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Negligence

Hundreds of thousands of people a year are needlessly injured or killed by the negligence of others. At Watts Guerra, we have pursued negligent individuals and companies with a vengeance.

Far too often, the negligent operation of a motor vehicle causes unnecessary personal injuries and deaths on the roadway. Whether it be occupants of other vehicles, motorcycle riders, or pedestrians hit by vehicles, we are ready to prove who caused the accident. At Watts Guerra, we take care to carefully reconstruct these accidents. To assist our clients at trial, we use computers to animate what happened and how our clients were injured.

We represented a woman pro bono when her ex-boyfriend threw her off a second-floor balcony, and obtained a verdict in her favor exceeding $143 million. While a judgment was entered against the Defendant, no monies were collected from the defendant during his lengthy jail sentence; subsequently collections were not reduced by attorneys fees or expenses as the firm has waived all fees and expenses in this pro bono case.

When the negligent highway design and a speeding 18-wheeler combined to cause the death of a man working on a highway, the man’s widow hired Watts Guerra to find out why he died. Trying a case against three companies at once, the jury rendered a verdict against them in the amount of $12,450,000. Our attorney’s fees were $994,800, our litigation expenses were $365,838, and net client recoveries were $2,109,362.

Watts Guerra has recovered from a ski resort after its signs were left down, causing a man to crash and sustain catastrophic head injuries. We recovered for the family of a seven-year-old girl who died of smoke inhalation. We have successfully resolved cases arising from house fires, and from explosions at building structures. We recovered for a gas release causing a man to be badly burned following an explosion and fire. We recovered for the family of a woman killed when a concrete structure fell on her from above. We filed suit and settled a case for a man killed when he was knocked off a trailer, only to have a massive cylinder fall on him afterward. We’ve recovered from negligent bar owners whose servers have oversold alcohol. Whether it be accidents caused by negligence at construction sites, on the highway or in department stores, or by neglect in a nursing home, at a hospital, or in assisted living facilities, Watts Guerra is on guard for our clients against those who injure others through negligent conduct.

Our trial work in negligence cases is well-known throughout the nation. Our lawyers’ willingness to try any case anywhere is demonstrated by our work in a recent case we tried in Kentucky.






While we lost that particular case, we have won many others involving allegations of negligence by others. As a result, in miscellaneous cases alleging injuries or deaths to our clients were caused by the negligence of others, our recoveries exceed $203 million. Of these recoveries in miscellaneous negligence cases, total attorneys fees were $79,512,330, the litigation expenses withheld totaled $ 15,189,865, and net client recoveries were $ 108,933,367.

