Jury Finds for Plaintiff in I-35 Chain-Reaction Rear-End Collision Despite Minimal-Impact Defense

On October 21, 2011, Karen Gress, a 51-year-old information-technology project manager, was driving southbound on Interstate 35 near McCullough Avenue in San Antonio when traffic ahead of her stopped due to a highway accident. She brought her vehicle to a stop. Gabriel A. Ruiz, driving behind her, did not stop in time and struck her car from the rear.

Four days after the crash, Gress sought medical treatment for neck, left shoulder, and chest pain. Imaging revealed a 2.96-millimeter posterior central disc protrusion at C4-5 with thecal sac impingement, a finding her medical providers linked to the collision. She sought compensation for past and future medical expenses, physical impairment, and pain and mental anguish.

The defense built its case around the argument that the collision was a low-speed, minor-impact event that could not have caused the injuries Gress described. Defense counsel pointed out that she had declined treatment at the scene and, by the time the case went to trial, had not sought further medical care for approximately three years. Those gaps, the defense argued, undercut the causal link between the crash and her claimed damages.

Candelario S. Trevino Jr., now of Trevino Injury Law, represented Gress along with co-counsel from Gene Toscano, Inc. and pressed back on that narrative. The plaintiff's requested damages included $3,486.89 in past medical bills and $10,459.17 for future medical care, the latter calculated at roughly three times the past expenditure.

The Bexar County jury returned a verdict for Gress. The panel awarded $3,487 for past medical costs, $1,500 for future medical costs, $1,100 for past physical impairment, and $1,100 for past physical pain and mental anguish, totaling $7,186.89. With prejudgment interest and taxable costs added, the court entered a final judgment of $8,605.60. The case was docketed as Cause No. 2013-CI-05359.