Wright v. Standard Oil Co.

470 F.2d 1280 (1972)

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Wright v. Standard Oil Co.

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
470 F.2d 1280 (1972)

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Facts

Albert and Grace Wright (plaintiffs) were visiting relatives. Albert took their five-year-old son, Douglas, across a nearby highway on foot to a small grocery store and left Douglas alone there. Douglas attempted to cross the highway alone and was hit by a Standard Oil Company (defendant) truck. Douglas was severely injured and left paraplegic. The Wrights filed suit, seeking damages for Douglas’s injuries. The driver (defendant) was found negligent, but Albert was also found contributorily negligent for not properly supervising Douglas. The trial court awarded damages related to Douglas’s medical care, both for direct medical expenses and for Grace’s loss of income from becoming Douglas’s caregiver, and for loss of Douglas’s earnings, divided equally between Albert and Grace. It then reduced these awards by two-thirds (the amount of Albert’s contributory negligence) on the reasoning that Albert, as the father, had the sole right to collect damages for Douglas’s medical expenses because a father is primarily legally responsible for the support of a minor child. The Wrights appealed the trial court’s decision on the grounds that Grace had a legally protected interest independent of Albert.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Ingraham, J.)

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