Results

Jury Verdict | Post-Trial Settlement

• $7,414,494 Client
• $6,440,000 Fees
• $745,506 Expenses

We obtained a $19,566,610 verdict against a trucking company and a road contractor in a Dimmit County, Texas case in which our client suffered a significant head injury. The 18-wheeler was operated by one of the nation’s largest interstate trucking companies and its driver rear-ended a passenger van driven by our client. After the initial impact, our client’s vehicle was propelled down the road and off to the right where it struck the back of a parked passenger car belonging to the flagman for the roadway contractor. We alleged that the truck driver’s fatigue or distraction started the crash sequence, and the secondary impact with the flagman’s car was due to him being improperly parked within the 30 foot “clear zone” that is supposed to extend from the edge of the roadway. After a lengthy trial, the jury found both defendants liable for our client’s injuries and damages.

Pre-Trial Settlement

• $4,033,037.24 Client
• $2,800,000 Attorney’s Fees
• $166,962.76 Case Expenses

A mother and her family anchored their bay fishing boat in the shallow waters next to Pelican Island, which is one of the “spoil islands” created by the dredging of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. While they were playing on the beach and looking for shells, a large, heavily-loaded oil tanker passed the island. Through the process of “bank suction,” the shallow water in which our client anchored next to the island was pulled off the island by the heavy ship’s passage. This left the family’s fishing boat temporarily beached. However, when the water rushed back after the ship had passed, the wave picked up the family’s fishing boat and slammed it into our client’s head, resulting in her permanent blindness. We alleged that the wake was created by the ship moving through the ship channel at an excess rate of speed given her weight and draft, and that, if the ship wanted to transit the ship channel at such a speed, it should have maintained a lookout on the bow of the vessel to spot our clients and then reduce speed as needed to avoid creating such a large wake. With the aid of experts in shipping operations, the psychological and vocational effects of blindness, and an economist to quantify our client’s damages, we were able to secure a settlement which allowed our client to live independently and assure her children were able to attend college.