickup truck bed).
Secondly, the court considered whether non-usage could mitigate damages, finding that mitigation "does not apply in these circumstances." Id. at 11. "The mitigation of damages doctrine requires an injured party to exercise reasonable care to minimize its damages if damages can be avoided with only slight expense and reasonable effort." Id., citing Cotton v. Weatherford Bancshares, Inc., 187 S.W.3d 687, 708 (Tex.App.--Fort Worth 2006, pet. denied.). Because the plaintiff's non-use of a restraint system was "subsequent negligence" it did not warrant a deduction in recovery based on a failure to mitigate.
We now turn to the first prong of our inquiry -- did the trial court abuse its discretion by excluding evidence regarding the non-usage of seat belts? For more than thirty years, Texas law has recognized that the use (or non-use) of a seat-belt does not make a collision more or less likely and therefore does not constitute contributory negligence. Likewise, the non-use of a seat belt cannot constitute a failure to mitigate damages because the claimant cannot reduce its damages before they occur, and the act of using or not using the seat belt does not intervene between the defendant's negligence and the claimant's damages.
In repealing Sections 545.412 and 545.413, the Legislature had the opportunity to mandate admissibility, but it chose to remain silent on the issue. Therefore, legislative amendments had no bearing on the continuing effect of Carnation, Kerby, Glyn-Jones, and their progeny. As an intermediate appellate court, it is not within our province to overturn prior Supreme Court authority. "It is not the function of a court of appeals to abrogate or modify established precedent. That function lies solely with [the Supreme] Court." Lubbock County, Texas v. Trammel's Lubbock Bail Bonds, 80 S.W.3d 580, 585 (Tex. 2002); see also Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. v. Schuster, 144 S.W.3d 554, 565 (Tex.App.--Austin 2004, no pet.)("As an intermediate appellate court, we are not free to mold Texas law as we see fit but must instead follow the precedents of the Texas Supreme Court unless and until the high court overrules them or the Texas Legislature supersedes them by statute.").
HB4 now allows the jury to know whether or not a plaintiff who is suing because of the injuries sustained in an automobile accident was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. Unbelievably, prior to 2003, Texas law prohibited admission of evidence that the Plaintiff was partially at fault for their own damages for failure to wear their seatbelt, despite the fact that state law required every passenger to wear a seat belt. Now, common sense prevails, and the jury is given additional legitimate and relevant information on which to base its verdict.
See Joseph M. Nixon, The Purpose, History and Five Year Effect of Recent Lawsuit Reform in Texas, TEXAS STATE BAR LITIGATION SECTION REPORT, THE ADVOCATE 9, 17 (Fall 2008).
This is merely one legislator's opinion and is not evidence of legislative intent. "Explanations produced, after the fact, by individual legislators are not statutory history, and can provide little guidance as to what the legislature collectively intended." Entergy Gulf States, Inc. v. Summers, 282 S.W.3d 433, 444 (Tex. 2009), quoting In Re Doe, 19 S.W.3d 346, 352 (Tex. 2000). It is not proper for the courts to read into the statute something that was not spelled out clearly by the Legislature. See Smith v. State, 5 S.W.3d 673, 679 (Tex.Crim.App. 1999), citing Coit v. State, 808 S.W.2d 473, 475 (Tex.Crim.App. 1991). Absent a specific legislative mandate affirmatively authorizing the admission of such evidence, or legislative history specifically advising the courts of appeals in Texas that long established court precedent is being overruled, the courts should not guess at the Legislature's intent. See Smith v. State, 5 S.W.3d 673, 678 (Tex.Crim.App. 1999).

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