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Workplace Injury

When men or women are injured or killed due to negligence at the worksite, Watts Guerra is ready to be on the job for you. First, we will determine exactly what happened and why and will demonstrate that clearly for the jury. Then, we will be ready to try your case to achieve justice in cases involving workplace accidents.

We’ve animated a large number of work-site catastrophes, illustrating for the jury how hard-working men and women have been killed or injured on the job. We’ve shown how a death was caused by a crane failure. We’ve shown how a man fell to his death when an elevator’s redundant safety systems failed to protect him. We’ve shown how a man was horrifically burned at an oilfield drilling site, and how another two men were killed as a result of an explosion at a well site.

In the late-1990s, Mikal Watts tried a case for three men burned by an explosion at a refinery owned by Coastal Corporation. After demonstrating that Coastal delayed a safety turnaround in order to save money, the jury returned a verdict finding Coastal both negligent and grossly negligent, and awarded the plaintiff more than $122 million in damages. While an appellate court reversed the trial court’s judgment of more than $140 million on a legal point, resulting in three of our four clients in the case receiving only $1,000,000, with attorney fees of $400,000 and a net recovery for the clients of $600,000. The following video demonstrates the capabilities of the lawyers at our firm:

In January 2010, Mikal Watts and Frank Guerra tried a case against Bay, Inc. for its negligence causing a catastrophic neck injury to our client who was injured on the job. After a multi-week trial, the jury found the defendant guilty of negligence and assessed damages of more than $12 million. For the settlements achieved against three different defendants in the case, attorneys fees were $2,091,881, litigation expenses withheld were $577,561, with net client recoveries were $3,212,821.

During September and October of 2010, Mikal Watts and two friends tried a case in Houston against an oil pipeline company that sent workers to cut up the pipe in a “hot” site full of combustible fluids. After the inevitable explosion occurred, our clients sustained severe burn injuries. After a four-week trial, the jury found the defendant negligent and awarded our clients more than $19.89 million in damages. Recoveries were achieved from multiple defendants sued in the case. Attorneys fees were $2,400,000, litigation expenses withheld were $408,771, with net client recoveries were $3,191,229.


At Watts Guerra, we have achieved settlements for our clients injured during workplace accidents on many occasions, with total settlements in this practice area exceeding $211 million. Of these recoveries in tire defect cases, total attorneys fees were $82,876,910, the litigation expenses withheld totaled $10,673,828, and net client recoveries were $118,235,205.

