When most people hear malpractice they think of medical malpractice lawyers trying to win settlements for personal injuries. In the most serious of cases this can even be death. Approximately, 225,000 people die each year from medical malpractice, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Fortunately, this case isn’t quite that tragic, although it did stem from a personal injury case.
Domino’s Pizza is suing their former attorney, Anthony LaPorte, for malpractice stemming from a 2009 case he represented them in. In that case, Domino’s was sued by a family after one of their delivery drivers hit their kid with his car while the kid was skateboarding in the street, according to the legal news source Texaslawyer.com. The child was luckily able to make it out alive, but with injuries. About 37,000 people die in road crashes annually in the United States.
Domino’s ultimately faced a $2 million verdict that resulted in a $900,000 final judgement. At the heart of Domino’s argument against their former attorney who represented them unsuccessfully in that case is the company’s allegation that Laporte didn’t prevent or object to a critical omission in the jury charge.
The jury was asked to assign responsibility only to the Domino’s driver and the child involved, despite the fact that the child’s father was also present at the time of the accident. During the trial, Domino’s believes Laporteshould have called the father to testify as a witness. That way he could have ultimately also been included in the jury charge and identified by the jury as having part responsibility.
For his part, Laporte maintains that he acted in good faith and firmly de3nies any allegations of malpractice. Laporte and his attorney, R. Russ Jones of Underwood Jones and Scherrer in Houston, could not be reached for direct comment. The parties have until Jan. 16 to try and dispose of the case.
