93.1. Kiss FM – Ask A Lawyer – Part 2 – Aug 04, 2025

(0:00:00) KSII El Paso, a town square media station playing the best mix and the biggest names in music. Hey, what’s up? It’s Serena Carpenter. Hi, this is Ed Sheeran. Hey, what’s up, y’all? This is Post Malone. 93.1 KISS FM, today’s best mix. All right, we are back. It is Grizz and Gopin in the morning for Ask a Lawyer with Michael Gopin. Hey.

(0:00:24) All right, let’s go ahead and dive right back into our questions. We’ve got some pretty intense ones, and we always do. It seems like people really, you know, they throw out the questions, and, man, some of these, you hear the situations, and you’re like, oh, I am sorry to hear that. I hate that people are dealing with them. What did you take on these questions, too, you know?

(0:00:41) Yeah, yeah. I mean, true, true. My take, I am not a professional, but listen to what I say, all right? Don’t listen to Michael Gopin. Just kidding, just kidding. Here we go. Let’s dive into our next question. We got this one coming in from Joel. I got into a crash driving a friend’s car on Mesa. The accident wasn’t my fault. The other driver ran a stoplight.

(0:01:02) Since the car isn’t in my name, can I still make a claim for my injuries or sue the other driver? Also, my friend is asking me to cover some of the damages to the car. Is this something I can do with my vehicle insurance or do I have to pay that out of pocket? Oh, that’s a rough one. Okay. Well, let’s start with the first half of your question here. Since the car isn’t in your name, yes, you can still make a claim for injuries. The fact that you are driving somebody else’s car has nothing to do with making a claim against the person who caused the accident. Uh-huh.

(0:01:31) So you are good. Just like if you were renting a car, you got in an accident, it was the other person’s fault. Yes, you can sue the other person. So their insurance coverage would kick in. With regards to your friend asking you to pay, your insurance will not pay because it was not your fault in this accident. And your collision coverage would not kick in for someone else’s vehicle. It’s also not your fault. So

(0:01:58) you wouldn’t have necessarily any liability with regards to your friend. I understand the moral issue here. It’s your friend, he lent you the car. That doesn’t mean necessarily that you’re a guarantor of the car’s safety. You didn’t cause the accident, so there’s no legal responsibility there. However, the good news is the other person’s insurance company should pay the repairs. And that’s the simple fix there, is get him to…

(0:02:27) make a claim for the vehicle against the person who caused the accident. So if he has done that already, then it might just be a case of your friend trying to squeeze some more money out of

(0:02:37) That is a possibility. Be careful, Joel. All right. Natalie’s questions. I had a tummy tuck procedure done in Juarez last year, and I’ve been dealing with ongoing complications. I’m worried I may need corrective surgery. Since it happened in Mexico, is there anything I can do legally here in Texas? Unfortunately, there is not anything you can legally do here in Texas. This is a different country, different laws, different rules. If you want to make a claim against

(0:03:06) the particular doctor, you’d have to file it in Mexico, go under the laws of Mexico. So Texas would not have any jurisdiction or right to intervene in this case.

(0:03:16) Would this be one of those situations where, I mean, I don’t know exactly how it works, like insurance, would the insurance company, if you’re filing a claim, would they still be active in Mexico if they have that insurance over there? If the doctor who did the surgery has liability insurance for his medical procedures, that would kick in.

(0:03:38) Certainly, but you’d have to file it under Mexico law, Mexico rules in Mexico, not in Texas. Texas would not be involved. And that’s hopefully a good lesson to anybody. I know a lot of people who go across the border to grab their medical supplies or to get dentist procedures and stuff like that. So that’s like a blanket thing over all of those situations? Over all those, yeah. Okay.

(0:04:03) You can’t bring them to Texas to sue them. Just drag them over like a bounty hunter? Right, right. Okay. Our next question comes from Robert. My ex-wife and I share custody of our two kids, but she recently started dating someone I know has a criminal record for assault and family violence. I’m concerned for their safety. What would I need to do to modify the custody agreement, and is this even something you think would get approved? I don’t want my kids around this person. Okay.

