Articles Posted in Texas

I’ve written in the past about personal injury verdicts in Texas. A recent Jury Verdict Research found that the average verdict in a personal injury lawsuit in Texas is $826,892. But Texas is a particular example of the differences between the median and average jury verdicts: the median award is just $12,281. You can always drive a truck between the difference between average jury verdicts and median jury verdicts. But in Texas, a fleet of trucks would not cover this gap.

The average is also distorted by huge verdicts that are not collectible. A Texas jury awarded $118 million – the highest verdict included in this Texas jury verdict study – to the widow of a worker who died in the Phillips Petroleum Co. explosion. Still, the Texas cap on punitive damages reduced that award to under $12 million.

Sample Settlements and Verdicts in Texas

According to a Jury Verdict Research study published this month, the average compensation for a personal injury lawsuit in Texas over the last six years is $826,892. The highest verdict was over $100 million, which obviously, inflated the average verdict. The median judgment is only $12,281.

Indeed, medical malpractice reform in Texas has not helped this number in recent years. A Texas medical malpractice lawyer is hard to find unless it is a birth injury case or other claims with long-term catastrophic injuries and future medical care or future lost wages.  So the average Texas medical malpractice settlement or verdict in a wrongful death case without significant economic loss is likely to be less than you would typically see elsewhere.

Keep in mind, too, Texas is less a state than several countries in terms of how they value personal injury cases.  So a verdict in East Texas might be very different from a verdict in San Antonio for the exact same case.

A Galveston County jury has awarded $1.72 million to a man severely injured in an accident at BP America Inc. oil refinery in Texas City. Plaintiff was struck by an oil burner being lifted by a crane operator, suffering severe injuries requiring over a half-million dollars in medical bills.

On the job injuries where there is a third-party defendant exempt from the protection of the workers’ compensation statue are often the types of cases where our lawyers can obtain the largest verdicts and settlements for our clients. This is because they often involve big companies and there are no limitations on the amount of insurance coverage at issue because the company either has adequate insurance or can pay any verdict in excess of the insurance policy.

Galveston County Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements

A Texas lawyer who botched a tragic mesothelioma asbestos case will get off scot-free according to the Court of Appeals of Texas for, well, reasons that escape me.

Briefly here are the facts. In July 2004, meso victim hires a lawyer to pursue her asbestos claims. Plaintiff had a rare form of meso called well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma. The lawyer waited until January, 2006, to file her lawsuit against various defendants that included negligence, strict liability, and premises liability. The case was removed to federal court.

Plaintiff found a lawyer for her malpractice action against her original lawyer. This new lawyer in turn hired another lawyer – annoyed yet? – who was set to testify that plaintiff would have recovered settlements from multiple tort defendants and asbestos bankruptcy trusts, totaling at least $2,000,000. Plaintiff’s malpractice expert then took the next leap of faith and concluded that these settlements should have been finalized by no later than the end of 2005. Anyone who follows the asbestos docket has now rolled their eyes in the back of their head.

The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in a strange rehearing of a ruling that Texas lawmakers and other groups say deprives injury victims of their rights. The issue of whether contract employees covered by workers’ compensation can seek damages against work site owners for on-the-job injuries. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers, labor groups and accident victims have protested the decision saying the Texas high court erred in granting extended immunity provisions that were not part of legislative intent.

Interesting case. The Texas Supreme Court decision was unanimous but they get a rehearing because everyone thinks it was an awful call. Probably the best approach would be for Texas lawmakers to rewrite the law.