Case Summaries

A Beaumont man suffered severe injury in a motorcycle/pick-up truck intersection accident. The driver of the pick-up truck was cited by the police for running a red light. Mr. Wells' client, on the motorcycle, went through the intersection on a green light. The pick-up truck driver immediately blamed the accident on a railroad for a crossing malfunction that caused a dangerous disruption of the intersection traffic control signals. The railroad company persistently denied the existence of malfunctions. Deposition testimony from witnesses, ranging from store owners, school district administrators, school bus drivers, and area residents was consistent in establishing that the railroad crossing had malfunctioned (falsely activated causing the crossing arms to go down or up and down without a train on the track) over many years. The railroad crossing malfunctions were the subject of news media reports in Beaumont. The railroad company settled the case with Mr. Wells' client just short of trial.

A daughter sought representation after her father was fatally injured in a head-on collision in East Texas. The police investigation blamed the accident on her father for driving on the wrong side of the highway. The daughter insisted that the facts in the accident report did not add up and an investigation of the accident by Mr. Wells' office revealed the daughter's suspicions were correct. Ultimately, the police report was changed to reflect fault on the other driver and the insurance carrier for the "real" at-fault driver settled the claim with Mr. Wells' client.

A family sought recourse for an automobile/truck accident which injured a Clear Lake father and husband who was on his way home from work and had no recollection of the accident due to head trauma. The police investigation blamed the accident on Mr. Wells' client for running into the back of a stalled truck. The lawsuit revealed that the truck driver drove his truck down a Houston highway knowing it had a serious maintenance problem that ultimately caused the truck to break down, spilling oil and debris on the highway. The evidence obtained in the litigation revealed the oil and debris on the roadway was the probable cause of the accident. The trucking company settled the claim with Mr. Wells' client prior to trial.

A young mother was on her way home from work and was involved in a horrific accident that caused immediate fatal injuries. Investigation revealed that another driver was responsible for causing the accident for running the stop sign. Funds were placed into a trust fund for the surviving child and the victim's parents also received settlement funds to resolve the litigation.

A Houston teenager was injured in an intersection collision when another driver ran a red light. The teenager complained primarily of neck pain and the pain, symptoms and medical treatment continued for about two years. Without fractures, blood and guts in many cases insurance carriers have taken the position, without justification, that you're not hurt, if you were hurt it should have resolved or if you are hurt it is not the fault of their negligent driver. As such, insurance carriers are forcing many cases to trial that should settle. On October 29, 2002, a Harris County jury awarded Mr. Wells' client damages in excess of the negligent driver's insurance coverage. The insurance carrier had not made a settlement offer prior to trial. Mr. Wells' client had offered repeatedly to settle the claim within the policy limits of the negligent driver.

A hunter was catastrophically injured when he drove into the side of a 48' trailer attached as part of an 18 wheeler tractor trailer rig. The accident happened on a dark, rural Texas highway late at night when the 18 wheeler operator pulled from a stop sign onto the highway. The police investigation found fault on our client for hitting the 48' trailer that was blocking his lane of traffic. The resulting collision and injury was horrible and due to the severity of injury, our client had no recollection of the accident. After investigating the accident scene, talking to witnesses and looking at the damage done to the vehicles we filed a lawsuit on behalf of our client. Our investigation revealed: 1) the driver of the 18-wheeler rig was an inexperienced driver and had a documented history of difficulty of starting from a stopped position; 2) the tractor trailer operator was illegally operating his truck on a road mark ed "No Thru Trucks" when he entered the highway; 3) the tractor trailer operator failed to submit a driver's log, failed to keep an employee file, and failed to submit to a drug/alcohol test following this accident; 4) the tractor trailer operator was attempting to illegally park his rig on the side of the highway when this accident occurred, contributing to his slow movement in blocking the main lanes of traffic on the Texas highway; 5) the evidence proved that the 48' trailer was totally blocking our client's lane of traffic as he approached at night at highway speed; 6) that underride and undercarriage accidents have been extensively studied and these studies prove that nighttime crashes result because of extraordinarily difficulty in distinguishing a trailer blocking a lane of traffic at night in time to avoid the collision. In the time it takes to see, perceive, decide what to do, and then do it, studies have indicated a driver of a vehicle at highway speeds needs approximately 1300 feet of roadway to adequately respond. Our client had less than one-half of this distance and the result was a horrible injury as a result of the negligence of the operator of the 18 wheeler tractor trailer rig. Studies have shown that slow moving trucks create little contrast at night; that driver's at night perceive truck markings as roadside markings or distant taillights; that a trailer at night will not be conspicuous and that a driver's headlights will illuminate the trailer only at a distance of 100' to 200' and there will not be time to stop; that an unloaded flatbed trailer is virtually invisible blocking a lane of traffic at night; that ambient lights in the area of the accident will make it even more difficult to identify and react to a trailer blocking a lane of traffic at night. After identifying the facts of this collision and presenting these facts to the insurance company for the truck driver, the trucking company settled with our client.

