Man Files Suit Against Other Driver's Employer After Driving Into Ditch To Avoid Collision

A man from Jasper County, Texas has filed a personal injury suit against a glass company after he landed in a ditch during an attempt to avoid being struck by one of the company’s vehicles.

According to the suit Buford B. Taylor filed in Texas’ Jefferson County District Court on July 23, as he was driving his red Ford Explorer on August 9, 2007, Robert Edward Farris, an employee of Susan’s Glass Shop doing business as Glass Doctor, was attempting to make a U-turn.

The suit says that while making the U-turn, Farris crossed into the highway’s outside lane, which caused Taylor to take evasive action, resulting in him leaving the road, becoming airborne, and landing in a ditch.

Taylor claims the accident has caused him to suffer permanent injuries to his body, lose wages, and be forced into early retirement.

The suit says that before the accident, Taylor was an employee of Universal Plant Services Inc., where he earned $21.83 per hour and received overtime at the rate of $32.74. It further states that he was forced to retire early, causing him to lose at least five years’ wages exceeding $200,000.

Taylor also claims that he has incurred medical expenses in excess of $50,000.

The suit alleges negligence on the part of Farris for failure to yield the right-of-way while making a U-turn, crossing into the lane of traffic Taylor was occupying, failure to maintain a proper lookout, turning left into oncoming traffic, and failure to apply his brakes.