LEGAL VICTORIES
READ ABOUT RESULTS WE HAVE ACHIEVED FOR OUR CLIENTS
Over the years, Burwell Nebout Trial Lawyers has successfully represented many Texans who have been injured in virtually every type of personal injury matter.
View our legal victories in the following areas or see other case victories below.
- Auto accident victories
- FELA protection victories
- Jones Act victories
- Medical malpractice
- Commercial litigation
- Industrial accidents
- Negligence cases
Arbitration/Union Member Job Bid
Rohm and Haas sold a division to RohMax. Rohm and Haas employees were transferred to RohMax pursuant to a letter of agreement negotiated by USW13-1. The letter of agreement provided for employees to have a lifetime bid back option to Rohm and Haas. Although the grievant was not a member of the union at the time of the letter of agreement, BN persuaded the arbitrator to apply the bid rights provision to the nonunion member and order his bid to be accepted with full back pay.
Power Line Amputation
On the first day a family moved into a new home, the family’s 9-year-old child lost his arm from contacting a power line that ran through a tree in the back yard. An electric line specialist from the University of Texas and urban arborist from San Diego, California, assisted in reconstructing and modeling the accident. In addition to the monetary settlement, the power company is required to annually use the plaintiff’s incident model to discuss power line safety at elementary schools.
Liberty County Record Verdict
Two high school seniors were on their way home on a stretch of road that had been the subject of repeated complaints to the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) about the poor condition of the shoulder. When the students entered a curve, the poor condition of the shoulder resulted in a crash that killed one and severely brain-damaged the other. A trial against the Texas Attorney General’s office resulted in the discovery of altered records, a spoliation instruction and a record-setting jury verdict for Liberty County.
Brio Superfund Site
Burwell Nebout represented 90 children who lived on or went to school on what is now known as the Brio Superfund site and suffered birth defects, cancer and other health issues related to undisclosed exposure to the cocktail of chemicals that Monsanto and other entities disposed of in the area. World-renowned medical experts from Boston and San Francisco assisted in relating the health problems to the known chemicals at the dump site, resulting in a settlement.
Motco Superfund Site
The Motco Superfund site was the favored dumping spot for Malone Trucking and Monsanto. The grandchildren of the original family that lived on the site brought claims for toxic exposure. Without mediation, the claims settled for a confidential amount against Monsanto.
ERISA/Employee Stock Plan
Over 350 workers from Amoco Texas City brought claims in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division against Amoco and State Street Bank-Boston when they were “locked out” from trading for over 10 days. During this time, the stock price went up significantly. A confidential settlement was reached, which included the implementation of backup systems to prevent the same situation from occurring again.
Real Estate Breach of Contract
Brought into a business dispute 90 days before trial, we were able to finalize discovery, including a deposition in Taiwan. Despite the defendants being Moody Bank and Stewart Title, our client, a Taiwanese national, received a $980,000 jury verdict.
WorldCom Stock Options
MFS was acquired by MCI WorldCom. During this acquisition, stock options were provided to the newly acquired employees at a nominal strike price. Later, WorldCom refused to honor these options. Litigation in federal court in Galveston resulted in settlement of the case in less than 60 days.
Offshore Oil Technology/Patent Infringement
A professor from the University of Tel Aviv patented a mathematical formula to eliminate “ghosts” in hydrophone readings. Suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. After two days of mediation, the case settled for a confidential amount.
Americans with Disabilities Act
A rubber plant worker in Port Arthur, Texas, was terminated when he injured his knee at work and could no longer perform his old job. The firm recovered a $930,000 jury verdict in federal court in Beaumont, which was the largest Americans with Disabilities Act verdict in the country at the time. The judgment, which was not appealed, was later entered for a lesser amount, but ordered the employer to put the injured worker back to work at a job that did not violate his restrictions.
Admiralty/RADS
A tugboat captain was overcome by toxic fumes and developed reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS) when a leak developed during the transfer of chemicals from a refinery to a ship. In a case filed in Galveston federal court, the firm negotiated a settlement on behalf of the injured seaman.