An Southeast Texas worker was horribly injured when he drove his pick-up truck into the side of an 18 wheeler trailer that was blocking his lane of traffic on a dark rural Texas highway. The driver of the 18 wheeler was on the job and had missed his turn. Instead of driving to a safe location to turn around, the truck driver tried to back his trailer down a side gravel path along the Texas Farm Road. While attempting this dangerous maneuver, his trailer was blocking our client's lane of traffic as he approached the area. As a resulted of the documented difficulty in recognizing and reacting to an 18 wheeler trailer blocking a lane of traffic at night, a horrific collision occurred when our client's truck had an underride collision with the trailer. The trucking company settled with our client after presentation of the injury and liability factors to their insurance carrier.

A Galveston County welder was working for a contractor in an industrial facility in Houston. A violent explosion tossed the welder thru the air and caused a closed head injury. Immediate investigation of the accident by Mr. Wells' office along with an industry consultant hired by Mr. Wells' office revealed the force of the blast. Fault and cause of the welder's injury were in dispute in the litigation. The industrial facility settled with the injured welder during litigation.

A month-old Houston child tragically had her father killed in an explosion in an industrial accident. The little girl's father had been inside a vessel when an explosion occurred. Litigation followed against several Defendants and continued for over a year with many depositions taken involving expert witnesses and eyewitnesses. The infant's family had eerily videotaped almost every moment, both during labor, delivery and the first month of the infant's life when she was with her father. The father, who had a very rugged and tough appearance, was incredibly sensitive and loving to his daughter as evidenced by the invaluable video. The case settled just short of trial and the little girl, who will never know her father except by the unbelievable video that was seemingly made in anticipation of a tragedy, has trust funds established for her needs the remainder of her life.

A Harris County EMS worker was injured when he slipped on a wet hallway at his office building. Investigation in the lawsuit revealed that a doctor's office in the building negotiated a deal with the building landlord to mop the floors at night. The doctor delegated this job to a nurse who had no experience in office building maintenance. A Harris County jury returned a verdict in favor of the EMS worker.

A 26-year old widow with an infant child sought representation after the shooting death of her husband during a convenience store robbery. Investigation revealed the store had an extensive history of criminal activity and failed to take adequate measures to safeguard its employees. The store settled the claim with Mr. Wells' client.

A vendor employee was at a Galveston County grocery store and a grocery store employee ran into her hand with a motor-operated pallet jack, crushing a finger. Lawsuit investigation revealed that the employee operating the pallet jack was in violation of company policy in operation of the equipment. Mr. Wells' client rejected a settlement offer and the jury returned a verdict for the injured vendor in excess of the rejected settlement offer.

A grocery store patron was exiting a Pasadena grocery store and the front wheel of the grocery cart fell in a parking lot pothole, causing the cart to flip over and the shopper to fall and suffer injury. Litigation investigation revealed that the owner of the shopping center had complaints for months from their tenants regarding the potholes in the parking lot. The owner of the shopping center settled with Mr. Wells' client (and they also re-paved the entire parking lot after the claim was made by Mr. Wells' client).

A Harris County grandmother was shopping at a Houston supermarket and fell in the entry of the store in a mat that had bunched-up, causing a trip hazard. A Court ordered the store's accident files to be inspected by Mr. Wells' office and the Court-ordered inspection revealed numerous similar accidents involving the grocery store chain. Mr. Wells' office produced reports prepared by industry experts showing how the problem could be reduced if not entirely eliminated. The store settled the claim with Mr. Wells' client during litigation.

A warehouse store shopper suffered deep and life threatening lacerations as a result of falling merchandise. Our client was shopping at the national warehouse store when a razor sharp piece of flashing fell from the shelf and hit his arm on the way down. A quick thinking customer applied pressure and a tourniquet to his arms to prevent a fatal loss of blood. Investigation revealed that this warehouse store had many prior event of flashing falling off the shelves and even had events of flashing falling off the shelves and causing almost identical injury with significant lacerations. Falling merchandise events are well documented and have caused many injuries and deaths. In this particular store, one side of the flashing isle had the flashing properly secured to prevent falling merchandise, but the other side of the isle, where our client was injured, oddly did not have the flashing properly secured. The flashing was overstocked and was stacked all the way to the lip of the shelf, was not adequately secured and fell causing the near fatal injury. The warehouse store settled with out client when presented with these facts.

