Results

Explosion Burn Injury: $1,550,000 Settlement

Richard, a husband and father of two young children, was a licensed plumber on the job at a Central Texas limestone mine when the fuel tank he was working on exploded, engulfing his body in flames and throwing him twenty feet to the ground. Richard injured his back and suffered severe burns to his legs and arms. While he was still in the hospital, his wife called on us to help. We immediately started recording witness statements, taking photographs, retaining the necessary experts, and opening dialogue with the medical providers.

Our investigation revealed that the explosion happened because an employee of the mine arced a welding rod near the fuel tank, which had not been cleaned and flushed as required before commencing the work. The mine company claimed that they had not done anything wrong and refused to pay. After eighteen months of litigation over contested liability, involving depositions, expert reports, and two mediations, the case settled before trial for $1,550,000. Of that amount, attorney’s fees were $620,000, and case expenses, including expert fees, totaled $27,000.

The net recovery to our client totaled $902,423.

Car Wreck Injuries: $1,500,000 Settlement

George stopped at the stop sign. He looked both ways and was about to proceed into the intersection when he was suddenly and violently rear-ended by a bus traveling at 55 miles per hour. The impact catapulted George’s body upwards, slamming his head into the roof of his car. His injuries included herniated disks, broken teeth, a displaced jaw and a closed head injury.

George had to undergo two neck surgeries, tooth implants, and pain management. He lost most of his sense of smell and taste and his mouth became very sensitive to cold liquids. George and his wife were having difficulty managing all the medical appointments and dealing with the bus driver’s insurance company. They decided to call the Law Office of Vic Feazell for help.

It took two years of litigation, including depositions and expert testimony, before the insurance company was finally forced into paying George’s claim. During that time, our firm negotiated with medical service providers to ensure that George got the medical treatment he needed and that payment of the bills was delayed until after settlement. The case settled for $1,500,000. Attorney’s fees were $499,500, and reimbursable expenses totaled $8,627. Net recovery to our client totaled $991,873.

Slip and Fall Injury: $95,590 Jury Verdict

Angela and her husband were enjoying dinner at Texas Roadhouse. When they got up to leave, Angela slipped on peanut shell debris that had been allowed to accumulate on the floor. She broke her kneecap in three places, requiring a painful surgery that left pins and a wire in her knee in order to stabilize it.

Angela sought legal help from several attorneys in Central Texas, but was turned down by them all. One attorney did agree to represent her, but when he found out that Texas Roadhouse planned to contest the case, he dropped her as a client. Distraught and not knowing where to turn, Angela was referred to Vic Feazell by a friend. Vic took her case and filed suit against Texas Roadhouse.

After over a year of litigation, including depositions and expert medical reports, Texas Roadhouse still refused to pay Angela’s claim, so Vic took the case to jury trial. A week-long trial in the Bell County Courthouse returned a jury verdict in favor of Angela for $95,590. Attorney’s fees were $38,236, and reimbursable expenses totaled $14,185. The net recovery to Angela was $43,000.00. To this day, it is still the only case that Texas Roadhouse has lost.

It was ten o’clock at night. Dedra had just picked up her teenage daughter from the skating rink and they were heading home. She was stopped on the shoulder of the road at the intersection of Loop 340 and Roller Way Road waiting to enter the intersection and cross Loop 340 when she and her daughter heard the loud sound of a car approaching at a high rate of speed. Dedra thought it might be teenagers racing so she backed her car up a couple more feet to be completely out of the way, just in case. Suddenly and without warning the approaching car slammed on its breaks, locking them up causing a screeching sound and making smoke billow from the tires. The speeding car careened down the hill, crossing from the right lane into the left lane and onto the shoulder where it violently struck Dedra’s car with an explosive crash spinning it around nearly 360 degrees and shattering the glass windows. Dedra was dazed and her daughter had blood pouring from her nose.

A moment later they were approached by a uniformed policeman on foot. It was then that Dedra learned they had been struck by a police car. The policeman called for an ambulance and Dedra and her daughter were transported to the hospital, treated, and released. Dedra learned later that her car was totaled but she was not too concerned because she figured that the City would replace their car, their only means of transportation, and pay their medical bills because the policeman had obviously been at fault.

The next day Dedra received the official citation in the mail charging her with “failure to yield to an emergency vehicle”. The city was blaming Dedra for the wreck and was refusing to replace her car or pay any of her medical bills. Dedra couldn’t believe it. She wanted to cry. She wondered if there was anything she could do and then she remembered The Law Offices of Vic Feazell (LOVF) and she called us.

Vic filed suit on behalf of Dedra and her young daughter and thus began a year and an half long legal battle to set the record straight. A thorough investigation was conducted by LOVF’s in-house Private Investigator, Truman Simons, which included analysis of the skid mark evidence and a review of police procedure that had been violated. Then Vic took the policeman’s deposition and the City started talking about settling. Excerpts from Vic’s questioning of the policeman have become popular viewing on YouTube. Vic was able to settle the case for payment of all medical bills, money to replace the car, a cash settlement to Dedra and a trust fund for the daughter which will be hers when she reaches the age of eighteen. Because the case had to be litigated, LOVF received 40% of the recovery as attorneys fees. If LOVF had lost the case, Dedra would not have owed us anything, including the case expenses we had paid.

This is a case where a policeman was a fault, but because of his position and power he was able to blame it all on Dedra. Then the power of the City and their attorneys got behind him. Not many lawyers would be willing to take on such a case, but because of our commitment to fairness, truth, and justice – we did. When Vic was District Attorney of McLennan County he often took on the establishment and the “big boys” regardless of the personal consequences to himself. He earned a reputation as a crusader for justice, a reputation that he still has today. Dedra agrees.