HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A jury has awarded $500,000 to a man who sued the City of Houston after he says he was injured by a golf cart being driven by a city official.
John Branch, the man at the center of the lawsuit, is director of Precinct 1’s all-volunteer Community Emergency Response Team.
He said he was at a parade commemorating the 125th anniversary of Booker T. Washington High School in 2018 when his leg was run over by the golf cart.
“It rolled up my foot and up the bottom of my shin,” Branch said.
In his lawsuit, he claims the golf cart was operated by then-Houston City Council member Michael Kubosh.
“My members were there, and they all grabbed the golf cart to try to control it from completely running over me,” Branch said.
Branch was already wearing a prosthetic knee at the time of the accident and said the brush with the golf cart only made matters worse.
“Because my leg was shifting and knocking, a couple of times I’ve had falls,” he said. “One time I had a fall so bad that it put a cut on my head, and I had to go into the ER.”
Kubosh told Eyewitness News that it was then-Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena who was driving the golf cart.
He said both men encouraged Branch to seek medical attention from on-site EMS staff, but said Branch declined.
“No medical was offered,” Branch said in response.
Faced with six-figure medical bills, Branch sued the city in 2020.
The city appealed all the way to the Texas Supreme Court in a bid to get the lawsuit tossed, arguing that Kubosh wasn’t acting in his capacity as a city employee and that it wasn’t a city-owned golf cart.
“We argued that this was a public parade that was permitted by the City of Houston,” Katie James, the attorney representing Branch, said. “There were multiple City of Houston officials at the parade.”
The Supreme Court sided with Branch, ultimately putting the case in the hands of a Harris County jury.
Tuesday, the jury unanimously found in Branch’s favor, awarding him $500,000. He was only asking for $200,000.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” Branch said.
“If you do something wrong, whether it’s an accident or whatever, admit to it. Admit your fault, make good on it,” he added.
Under Texas’s tort law, the city only has to make good on half of the jury’s verdict. Personal injury claims are capped at $250,000.
But Branch says the case is about more than mere money.
“There was no contact made to apologize, to make a payment, to offer,” he said.
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