An automobile dealer customer sustained a severe laceration which required urgent surgery as a result of the Houston area auto dealer using razor wire at ground level in a pedestrian area of the dealership lot. The customer was walking across a pedestrian area of the lot at night going to look at a truck he was interested in when his leg became entangled in the razor wire causing a horrible, deep laceration. The razor wire was difficult to see during the day and impossible to see at night. It was on the ground directly in the path of customers and employees attached to a fence. Razor wire is a more dangerous form of barbed wire and is designed to maim. Razor wire barbs have piercing and gripping action and the use of razor wire is usually associated with correctional institutions, prisoner of war camps and war zones. Many municipalities have either outlawed the use of razor wire or have ordinances regulating its use. The City of Houston has an ordinance that requires "barb wire" for fences to be at least six feet off the ground. All manufacturer documentation found regarding the use of razor wire specifies a "minimum height of eight feet" and that razor wire must avoid "any and all pedestrian traffic". The automobile dealership settled with our client after being presented with these facts.

A Houston family brought a claim in the Harris County District Court for the tragic loss of their son as a result of a choking death caused by a food product manufactured in Taiwan. Upon investigation by our office, it was discovered that the product had been responsible for the deaths of children in Taiwan, Japan, Canada, and the United States. The Japanese government and the Taiwanese government had previously investigated the series of deaths associated with the product and had been highly critical of the design and warnings associated with the product. The product was imported to the United States following the string of deaths in Japan and Taiwan and ultimately took the life of a Houston child. Litigation was filed in Houston and within days of filing the lawsuit the Houston Chronicle published an investigative story that brought the series of events to the public eye. The retailer that sold the product in Houston discontinued selling the product and the United States Food and Drug Administration banned the product from import into the United States. The Defendants in the litigation settled with the Houston family. The family, who suffered an unbearable loss, gained some solace in knowing that they helped remove this deadly product from entry into the United States.

A Jefferson County resident was admitted to a Beaumont Hospital with a ruptured aortic aneurysm. Mr. Wells' client survived the surgery and was admitted. The hospital records revealed that in the days to follow the patient's documented deteriorating lower extremity cardiovascular condition was ignored by the patient's surgical team. The patient had both legs amputated above the knee as a result of the loss of circulation that was not addressed by the surgeon. The Defendant settled the litigation by payment of their insurance policy limit of litigation.

A Galveston County welder was working for a contractor in an industrial facility in Houston. A violent explosion tossed the welder thru the air and caused a closed head injury. Immediate investigation of the accident by Mr. Wells' office along with an industry consultant hired by Mr. Wells' office revealed the force of the blast. Fault and cause of the welder's injury were in dispute in the litigation. The industrial facility settled with the injured welder during litigation.

A month-old Houston child tragically had her father killed in an explosion in an industrial accident. The little girl's father had been inside a vessel when an explosion occurred. Litigation followed against several Defendants and continued for over a year with many depositions taken involving expert witnesses and eyewitnesses. The infant's family had eerily videotaped almost every moment, both during labor, delivery and the first month of the infant's life when she was with her father. The father, who had a very rugged and tough appearance, was incredibly sensitive and loving to his daughter as evidenced by the invaluable video. The case settled just short of trial and the little girl, who will never know her father except by the unbelievable video that was seemingly made in anticipation of a tragedy, has trust funds established for her needs the remainder of her life.

A Brazoria County resident was working at her restaurant job in Houston and was in the process of checking in a vendor when the vendor allowed a bread cart to fall off the lift of the vendor's truck. The bread cart fell on Mr. Wells' client and caused a severe leg fracture. Litigation investigation revealed the vendor, in the operation of his lift and truck, violated instructions that were written on the side of the truck. The Defendant settled the case by payment to Mr. Wells' client of litigation.

A crew man aboard a barge sustained a back injury moving a full 55-gallon drum. Litigation investigation revealed that the vessel operator did not have appropriate equipment for the crew member to use in his job. The Defendant settled the case with Mr. Wells' client.

A homeowner, while cleaning his patio roof, fell when a support broke and severely fractured his arm. A builder's consultant hired by Mr. Wells' office recognized that support brackets were not installed which caused the roof to give way. The contractor who installed the patio roof settled the litigation with Mr. Wells' client.