A jury awarded a welding contractor $171,762 on February 4, 2010 for sustaining leg fractures after falling from an extension ladder. The Plaintiff argued that the ladder was old and defective thus causing him to get his left ankle trapped in between the ladder steps. Plaintiff was nearly 14 feet off the ground at the time of the incident. He underwent three surgeries and lost a year from work. The employer argued that it was the plaintiff’s fault for losing his balance.
Collision- Beaumont, Texas – School Bus-Defense Verdict
Plaintiff claimed that a school bus clipped her passenger’s side mirror while making a right turn on red and this caused her to sustain injuries due to a rapid turn of the neck. She incurred medical bills for chiropractic treatment and physical therapy and asked the jury for nearly $20,000.00. The jury found no negligence on the part of the bus driver. This case was argued and the verdict returned on March 1, 2010 in Jefferson County, Texas which intimidates some corporate defendants.
Collision-Centerville, Texas- $8.7 million verdict
A jury awarded 8.7 million dollars to a plaintiff who sustained traumatic brain injuries and endured a coma for 6 weeks after a brakeless tractor-trailer went through a red light and collided with her vehicle. In addition to the driver, Plaintiff sued the owner of the truck and the driver’s employer, and also the individual hiring the truck to deliver drilling rig equipment. The verdict was rendered on February 25, 2010 in Leon County, Texas which is on Interstate 45 between Houston and Dallas.
Collision-Houston, Texas-Stalled Vehicle-Defense Verdict
In August, 2008, the Plaintiff’s vehicle broke down in the center lane on Highway 146 near Seabrook, Texas. Rather than placing warnings around the car, moving the car or otherwise mitigating his damages, the Plaintiff sat in his truck awaiting assistance. While waiting on help, another vehicle collided into the rear of Plaintiff’s vehicle causing a cut to the head of Plaintiff which required staples. The jury found the Plaintiff 70% at fault because his vehicle had broken down nearly a month earlier and Plaintiff failed to remedy the issue and because he failed to attempt to move the vehicle to the shoulder or warn of its condition. The verdict was rendered on February 26, 2010. This verdict shows that it is not true that just because you are rear-ended you will prevail. Although a person has a duty not to collide with an item in front of his/her vehicle, people also owe a duty to avoid creating dangerous situations.
Premise Liability-Wharton, Texas-Defense Verdict
After alleging that an H.E.B. store failed to clean up salad dressing on the floor or place cones around the liquid, on February 18, 2010, a Wharton County jury found that the Plaintiff was the majority at fault for her fall. The Plaintiff sought $45,000.00 while the defense argued that the plaintiff was not looking where she was walking, that her injuries were not caused by the accident and some of the treatment was unnecessary. The plaintiff claimed back and knee injuries. This verdict is representative of a trend where juries are holding individuals accountable.
American Veteran’s Traveling Tribute- Lake Travis High School
Although the weather precluded the fighter fly-over this morning, the Traveling Tribute is worth seeing. The traveling memorial honors the 58,245 service members who died in Vietnam, as well as the hundreds of thousands who died in the previous and subsequent wars. The tribute is staffed by volunteers who help children write letters to current soldiers abroad, serve food, man the souvenir shop and assist with the computerized location of family members and friends who are on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A picture of the traveling memorial is attached. It will remain at the Lake Travis High School through the weekend. As a former member of the Army and Navy Reserves, I believe the wall is truly impressive and brings home the significance and cost of protecting our freedom. Take the kids and go visit. 
Premise Liability-Waco, Texas-Parking Lot Fall-Award
On March 9, 2010, ruling from the bench, a federal judge found a government store liable for failing to maintain a parking lot at Fort Hood, thus causing a customer to trip and fall over a piece of rebar. The case was argued in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Waco. The Plaintiff was awarded $42,356.00 for a fractured wrist and injuries to her neck and spine. This type of award likely followed a finding that the store had notice of the exposed rebar or that the dangerous condition existed long enough that the store should have known about the danger.
Construction Injury-Dallas, Texas -Contractor Fall from Ladder-Builder not Liable
On March 10, 2010 a Dallas County Jury of 6 found a construction company not liable for negligence when a contractor fell from a ladder. The contractor argued that the construction company was responsible for power washing near the ladder prior to the fall, while the construction company asserted that the ladder was old and not properly maintained. The case was argued in Dallas County Court-at-Law no. 3. This type of verdict is representative of Texas verdicts holding individuals responsible for their own actions.