Case Type Injury Settlement Amount Attorney Fees Expenses Net to Client
Industrial Accident Burn Injury 14,600,000 5,120,000 292,886 9,187,114
Industrial Accident Death 13,100,000 5,240,000 165,250 7,694,750
Industrial Accident Death 12,800,000 5,120,000 292,383 7,387,617
Water Heater Defect Death 8,450,000 3,380,000 542,056 4,527,944
Industrial Release Pulmonary Injury 7,664,000 3,064,255 107,534 4,492,211
Plant Explosion Burn Injuries 7,000,000 2,000,000 34,568 4,965,432
Smoke Inhalation Brain Injury 6,998,000 2,799,200 142,200 4,056,600
Plant Explosion Death 6,950,000 2,780,000 206,629 3,963,371
Pipeline Explosion Burn Injuries 6,000,000 2,700,000 31,556 3,268,444
Construction Accident Death 6,000,000 2,407,500 26,190 3,566,310
Commercial Vehicle Accident Death 6,000,000 2,400,000 83,537 3,516,463
Workplace Accident Quadriplegia 5,882,263 2,400,000 117,136 3,365,127
Plant Explosion Death 5,500,000 2,200,000 160,590 3,139,410
Construction Accident Death 5,000,000 2,000,000 239,799 2,760,201
Industrial Accident Death 5,000,000 1,997,550 104,490 2,897,960
Workplace Accident Death 4,000,000 1,610,000 45,000 2,345,000
Oilfield Accident Death 4,000,000 1,600,000 372,578 2,027,422
Electrocution Death 4,000,000 1,600,000 143,031 2,256,969
Oilfield Accident Death 3,500,000 1,400,000 9,930 2,090,070
Construction Fall Quadriplegia 3,500,000 1,400,000 318,586 1,781,414
Construction Accident Quadriplegia 3,490,000 1,396,000 427,968 1,666,032
Oilfield Accident Death 3,275,000 1,310,000 192,326 1,772,674
Workplace Accident Death 3,206,500 1,282,600 250,522 1,673,378
Workplace Accident Crush Injury to Pelvis & Lower Extremity; Massive Degloving to Lower Extremity 3,200,000 1,083,225 161,880 1,954,895
Plant Explosion Death 3,000,000 1,200,000 47,178 1,752,822
Plant Explosion Death 3,000,000 1,200,000 20,329 1,779,671
Plant Explosion Burn Injury 2,900,000 1,160,000 223,373 1,516,627
Industrial Accident Death 2,750,000 1,100,000 58,250 1,591,750
Workplace Accident Death 2,500,000 1,000,000 55,000 1,445,000
Drilling Well Explosion Death 2,500,000 1,000,000 280,416 1,219,584
Pipeline Explosion Death 2,400,000 1,080,000 59,242 1,260,758
Workplace Accident Death 2,375,000 950,000 221,781 1,203,219
Workplace Accident Death 2,200,000 832,068 215,687 1,152,245
Oil Well Accident Death 2,100,000 800,000 148,633 1,151,367
Drilling Rig Collapse Death 2,050,000 820,000 64,250 1,165,750
Workplace Accident Death 2,000,000 800,000 51,604 1,148,396
Workplace Accident Severe Brain Damage 2,000,000 800,000 42,967 1,157,033
Oil Well Collapse Financial Loss 1,985,860 695,051 1,290,809
Chemical Leak Death 1,924,499 706,157 37,423 1,180,919
Workplace Accident Death 1,850,000 396,400 1,453,600
Workplace Accident Death 1,800,000 810,000 78,229 911,771
Workplace Accident Death 1,800,000 810,000 658,322 331,678
Tank Explosion Death 1,776,960 710,784 103,855 962,321
Electrocution Death 1,650,000 635,250 423,000 591,750
Electrocution Amputation 1,610,000 644,000 108,750 857,250
Workplace Accident Death 1,580,000 632,000 170,902 777,098
Workplace Accident Amputation 1,550,000 627,500 12,014 910,486
Workplace Accident Death 1,550,000 606,667 147,991 795,342
Drilling Rig Fire Burn Injury 1,515,000 606,000 341,506 567,494
Workplace Accident Back Injury 1,500,000 600,000 77,640 822,360
pipeline explosion Death 1,500,000 600,000 37,981 862,019
Industrial Accident Death 1,500,000 600,000 54,059 845,941
Workplace Accident Head Injury; Wrist Injury 1,400,000 562,500 13,317 824,183
Grain Elevator Explosion Burn Injury 1,245,000 356,784 205,124 683,092
Workplace Accident Death 1,075,000 430,000 45,727 599,273
Plant Explosion Burn Injury 1,000,000 400,000 34,289 565,711
Construction Accident Death 1,000,000 400,000 13,760 586,240
Plant Explosion Death 1,000,000 353,333 46,635 600,032
Electrocution Death 1,000,000 440,000 158,692 401,308
Workplace Accident Death 1,000,000 400,000 39,496 560,504
Commercial Negligence Financial Loss 1,083,333 216,667 3,112 863,554
Oilfield Accident Upper and Lower Fractures, Internal Injuries 2,750,000 916,667 252,840 1,580,493
Workplace Oilfield Accident Death 844,530 270,000 66,461 508,069
Workplace Elevator Accident Death 825,000 330,000 138,473 356,527
Workplace Accicent – Electorcution Death 813,084 443,750 157,282 212,052
Plant Explosion Spinal Cord Injury 760,000 304,000 16,156 439,844
Workplace Oilfield Accident Death 776,000 310,400 270,954 194,646
Drowning Death 766,123 306,449 44,824 414,850
Toxic Fumes on Boat Death 750,000 300,000 216,938 233,062
Workplace Accident Death 750,000 300,000 143,511 306,489
Workplace Accident – Electrocution Death 730,000 255,500 162,216 312,284
Oilfield Accident – explosion Death 700,000 277,500 100,472 322,028
Oilfield Accident – explosion Burn Injury 685,388 274,155 46,801 364,432
Workplace Accident – Truck/Train Accident Death 791,666 316,666 155,729 319,271
Pipeline Explosion Burn 650,000 260,000 123,165 266,835
Workplace Accident Double Amputation 625,000 222,132 79,868 323,000
Oilfield Accident Death 600,000 212,700 63,763 323,537
Workplace Accident Death 552,500 221,000 5,651 325,849
Oilfield Accident Death 512,500 184,500 42,825 285,175
Settlement Amount Attorney Fees Expenses Net to Client
Total 211,785,943 82,876,910 10,673,828 118,235,205