Case Type Injury Settlement Amount Attorney Fees Expenses Net to Client
Automotive/Pedestrian Death 530,000 212,000 66,371 251,629
Ski Resort Signage Brain Injury 9,990,000 3,996,000 816,601 5,177,399
Defective Lamp/Smoke Inhalation Death 8,800,000 3,520,000 125,400 5,154,600
Vehicle Crashworthiness Burn Injury 8,350,000 3,340,000 212,350 4,797,650
Natural Gas Leak Death 7,500,000 3,000,000 1,479,324 3,020,676
Cement Wall Failure Death 6,850,000 2,710,000 118,088 4,021,912
Construction Accident Death 6,240,000 2,306,251 100,513 3,833,236
Automotive Accident Death 5,900,000 2,300,000 492,371 3,107,629
Hot Water Heater Burn Injury 5,025,000 2,010,000 130,797 2,884,203
Automotive Accident Death 5,000,000 2,000,000 126,502 2,873,498
Premises Liability Death 4,500,000 1,760,000 16,716 2,723,284
Automotive Accident Death 4,000,000 1,595,200 170,064 2,234,736
Construction Accident Brain Injury 4,000,000 1,600,000 125,000 2,275,000
Medical Malpractice Permanent Physical Injuries 4,000,000 1,600,000 287,561 2,112,439
Bus Fire Death 2,707,513 1,083,005 134,550 1,489,958
Construction Accident Death 2,670,000 894,410 156,044 1,619,546
Asbestos Cancer 2,659,500 1,329,750 231,178 1,098,572
Workplace Accident Burn Injury 2,500,000 1,000,000 234,922 1,265,078
House Fire Death 2,280,907 901,671 25,091 1,354,145
Apartment Negligence – Balcony Collapse Death 2,250,000 900,000 20,063 1,329,937
Retail Store Negligence Death 2,100,000 840,000 231,078 1,028,922
Dram Shop Amputation 2,000,000 800,000 47,716 1,152,284
Workplace Accident Quadriplegia 2,000,000 900,000 24,670 1,075,330
Premises Negligence Internal Injury 1,950,000 780,000 54,713 1,115,287
Automotive Accident Death 1,950,000 780,000 64,262 1,105,738
Slip and Fall Traumatic Head Injury 1,850,000 740,000 22,500 1,087,500
Electrical House Fire Death 1,800,000 810,000 654,322 335,678
Commercial Vehicle Accident Death 1,795,833 598,611 103,675 1,093,547
Commercial Vehicle Accident Death 1,795,000 718,000 108,278 968,722
Automotive Accident Quadriplegia 1,750,000 700,000 60,310 989,690
Barge Operator Death 1,749,342 727,737 206,152 815,453
Pipeline Explosion Burn Injury 1,567,901 627,161 1,005 939,735
Medical Malpractice Death 1,500,000 600,000 50,867 849,133
Premises Liability Death 1,500,000 600,000 161,336 738,664
Automotive Accident Death 1,500,000 600,000 57,960 842,040
Workplace Accident Leg, Foot, Ankle Fractures; Internal Organ Injuries; Forearm Fracture 1,300,000 520,000 69,340 710,660
Automotive Accident Closed Head Injury; Shoulder and Leg Fracture 1,300,000 520,000 49,600 730,400
Defective Space Heater Death 1,250,000 500,000 78,750 671,250
Medical Malpractice Death 1,150,000 460,000 56,780 633,220
Workplace Accident Death 1,125,000 337,500 470,600 316,900
Medical Malpractice Death 1,100,000 337,500 290,430 472,070
Medical Malpractice Permanent Physical Injuries 1,080,000 432,000 90,030 557,970
Bus Accident Brain Injury 1,013,636 245,608 137,062 630,966
House Fire Death 1,000,000 400,000 48,253 551,747
Automotive Accident Closed Head Injury 1,000,000 400,000 7,134 592,866
Automotive Accident Death 1,000,000 400,000 39,288 560,712
Medical Malpractice Permanent Physical Injuries 1,000,000 400,000 22,965 577,035
automotive/tire defect Death 1,000,000 400,000 67,392 532,608
Automotive Accident Death 1,000,000 400,000 41,573 558,427
Medical Malpractice Death 1,000,000 420,000 323,638 256,362
tire failure Death 1,000,000 440,000 57,895 502,105
Commercial Vehicle Accident Death 1,000,000 400,000 55,000 545,000
Automotive Accident Femur and Wrist Injuries; Head Inury 1,000,000 400,000 18,765 581,235
Dram Shop Death 1,000,000 400,000 50,320 549,680
Automotive Accident Leg, Hip, Shoulder Injuries, Head Injury 1,000,000 400,000 30,809 569,191
Electrocution Death 1,000,000 434,250 36,949 528,801
Automotive Accident Death 1,000,000 400,000 46,360 553,640
Automotive Accident Death 1,200,000 344,000 6,011 849,989
Negligent Hiring Fractured Skull; Brain Injury 1,950,000 780,000 90,738 1,079,262
Automotive Accident Death 2,042,000 816,800 51,632 1,173,568
Automotive Accident Death, Spinal Cord Injury 1,500,000 600,000 129,803 770,197
Electrical Transfer Box Burn Injury 1,580,000 717,583 205,508 656,909
Devaluation of Property Financial Loss 995,000 398,000 140,210 456,790
