Background
In April 2023, an eighteen-wheeler collided with a car driven by Ruben Narro. Narro began experiencing debilitating back pain soon after the collision and eventually underwent major surgery.
Narro sued truck driver Sukhwinder Singh and S. Chahal Trucking, Incorporated. Singh conceded that his negligence caused the crash but disputed the extent of Narro’s injuries and whether the accident caused them. The jury found for Narro and awarded him nearly $1.2 million in damages. The defendants appealed and asked the Fifth Circuit to set aside the verdict.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the judgment. After reviewing the parties’ briefs and the record, the panel concluded that it could find no reversible error.
The brief, unpublished per curiam opinion did not separately analyze the defendants’ appellate arguments or identify a specific evidentiary or legal ground for affirmance. It left the jury’s nearly $1.2 million damages award intact.
Key Takeaways
- A defendant’s admission of negligence does not resolve disputed questions about injury severity or causation.
- The jury accepted Narro’s position on his injuries and their connection to the collision, awarding nearly $1.2 million.
- The Fifth Circuit found no reversible error and affirmed without a detailed discussion of the appellate issues.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates the difficulty of overturning a personal-injury jury verdict when the appellate court’s review of the briefs and record reveals no reversible error. Because the opinion is unpublished and provides no extended legal analysis, its significance lies primarily in the disposition of this dispute rather than in the announcement of a new rule.