LITIGATION UPDATE: Actual Responsibility and Substantial Factor Causation In the Wake of Werner v. Blake: A Win for Commercial Drivers and Their Employers

On June 27, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion in Werner Enterprises Inc. v. Blake, -- S.W.3d (Tex. 2025), 2024 WL 7043877, reversing the trial court's $90 million nuclear verdict. The Court held that Werner Enterprises and its driver were not liable when the Werner truck collided with a pickup truck that careened across the icy road. The court found that “the rule of proximate causation does not permit a factfinder to search for other, subordinate actors in the causal chain and assign liability to them.” Id. The Court determined that the Defendant’s possible negligence was “too attenuated to qualify as the substantial factor necessary for proximate causation.” Id.

The decision indicates a shift from allowing Plaintiffs to rely heavily on “but-for causation” to establish proximate causation and liability, to requiring Plaintiffs to prove the Defendants’ negligence played a substantial role in causing the accident.

Read the full article by Catalina Booth here.