(0:04:30) Yeah, my wife and I actually talked about this question this morning, and it’s an interesting question. You could get the judge to look at this question and present some evidence in court that this person is unsafe, this person has this record, but that doesn’t necessarily control whether or not they are dangerous to your kids. Right.

(0:04:58) If you have any specific instances or examples that would show this is what they did, they slapped him, they hit him, they did something to your kids, that would be a much stronger case. The court is going to be very reluctant, just based on what you’re telling me, to penalize this person and not let them see your kids when they’re in your spouse’s care. She has the decision-making ability.

(0:05:27) But you can take it to court, present your evidence, and see what the judge has to say. The stronger the case that you have and present, the better you have a chance to win. So if this is a situation where this guy is just jealous and there’s no real evidence? I’m not saying that’s in this case, but that has happened many, many occasions before.

(0:05:47) You know, my ex-spouse is seeing someone, dating someone. I’m angry about it. I don’t like it. I don’t want them to see my kids. We’re only human, you know? Right, right.

(0:05:58) All right. We’ve got one final question here. This one comes from Jessica. Jessica says, I slipped on spilled detergent in a Dollar Tree. There were no warning signs and the employee said they were just about to clean it. I did see them bringing a mop already, but it was too late at that point. How do I know if I have a strong case here or not?

(0:06:18) Well, based on the information that you’re giving me, you do have a strong case that they knew, actually had knowledge of the spill on the floor before you fell. Right, because they were coming out with the mops. Right. And they said…

(0:06:31) that they were just about to clean it. So they’ve admitted a little fault there, right? Right. So what they should have done in that situation is to have someone stand by the area and get someone else to get the mop so you can deter the situation from happening. So they could have warned you before you fell or had someone standing there over the spills so people wouldn’t fall. So once they had their knowledge, that’s when their liability come into play here.

(0:06:59) And from your depiction, you’re in good shape here, Jessica. Oh, well, there you go. That’s a good one. Yeah. That’s interesting. All right. So, Jessica, you heard it. Actual knowledge. That’s the key. Yeah. And you know what? You’ve told us this before. We’ve talked about this with other scenarios that are similar to this, where it’s all about whether or not they’ve admitted that they knew that the thing was there. They knew or should have known. Now we have they knew.

(0:07:20) So we’re good. Wow. It’s good to end on a positive one. That’s right. Now, of course, they may say that we didn’t say that. We didn’t know. What are you talking about?

(0:07:30) So I guess if you recorded it, maybe that’s even better. That is good evidence, though. All right, all right. Well, there you go, Jessica. Hopefully you’ve got something to help you out with that case there. And everyone else, remember, if we didn’t get to your question or if you have one that you’d like to submit, download the KISS mobile app, go to the KISS website, find the Ask a Lawyer Michael Gopin button, and you can submit your questions there. That way, next time Michael is in, maybe he’ll answer your legal question. We always appreciate you being here, Michael.

(0:07:57) Well, thank you very much for having me. Have a great day. And you too. That was Michael Gopin for Ask a Lawyer right here on 93.1 KISS FM. Of course, we got more music for you here in the 9 o’clock hour. Michael’s heading out because he’s not the regular host, so why would he be, you know, staying here? I’m staying all day. You can’t get rid of me yet. Well, there you go. Michael Gopin is the new on-air host. Iris is out. I hope you’re having a good time. I’ll still be here with you for the 9 o’clock hour. Here’s a little ordinary Alex Warren. It’s 93.1 KISS FM.

Michael J. Gopin

Michael J. Gopin has practiced law in El Paso since 1987. Even after more than 30 years, he still remembers his first jury case. It was two weeks after receiving his license, when he represented a person whose life had been forever changed after being blinded in a work-related incident...