Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

US Ordered To Pay 432K For Seamen Injured on Ship

A judge awarded $432,166 to a seaman who was injured while working on a federal government-owned vessel. In 2007, Frank Drapela, then 60, was assigned to loosen rusted cargo attachment rings on the deck of a ship docked in Beaumont. Drapela said the task, for which he used a sledgehammer, caused four bulging discs in his neck. He underwent surgery, which helped to lessen the pain but resulted in loss of feeling in his arm. He claimed he is no longer able to work as a seaman and he has since been diagnosed with depression. Drapela blamed the government, alleging that the rings could've been fitted with grease fittings to prevent rusting and that the failure to do so rendered the vessel unseaworthy. The government argued Drapela wasn't told to use a sledgehammer and that his own actions caused his injuries.

For more information regarding personal injury law, visit www.injurylawyerdallastexas.com

 

Resident Wins At Trial For Slip and Fall At Apartment Building

A jury awarded $1 million to a woman who fell down four stairs outside her apartment because the loose handrail allegedly detached. In 2007, Margo Nickerson, then 32, claimed that she sustained cervical and lumbar disc herniations in the fall. She claimed that the 4-foot-long wooden handrail wasn't properly bolted to the stairs. She claimed that she previously complained to the property manager about the handrail, but he didn't do anything. She underwent a cervical fusion and a lumbar discectomy.

Child Born With Nerve Injury Recovers In Texas Medical Malpractice Trial

A child who has only limited use of her right arm due to a birth injury recovered $500,000 from the doctor who delivered her. In 2003, Norma Orozco went into labor at Doctors Hospital Parkway in Houston. During delivery, one of the baby's shoulders became stuck. Ob-gyn David Hillel Janowitz performed several maneuvers before he was able to deliver the baby girl, Alexa Ibarra, who was born with a brachial plexus injury to her right arm. Orozco and her husband blamed Janowitz, alleging he caused the injury by pulling too hard on Alexa's head while trying to free her shoulder. Janowitz argued the injury was due to Orozco's own forces of labor. The jury found Janowitz negligent and awarded the plaintiffs $1.8 million in damages. They ultimately recovered $500,000 due to a high-low agreement. Claims against the hospital and a nurse settled for an undisclosed amount before trial.

Slip and Fall At WorkPlace Results in Plaintiff's Verdict

A jury awarded nearly $5.7 million to a crane operator who was severely burned when he fell into an open sluiceway. In 2007, Mike McCraven, then 56, was an employee of Austin Industries and working at a Pasadena Refining System Inc. plant when he was told move a boom truck. As he was walking to the truck, he fell into an open sluiceway, which was full of boiling water. He sustained burns over 15 percent of his body and permanently lost feeling in his feet, and he said he is no longer able to work as a crane operator as a result. He blamed PRSI, alleging it was negligent because it left the drain covers off the sluiceway and continually flooded the area with boiling water. PRSI in turn filed suit against Austin Industries, contending it failed to adequately communicate the existing conditions to McCraven before he started the task. The jury found PRSI 75 percent, Austin 20 percent and McCraven 5 percent liable.