Bottled Water – False Claim of Glass – Consumer Law
BUCKLEY WOMAN SENTENCED TO JAIL TIME, HOME DETENTION FOR FALSE CLAIM OF GLASS IN BOTTLED WATER
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU EMPLOYEE USED YOUNG DAUGHTER TO MAKE FALSE CLAIM FOR DAMAGE
April 20, 2010:
Food and Drug Administration
Office of Criminal Investigations
United States Attorney’s Office Press Release
For Immediate Release
April 20, 2010
The United States Attorney’s Office
Western District of Washington
KELSY MACOM, 36, of Buckley, Washington, was sentenced today to 30 days in jail, three months of home detention with electronic monitoring, and three years of supervised release for Tampering with a Consumer Product. MACOM claimed in April 2008, that her then 7-year-old daughter was injured by a piece of glass in a bottle of Dasani water – a Coca-Cola company product. MACOM demanded $3,000 from Coca-Cola to settle the matter. When she pleaded guilty on January 13, 2010, MACOM admitted she had made up the entire hoax. MACOM used her young daughter, and her employment at a consumer oriented agency, in hopes of getting a quick financial settlement. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton labeled the crime “despicable.”
According to records filed in the case, on April 15, 2008, MACOM first contacted the Coca-Cola company in Atlanta, Georgia, claiming that her 7-year-old daughter had been injured by a small shard of glass in a bottle of Dasani water.
MACOM used her home e-mail address on the initial contact, but later used the e-mail address and contact information for her employer – the Better Business Bureau. MACOM contacted Coca-Cola representatives on numerous occasions claiming that the back of her daughter’s throat had been cut and that she could not eat hard foods. MACOM claimed she had had to stay home from work to care for her daughter. A few days after her first complaint, MACOM e-mailed Coca-Cola asking for a monetary settlement. Coca-Cola sent MACOM a mailer asking her to forward the bottle and glass shard. When an insurance investigator contacted MACOM, she claimed that her daughter coughed up blood – a claim she had never made in contact with the company. MACOM also filed complaints about Coca-Cola with the State of Georgia Office of Consumer Affairs, and with the Better Business Bureau for Oakland, California, and Atlanta, Georgia. MACOM also contacted the California Food and Drug Administration claiming the same lot of bottled water had gone to California.
On May 29, 2008, MACOM was interviewed by agents from the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-CI). After agents confronted MACOM with the fact that she had filed a similar complaint against another product in 2007, MACOM admitted that she had made up the whole story. In the 2007 complaint, MACOM received $1500 after claiming her then 6-year-old daughter had cut her mouth on a glass shard in a chocolate bar.
In asking for prison time for the hoax, Assistant United States Attorney Susan Dohrmann noted that it was troubling that MACON used her employment with a consumer rights organization to further her efforts to get compensation. “Defendant has provided the United States Probation Office and the government with several supporting letters, some of which are from Defendant’s co-workers who describe her as professional, honest and fair. In this regard, it appears that some may not be fully aware of the false claims to Coca-Cola and the Better Business Bureau that were part of her scheme to obtain money from Coca-Cola, nor that she actually used her Better Business Bureau e-mail address and work phone number as contacts,” Ms. Dohrmann wrote in her sentencing memo.
The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation (FDA-OCI).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Susan B. Dohrmann.
Bee Cave City Council Meeting – 4-27-2010
Last night’s meeting went until 12:00 a.m. The open agenda was relatively short with the City determining to proceed with the likely acceptance of a American Kestrel and Coopers Hawk as public streets. The city engineer will need to inspect the streets and the owners of the property in Gyrfalcon will need to sign off on the petition in order to have 100% plat participation.
The park pavilion reservations will decrease to a maximum of 50 people for the large pavilion and 25 for the small. We will determine that maximum number of “general use” reservations at the next meeting. Based on the small amount of parking, the idea is to keep the park available to general patrons, while allowing groups containing children to reserve areas. For example, Lake Travis Elementary has been taking bus loads of kids to the park for lunch, sometimes with as many as 200 kids. This is an important function of the park and needs to continue.
Regarding the budget, mixed drink sales were up 29%, mainly attributable to increased number of restaurants.
Jennifer Curry, former City employee, requested a grievance before the City Council, but did not appear at the meeting to request the hearing. Without her, or her lawyer’s appearance, I did not see a reason to grant her a full grievance hearing. In my opinion, a person who seeks relief, should take the effort to appear in-person, or by representative, to explain why they need the relief. Of note, the City Administrator and attorney have offered to hear Ms. Curry’s grievance, but without response from Ms. Curry or her attorney.
Following the extended executive session, the Council gave outside counsel the authority to bring suit against all responsible parties for the water intrusion issues at city hall. The council also determined to reject a settlement offer by Jennifer Curry’s attorney.