Source: https://doylelawfirm.com/significant-cases
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 07:14:17+00:00

Document:
Many legal professionals brag about successful settlements they have attained for their clients. At Doyle LLP Trial Lawyers, our lawyers pride themselves on the victories we have achieved for our clients at trial, across the State of Texas and the United States.
Our lawyers have extensive trial experience and training on how to present cases to a jury, win, and keep fighting to prevail on appeal. Our lawyers do not buckle under the pressure to settle from insurance companies, drilling companies, dredge companies, aviation companies, or other big business, and are not afraid to take your case to trial to seek full compensation for injuries suffered offshore, due to the bad faith of a workers’ compensation insurer or hurricane insurer, or as a result of negligence. Please contact us, if we can help.
Williams v. Diamond Offshore Services Limited & Diamond Offshore Services Company. – Jones Act/Maritime Law/Negligence/Unseaworthiness, Jury Verdict: $9.6 million (Court entered a judgment of $8.51 million after contributory negligence offset).
Ryan v. Zurich American Insurance Company – Workers’ Compensation Insurance Bad Faith/Deceptive Trade Practices/Violations of the Texas Insurance Code, Jury Verdict: $1.384 million.
On March 29, 2017, a Harris County District Court Jury (Houston, Texas) found that Memorial Hermann Health System defamed and disparaged surgeon Dr. Miguel Gomez III. The jury also found by clear and convincing evidence that through the defamation and disparagement, Memorial Hermann specifically intended to cause substantial injury or harm to Dr. Gomez.
The verdict further vindicated the reputation of Dr. Gomez – a cardiovascular surgeon who provided specialized “off-pump” and robotic surgical procedures in the West Houston area. A star surgeon at Memorial Hermann’s Memorial City flagship hospital for 12 years, Dr. Gomez had begun considering splitting his practice between Memorial Hermann and a competing hospital in early 2009. During that same time period, Dr. Gomez had also expressed his concerns to administrators regarding a decline in the staffing, equipment, and other safety concerns at Memorial Hermann Memorial City.
First, a Memorial Hermann director told a physician liaison at the competing hospital system that Dr. Gomez had “bad quality, high mortality rates, [and conducted] unnecessary surgeries.” Based on this defamatory statement, the jury awarded Dr. Gomez $304,500.00 in past reputational damage, $700,000.00 for future reputational damage, $304,500.00 in past lost income, and $700,000.00 in future lost income.
Following a September 2013 jury verdict of $9.6 million, the court entered a judgment of $8,512,068 for an injured offshore worker. Mr. Williams was employed by Diamond Offshore on th semi-submersible drilling vessel, OCEAN LEXINGTON, as a drilling worker in January 2008 when he was injured while offshore Egypt.
The plaintiff is a Mississippi resident and was working for the Houston-based Diamond Offshore Services as a mechanical supervisor. Mr. Williams claimed he was ordered to unsafely repair a set of elevators, used to lift pipe into the drilling operations, to avoid a shutdown of the drilling operations being conducted for BP. Mr. Williams claimed that Diamond Offshore’s failure to have sufficient elevator spares onboard, as well as its failure to properly maintain its equipment in a safe and seaworthy manner, created an unnecessary emergency situation and directly led to his career-ending back injury. The jury found that Diamond Offshore’s vessel was unseaworthy and that the company’s operational negligence was also responsible for Mr. Williams’ injuries.
On October 12, 2016, a Maricopa County Superior Court Jury (Phoenix, Arizona) held that Safety National Casualty Corporation and its adjusters, Matrix Absence Management Inc. and Samantha Swenson, had acted in bad faith by wrongfully denying payment of workers’ compensation benefits to an injured nurse from Yuma, Arizona and awarded compensatory damages of $1 million.
Doyle LLP’s client suffered a meniscus tear while pushing a gurney during her duties as a nurse. Although her treating physicians had indicated that her claim needed to be opened for active treatment and her orthopedic surgeon recommended surgery to remove a suture that was blocking full range of motion in her knee, Safety National Casualty Corporation and Matrix Absence Management refused payment of all benefits.
The jury found that Safety National Casualty Corporation and Matrix Absence Management had denied the claim without a reasonable basis and refused to complete a reasonable investigation of the workers’ compensation claim and decided that they had violated the duty of good faith and fair dealing. Based upon this determination, the jury further found that Doyle LLP’s client was entitled to $1 million in damages to compensate for past and future mental anguish, pain and suffering, physical impairment, and loss of enjoyment of life. At the judgment stage of the case, Doyle LLP’s attorneys will be able to request an award of attorney’s fees and litigation costs, in addition to the $1 million of compensatory damages.
On September 28, 2016, a Wake County Superior Court Jury (Raleigh, North Carolina) found that former North Carolina State Trooper Reginald Newberne had been wrongfully fired by the Department of Public Safety for reporting misconduct by other troopers implicated in the unjustified assault of a young man during an arrest and awarded compensatory damages of $1.9 million, including $700,000 in economic damages to Mr. Newberne’s career and $400,000 in non-economic damages. The jury also found that the violation was willful, entitling Mr. Newberne to attorneys’ fees, costs, and potentially additional damages.
