14th Court of Appeals holds describing the general place where an injury occurs is sufficient for Tort Claims Act notice.
Special contributing author Laura Mueller, City Attorney for Dripping Springs
Metro. Transit Auth. of Harris County v. Tracey Carr, No. 14-19-00158-CV (Tex. App.—Houston [14th] January 12, 2021) (mem. op.).
In this appeal from a trial court’s order denying the city’s plea to the jurisdiction in a vehicle accident tort claims case, the 14th Court of Appeals affirmed the denial.
The plaintiff sued the transit authority after she was injured on a bus. The plaintiff was injured when boarding a bus due to the driver’s sudden acceleration. The plaintiff alleged that the injury occurred on October 25, 2017 on or around 7:15 p.m. near a specific intersection on Bus 3578. She stated that the driver was male and either Hispanic or Caucasian. The plaintiff injured her back, neck, and spine. The plaintiff notified the transit authority of this information within six months of her alleged injury. The transit authority filed a plea to the jurisdiction asserting the notice was insufficient because she gave the wrong bus number in her notice. The trial court denied the Authority’s plea to the jurisdiction and the Authority appealed.
A plaintiff is required to present written notice to the governmental entity within six months of an injury that could give rise to a claim under the Texas Torts Claim Act. The notice has to “reasonably” describe the injury or damage, the time and place of the incident in question, and the facts of the incident. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101(a). Whether a notice provided to the governmental entity is timely and adequate is a question of law for the court to decide. The court of appeals upheld the trial court’s denial of the transit authority’s plea to the jurisdiction, holding that the plaintiff’s notice was sufficient because she provided notice of the location, the injury, and the facts of the injury. The description was sufficient with the street intersection despite the allegation that the bus number of the bus where the accident occurred was incorrect.
If you would like to read this opinion click here. Panel consists of Chief Justice Christopher and Justices Wise and Zimmerer. Opinion by Justice Ken Wise.
