Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has received $8 million from accident lawsuit

June 1, 2022 Dallas News Comments Off on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has received $8 million from accident lawsuit 62 Views

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has received $8 million so far from the settlement of a lawsuit over the 1984 accident that put him in a wheelchair.

Abbott, 64, was the state’s attorney general in 2013 and running for his first term as governor when he decided to voluntarily release copies of the September 1986 agreement to the media. He’s now running for a third term against Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

He was 26 at the time of the incident when he went for an afternoon jog on a windy day through River Oaks in Houston. A limb snapped off a large oak tree as he was passing under it, crushing his spine and damaging his kidneys.

Abbott sued the homeowner and tree care company and won a settlement, which shows tax-free annuities in graduated payments. The payments began with a $300,000 check in 1986. They include both monthly payments that will continue for the rest of his life and lump sums that are deposited every three years until the final one this year.

In 2016, during his first term as governor, he received $450,000. The next payment came during his second term — $500,000 in 2019 — and the final one of $740,020 is scheduled for Nov. 1, 2022. That would increase the total to nearly $9 million, without adjusting for inflation.

The monthly payments began at $5,000 in November 1986 and increase at 4% per year, compounded annually. They are currently more than $20,000 a month.

As governor, Abbott is paid $153,750 per year.

Abbott has disputed criticism that such a settlement could not be achieved today because of legislation he helped champion 10 years ago that imposed limits on lawsuit awards.

He argues that anyone in similar circumstances could reach the same type of settlement today.

Under the law, punitive damages — meant to punish gross negligence or bad faith — have been capped at $750,000. It still allows payments for medical costs, potential lost wages, economic damages and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Matt Hirsch, a spokesman for the Abbott campaign in 2013, said then that Abbott did not seek punitive damages in his lawsuit.

“Noneconomic damages that General Abbott sought include injuries resulting in physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, and reduced capacity to work and earn money,” Hirsch said, adding that Abbott also sought damages for doctor, hospital, therapy and pharmaceutical bills.

The campaign did not release copies of the actual lawsuit, which would include pleadings and requests for damages.

Hirsch said Abbott has worked to ensure that the injury does not hold him back. It has given him a greater appreciation for his family, faith and for time, he said.

“He genuinely believes his life has been fuller and better after the accident,” Hirsch said. “He follows an oversimplified motto: ‘You never know when a tree is going to fall on you.’”