The trial brought closer to an end Mr. Newberne’s long fight for justice, which started with his reporting of facts to his superiors at the Highway Patrol that suggested several fellow troopers had used excessive force, and then lied to cover up the incident, in the arrest of young man for suspected drunk driving in May 2000. Mr. Newberne had already faced dismissal of his case before trial twice, and in each case the appellate courts reinstated his suit. When Doyle LLP got involved to try his case, Mr. Newberne had been fighting for his right to present his case to a jury for over 15 years. Especially in light of the ongoing spotlight on police actions in America, Mr. Newberne’s case points to the urgent need to support honest reporters of misconduct within the ranks of law enforcement, not retaliate against them.
Bixby, Roberta, Ellis, Hadley, Campredon, Greer, Pacheco, Bjerklund, Hedin, Seaom, St. Clair and Arnold v. KBR, Inc and Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, Inc.
The Oregon National Guard soldiers, along with other U.S. and British military personnel, guarded the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant, near Basra, Iraq, which KBR was contracted to rehabilitate by the U.S. government. The soldiers alleged KBR misled them about the presence and risks associated with sodium dichromate, an anticorrosive agent used to clean pipes at the plant. Sodium dichromate contains hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen banned in the U.S.
Trial evidence included KBR documents noting a “serious health problem” at Qarmat Ali and “almost 60% of the people now exhibit the symptoms” of sodium dichromate exposure.
The soldiers testified they have health problems, including respiratory, skin, gastrointestinal, and lung issues because of the toxic exposure. The trial included videotape testimony of Indiana National Guard Lt. Col. James Gentry, who died in 2009 of lung cancer linked by the Veterans Administration to the sodium dichromate exposure at Qarmat Ali.
Jury Verdict: $1,759,000; (Attorneys’ Fees: $337,500.00; Expenses $42,608.24).
Ms. Stinson, a long-time flight attendant for Continental Airlines, was injured in December 2003, when she was thrown through the plane cabin backwards as her plane was forced to brake during an emergency on takeoff. She suffered injuries to her neck and back. The incident, which occurred on a United States armed forces’ charter flight to Iraq, was witnessed by many soldiers on the airplane. Despite this, AIG refused to pay for the medical care Ms. Stinson needed for her neck injury. Instead, they continued to fight Ms. Stinson at every turn, sending her to biased doctors and placing roadblocks every step of the way. In November 2010, a Harris county jury found AIG to have knowingly acted in violation of the Texas Insurance Code and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and awarded her $1,759,000.
Jury Verdict: $1.384 million (Attorneys’ Fees: $213,750; Litigation Expenses: $16,617.20; injury – shoulder and economic harm resulting from delay in insurance benefits).
In November 2009, a Galveston County jury found that Zurich American Insurance Company acted in bad faith in delaying and denying a workers’ compensation claim of a 44 year old sandblaster injured on the job in October 2007. The jury found that Zurich unreasonably delayed income benefits for four months, and delayed Doyle LLP Trial Lawyers client Jerome Ryan’s medical care for his injured shoulder. Zurich failed to obtain medical records from Mr. Ryan’s doctors, claimed that Mr. Ryan could not chose his own treating physician, and refused to pay him income benefits or for his medical care until ordered to do so by the Texas Department of Insurance. The jury in Galveston County Court at Law No. 3, Hon. Roy Quintanilla presiding, awarded $1.384 million in damages, including $500,000 in punitive damages.
Jury Verdict: $1.22 million (Attorneys’ Fees: $400,000; Litigation Expenses: $47,276.54; injury – operated lumbar spine injuries).
In August 2009, a Houston (Harris County) jury awarded $1.22 million to Doyle LLP Trial Lawyers client Roger Hamilton for injuries sustained in a November 2005 incident onboard the dredging vessel Pontchartrain. The jury determined that Great Lakes was negligent in maintaining improper steps and decking aboard the vessel, and in attempting to conceal information regarding the reporting of the incident. The found Great Lakes to be 100% responsible for the incident that ended Mr. Hamilton’s career in the dredging business.
Jury Verdict: $4.5 million (Attorneys Fees: $1,860,000; Expenses: $105,452.29; injury – operated knee and lumbar injuries).
A Houston jury, in May 2009, awarded more than $4.5 million to Doyle LLP Trial Lawyers client Capt. Charles Norfleet for injuries sustained while being transferred in a personnel basket from a crew boat to a lightering ship in the Gulf of Mexico. The jury found both Chemikalien Seetransport GmbH of Hamburg, Germany and Heidenreich Marine, Inc. of Connecticut responsible for negligence during the ship-to-ship transfer operation. Following a nearly four week trial, the jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning its unanimous verdict in the 133rd District Court of Harris County.
Jury Verdict: $1.6 million (Attorneys Fees: $472,500; Expenses $61,135.03; injury – cervical injuries requiring surgery and unoperated shoulder injuries).