Faulty Latch Mechanism Death 995,000 398,000 43,310 553,690
Vehicle Defect – Fuel Fed Fire Death 960,000 359,900 29,132 570,968
Vehicle Crashworthiness Paraplegia 950,000 380,000 98,145 471,855
Toxic Landfill Internal Organ Damage 950,000 516,192 433,808
Commercial Vehicle Accident Lower Body Fractures 935,000 374,000 5,093 555,907
Defective Roadway Amputation; Lower Body 930,000 418,500 271,561 239,939
Defective ATV Fractures to Both Legs 925,000 370,000 85,642 469,358
Hotel Neglect/drowning Death 925,000 358,898 77,839 488,263
Commercial Vehicle Accident Lower Body Fractures 640,500 156,923 122,928 360,649
Dram Shop Death 900,000 360,000 9,553 530,447
Automotive Accident Lower Body Fractures 900,000 360,000 142,728 397,272
Defective Roadway Death 875,000 350,000 127,064 397,936
Electrocution Death 1,750,000 700,000 60,693 989,307
Mold Heart Failure; Interstitial Lung Disease 868,000 289,345 281,765 296,890
Automotive Accident Lower Body Fractures 850,000 340,000 100,319 409,681
Automotive Accident Death 850,000 340,000 72,513 437,487
Utility Trailer Defect Death 850,000 253,492 321,908 274,600
Dram Shop Death 850,000 340,000 12,977 497,023
Product Defect Brain Injury 800,000 264,000 69,778 466,222
Aircraft Crash Death 786,608 176,564 96,103 513,941
Automotive Accident Death 775,000 308,333 108,720 357,947
Automotive Accident Closed Head Injury; Fractured Ribs 750,000 300,000 1,755 448,245
Automotive/Cyclist Accident Death 562,500 225,000 63,415 274,085
Motorcyle Accident – fire Burn Injury 750,000 300,000 48,071 401,929
Automotive Accident Brain Damage 795,000 308,000 50,083 436,917
Automotive Accident Death 750,000 300,000 21,583 428,417
Automotive Accident Death 750,000 295,000 32,362 422,638
Automotive Accident Death 750,000 252,256 340,058 157,686
Hotel Neglect Paraplegia 725,000 282,746 39,955 402,299
Automotive Accident Internal Injury 715,700 286,280 21,604 407,816
Automotive Accident Spinal Cord Injury 712,000 282,300 31,645 398,055
Automotive Accident Internal Organ Damage 710,000 284,000 40,260 385,740
Automotive Accident Death 700,000 231,667 5,000 463,333
Medical Malpractice Death 700,000 280,000 152,805 267,195
Automotive Accident Fractures to Ribs; Chest Wall Injury 700,000 189,000 10,093 500,907
Automotive Accident Death 700,000 165,334 347,666 187,000
Automotive Accident Death 700,000 258,667 27,795 413,538
Improperly Restrained in Ambulance Death 700,000 280,000 49,896 370,104
Automotive Accident Traumatic Hemothorax 695,000 267,575 94,885 332,540
Automotive Accident Broken Hip; Facial Injuries 657,000 262,337 112,393 282,270
Automotive Accident Disfigurement; Head Injury 650,000 260,000 85,000 305,000
Automotive Accident Death 650,000 260,000 30,230 359,770
Drowning Death 650,000 292,500 35,967 321,533
Medical Malpractice Death 650,000 260,000 79,916 310,084
Improper Medical Care Brain Damage 643,570 257,428 72,445 313,697
Improper Medical Care Kidney Damage 630,000 157,500 52,962 419,538
Automotive Accident Lower Body Fractures 625,000 250,000 112,360 262,640
Automotive Accident Death 620,030 206,596 93,471 319,963
Firearm Death 604,000 241,600 5,154 357,246
Automotive Accident Closed Head Injury 600,000 240,000 2,245 357,755
Dram Shop Death 600,000 240,000 25,398 334,602
Negligent Hiring Physical/Mental Injury 600,000 240,000 85,090 274,910
T-Post Snapped Lower Body Fractures 600,000 240,000 42,802 317,198
Oilfield Accident Death 600,000 180,480 160,800 258,720
Construction Accident Chest Fracture; Collapsed Lungs 576,407 247,855 59,141 269,411
Automotive Accident Internal Injury 565,000 226,000 30,292 308,708
Automotive Accident Closed Head Injury 550,000 247,500 4,217 298,283
Plumbing and Water Intrusion House Damage – Mold 640,562 220,000 25,000 395,562
Medical Malpractice Punctured Femoral Artery 555,000 222,000 60,411 272,589
Automotive Accident Death 550,000 162,400 16,356 371,244
Automotive Accident Death 550,000 173,541 86,719 289,740
Automotive Accident Disfigurement, Hip Injury 525,053 177,576 47,025 300,452
Automotive Accident Death 950,000 380,000 58,858 511,142
Automotive Accident Spinal Cord Impingement 997,000 398,800 67,197 531,003
Automotive Accident Broken Pelvis 520,000 199,400 74,337 246,263
Settlement Amount Attorney Fees Expenses Net to Client
Total 203,635,562 79,512,330 15,189,865 108,933,367