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 |