§ 15.093.Torts

The provision that gives a justice court plaintiff the place of the events.

A tort suit for damages may be brought in the county and precinct in which the injury was inflicted.

This matters because the general rule does not offer it. In justice court the default is the defendant's residence, so without this section a small tort claim would have to follow the defendant home.

Note how the test differs from the district court rule. The general venue provision speaks of the county where all or a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred. This one speaks of where the injury was inflicted — narrower, and pointed at the moment of harm rather than at the course of conduct leading to it.

For a collision or a fight the two tests give the same answer. For a claim where the negligent act and the injury happened in different places, this section follows the injury.

It is permissive, so the option provision preserves the defendant's county of residence as an alternative.

Where the injury was inflicted on a county boundary — a road or river forming the line — the concurrent jurisdiction provision earlier in the chapter means the courts of both counties may hear it, so the plaintiff need not prove which side of the line the harm occurred on.