Scherr Legate provides El Paso personal injury case results representing individuals and families in wrongful death, catastrophic injury, and negligence claims. Our attorneys have secured significant jury verdicts and settlements in cases involving negligent security, workplace accidents, commercial vehicle crashes, and unsafe premises. These case results demonstrate how businesses and property owners can be held accountable when preventable injuries or deaths occur. Although every case outcome depends on its facts, our trial experience and case preparation focus on maximizing recovery and delivering justice for injured clients in El Paso.
Our law firm would like to report great trial work of 2 of our young lawyers Pablo Lopez and Angelica Carbajal. In Angelica’s first jury trial and Pablo’s first trial as lead counsel (his 3rd jury trial in his first year of practice), they won a $5.7 million unanimous verdict in El Paso for a bar fight assault causing the wrongful death of a customer. We also want to specifically acknowledge Oscar Lara, who played a critical role in the trial by arguing and defeating the directed verdict, ensuring the case was submitted to the jury.
On January 22, 2016, Mr. Martinez and his partner were at El Patron Sports Bar watching television and having a beer when three individuals entered through an unmanned door, initiated a confrontation, and collectively engaged in an assault. During the altercation, Mr. Martinez was pushed through the unmonitored door, struck his head, and suffered catastrophic injuries. He passed away six days later.
This case was tried on the theory of failure to provide adequate security to a reasonably foreseeable danger to its invitees: when a bar has a history of violence in its premises, and invites the public in to drink at night, it assumes the duty to take reasonable steps to keep its customers safe. The evidence showed that El Patron Sports Bar failed to implement basic, foreseeable security measures in a crowded, alcohol environment where prior incidents were admitted into evidence to show the heightened risk of violence. Pablo and Angelica argued the failure to provide security caused the death of Arturo Martinez and left Brandy and Sasha without their father. The jury heard testimony about the lack of effective security presence, the foreseeability of escalating confrontations inside a busy bar, and simple precautions that were not taken until after tragedy struck.
After a full trial presentation and deliberation, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the Martinez family in the amount of $5,701,500. The verdict affirmed that this was not an unavoidable accident, but a preventable death caused by a business’s failure to uphold its duty to protect its customers.
A 50-year-old male client suffered severe personal injuries as a result of a trench collapse on a construction site. The man suffered a ruptured spleen and pancreas, sustained 11 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, disc fractures and a shoulder impingement. The severity of his injuries required emergency surgery and left him permanently disabled by the Social Security Administration. Scherr Legate proved at trial that the construction company was negligent and responsible for inadequate trench safety measures when the trench collapsed crushing the man. The jury verdict was over $4 Million.
A mother and her 8-year-old daughter were struck and killed by a Union Pacific train as they walked along the tracks near their lower valley home making their way to deliver lunch to the woman’s husband. The train tracks, which align their neighborhood, are crossed daily by residents in the nearby area to reach schools, local businesses and medical facilities. It is believed that the mother did not see the train as she held an umbrella while walking in the direction of the sun. Scherr Legate also argued numerous points that showed Union Pacific could have prevented this tragedy but chose not to, including its ability to stop 1700 feet away before the impact. The jury awarded our clients $34Million, at the time, the largest single-family verdict against Union Pacific.
Over a 20-year-period, a woman who had worked for various state agencies was allegedly terminated after she filed a worker’s compensation claim while she was injured on the job. She had been with her current employer, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for two years. Scherr Legate proved that the department violated the terms of the Workers Compensation Act in training its supervisors regarding the policies associated with Worker’s Compensation. The jury verdict was $250,000.
A 55 year-old woman was in town visiting her daughter and her granddaughter, age 7. That morning the grandmother decided to walk her granddaughter to the designated school bus stop. On the way to the bus stop, while walking on the sidewalk just past a private driveway, both the grandmother and the granddaughter were struck by a company truck owned and operated by GeoShack. As a result of the impact from the truck, the grandmother and was rushed to the hospital having to endure three surgeries to her head over the next three months to help decrease the swelling to the brain. Unfortunately, the grandmother succumbed to her injuries and passed away. The granddaughter was also taken to the hospital on the date of the accident for minor physical pain, but endured several years of psychological treatment for what she witnessed the day of the accident. GeoShack denied that he granddaughter was involved in the incident. Scherr Legate proved through testimony that the driver was on the job and also the granddaughter’s injuries were a result of the accident. In the end, Scherr Legate settled the case for $2Million.
A jury returned a $5.7 million El Paso bar wrongful death verdict after finding a sports bar failed to provide adequate security, leading to a fatal assault. The case showed the business did not take reasonable steps to protect customers despite prior violent incidents and foreseeable risks. The unanimous verdict confirmed the death was preventable and reinforced the duty bars have to maintain safe premises for patrons.
A 55-year-old woman visiting her daughter and 7-year-old granddaughter was struck by a GeoShack truck while walking her granddaughter to the bus stop. The grandmother underwent three head surgeries but later died. The granddaughter, though only mildly physically injured, required years of psychological treatment. GeoShack denied the granddaughter’s involvement, but Scherr Legate proved the driver was on the job and responsible. The case was settled for $2 million.
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