Darold Burch had a long and successful career as a seismic gun mechanic, but was injured severely when he struck his head on an improperly placed beam in his work area. The beam was placed too low across the slipway area of the gun deck on the seismic survey vessel WESTERN PRIDE. Burch began to experience severe post-traumatic headaches after the incident, and ultimately was diagnosed with multiple cervical disc injuries that required surgical repair. Westerngeco blamed Mr. Burch for the incident, but a Houston jury disagreed and returned a verdict in December 2007 against the Schlumberger subsidiary for $1.6 million in damages in the 270th District Court of Harris County, Houston, Texas.
Priddy v. Commerce & Industry Insurance Company (AIG).
Jury Verdict: $580,000 (Attorneys Fees: $140,000; Expenses: $41,349.49).
Mr. Priddy, a railroad mechanic, injured his lower back in February 2005 while moving equipment in a confined space under a rail car. He attempted to work through the pain, but reported to the emergency room for back problems. His doctors confirmed that he was injured, and ultimately decided that he would need surgical repair of his lumbar spine. Nonetheless, ignoring the rules of workers’ compensation, which require a workers’ compensation insurer to pay medical and income benefits when a pre-existing condition is aggravated on the job, and without any medical evidence, the adjuster denied Mr. Priddy’s claim claiming that his condition was chronic and caused by pre-existing injuries. A Dallas County jury found that Commerce & Industry Insurance Company (AIG) knowingly violated the insurance code and awarded damages of approximately $580,000.
Pace v. Houston Helicopters, Inc.
Jury Verdict: $2.16 million (Attorneys Fees: $820,000; Expenses: $117,502.70; injury – lumbar injuries requiring surgery and post traumatic stress disorder).
Melvin Pace, a roustabout, working on an offshore oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico was injured when the helicopter, a Sikorsky 76, transporting him and a crew back to shore caught fire and violently crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. The owner and operator of the helicopter, Houston Helicopters, had failed to adequately maintain the helicopter, including fixing a significant oil leak, which caused the fire. To add insult to injury, the helicopter was not equipped with proper life vests and Houston Helicopters failed to notify the Coast Guard of the crash for nearly seven hours. As a result, Mr. Pace and the other passengers were forced to remain in the Gulf of Mexico for hours until they were rescued. Once home, Mr. Pace underwent surgical treatment to his lower back. In February 2008, a Brazoria County jury awarded $2.16 million in damages.
Jury Verdict: $1.5 million, increased to $1,752,767.44 with interest (Attorneys Fees: $788,745.35; Expenses $49,603.52; injury – unoperated spinal injuries and post traumatic stress disorder).
After a Supply Ship Captain was viciously attacked by an unruly and inadequate crew off the coast of Africa, a major U.S. shipping company refused to honor its responsibilities to its employee who was suffering back, neck, head, and psychological problems as a result of the attack. A Texas jury returned a verdict in August 2007 for Doyle LLP Trial Lawyers’ client of $1,505,000, which was more than ten times the highest settlement offer of the shipping company.
Lloyd Snyder v. Cunningham Lindsey Claims Management, Inc.
After a successful career in the insurance industry, Lloyd Snyder chose as a second career to be a psychiatric nurse at a major Houston hospital. In October 2002, Mr. Snyder was attacked at work by a psychiatric patient and suffered a painful, but manageable, injury to his cervical spine. His doctors, and even doctors hired by his workers’ compensation claims handlers, agreed that Mr. Snyder had suffered a significant injury and needed surgery. He needed his workers’ compensation insurance company’s help.
Nonetheless, for two years, Cunningham Lindsey, the claims handling firm with the responsibility for adjusting Mr. Snyder’s workers’ compensation claim, stonewalled him with repeat denials of his claim, his injuries and his needed surgery. They ignored doctors’ opinions, and denied Lloyd the surgery and medical care he needed. They even falsely claimed to be out of business. When the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission rejected Cunningham Lindsey’s delays and denials, Mr. Snyder finally and belatedly received the surgery. But the damage was done, and after two years of neglect. Mr. Snyder had suffered permanent, irreparable nerve damage.
The case went to trial in October 2006, and a Houston state court jury found Cunningham Lindsey and its adjuster fully responsible for Lloyds injuries, and awarded $4.3 million in damages. The Court of Appeals reversed the jury’s decision, and the case is currently on appeal before the Texas Supreme Court.
Pike v. SeaRiver Maritime, Inc.
Jury Verdict: $2.56 million (Reduced on appeal to $2,141,716.75 – Attorneys Fees: $936,772.52; Expenses: $77,625.97; injury – unoperated cervical herniation and leg lacerations).
When a major U.S. shipping company refused to honor its responsibilities to a long-time employee who suffered career-ending injuries as a result of a fall on a tanker in the Gulf of Alaska, Doyle LLP Trial Lawyers took the case to trial. A Texas jury returned a verdict for Doyle LLP Trial Lawyers’ client of over $2.56 million.

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