Personal Injury Attorneys / Automobile Accident Lawyer El Paso, Lubbock, San Angelo, Odessa, New Mexico NM TX New Mexico Texas

OUR RESULTS

Train Wreck
Death Case
4.6 Million Net to Client

This was a train wreck near Shallowater, Texas. Our clients’ child was killed when a train struck a car at a railroad crossing. The railroad had failed to control the vegetation around the crossing and the high weeds obstructed the view of the approaching train. We hired experts on visibility issues as well as crossing safety and maintenance issues. Those experts testified live at trial. We also presented the jury with a video tape of the scene that was taken within a day of the collision. The video showed the overgrown vegetation that existed at the crossing on the day of the collision. We obtained a professional survey of the scene and through our experts were able to position the train back in photo stills of the scene. These photos helped show the jury that a train was not visible until it was too late for the driver to react to its presence. We also obtained testimony from one of the first responders on the scene. That testimony was compelling and provided the jury a detailed description of the last few moments of the child’s life.

We assisted our clients in finding psychological counseling and were then able to present the testimony of the psychologist to the jury so that they could understand the tremendous loss that our clients had suffered due to the death of their child. The jury awarded 46 million dollars, but the case was settled based on a high-low settlement agreement that provided that the clients would receive one million dollars regardless of what the jury awarded or would receive whatever the jury awarded up to 8 million but then would limit the client’s recovery if the jury verdict exceeded that sum. The settlement was paid within 30 days of trial with no appeals.