Admiralty/Back Injury
An offshore oil worker injured his back when he was required to move heavy hoses with inadequate assistance or equipment. In a case filed in Galveston federal court, a recovery was negotiated.
March 2005 Explosion at BP Texas City
The explosion of the isomerization unit during a startup procedure resulted in multiple deaths and catastrophic injuries. James Nebout was involved in the first lawsuit filed, as liaison counsel, and was instrumental in acquiring key evidence as the designated attorney for the union workforce. He resolved 96 claims for burned and otherwise significantly injured people between 2005 and 2007.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Burwell Nebout has represented over 400 individual and business clients in settlement funds and Court-Supervised settlement program for economic loss recoveries resulting from the April 20, 2010, explosion.
Pipeline Worksite Injury
A pipeline inspector from Kentucky was working on the Eagle Ford Shale pipeline in Wharton, Texas, when he was struck by a trackhoe. After depositions in multiple states revealed significant safety policy violations and chain of custody issues with the post-incident urinalysis of the trackhoe driver, the case settled in mediation.
Bicycle and Commercial Vehicle Wreck
A bicyclist on his way to church was struck by a commercial vehicle, causing permanent leg injuries. A renowned accident reconstructionist along with a life care planner assisted in establishing liability and damages, resulting in a mediated settlement.
Nursing Home Death
A former operating room nurse was dropped, resulting in a broken neck, collapsed lung and subsequent death. After defeating motions to dispose of the case without trial, we settled the case for a confidential amount.
Nursing Home Death
A husband and wife who were in the same nursing home were provided negligent care resulting in the death of both patients. The wrongful death cases were brought by their surviving children. After defeating motions to dispose of the case without trial, we settled the case for a confidential amount.
Cooper Tread Separation and Toyota Roof Crush
A physicist on the way home from Intercontinental Airport with his wife and daughter suffered a tread separation from a Cooper tire, resulting in his death and injuries to the remaining family members. The country’s top tire expert from New York, Texas accident reconstructionists, and an engineer from Arizona were retained to determine the exact cause of the incident. Extensive vehicle and tire testing along with extensive documents from Cooper’s Texarkana facility resulted in a confidential settlement with the car dealership, Toyota and Cooper Tire.
Sanyo TV Fire
A 5-year-old child was horrifically burned when his home caught on fire as a result of a design defect in a Sanyo television purchased from Wal-Mart. Sanyo defended the case with lawyers from Houston and New York. After numerous depositions and fire reconstructions, the case settled for a confidential amount.
Firestone Tire Ford Explorer Tread Separation
On the way back from a Lake Charles casino, the driver of a Ford Explorer with Firestone tires suffered a tread separation and rollover accident. The case settled within six months of filing.
Victoria Plant Explosion
An unprecedented heat exchanger explosion resulted in five contractors being injured. A federal court lawsuit involved a contentious fight over Chapter 95 immunity. The successful tracking down of former employees shed light on the incident and assisted in the mediated settlement of the cases.
Sterling Ammonia Leak
Burwell Nebout represented several hundred clients in a claim against Sterling Chemicals following an ammonia leak caused by operator error. Separate lawsuits ensued in Galveston County and Harris County. We successfully resolved the Galveston County litigation while the attorneys who handled the Harris County litigation lost their claims.
Contractor Injury at BP Texas City
During a turnaround involving a heat exchanger at BP Texas City, a Hahn & Clay employee was seriously injured by another contractor who was improperly operating a pneumatic wrench. Litigation involved parties from Texas and Pennsylvania. After depositions were completed, the case settled for a confidential amount.
Medical Malpractice
After having chest pains while mowing the grass, our client immediately visited his doctor. Despite the obvious complaints, not even an aspirin was administered. Upon returning home, the client died of a massive heart attack. After deposing the plaintiff’s primary expert, the case settled for a confidential amount.
Refinery Explosion
An operator was injured and underwent knee surgery due to an explosion at a Texas City refinery. Burwell Nebout secured a successful recovery against the construction contractor who negligently installed the piping that exploded.
Helicopter Crash
An offshore oil worker suffered neck, back, and psychological injuries when the helicopter transporting him offshore crashed in Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Burwell Nebout obtained a confidential settlement in mediation from the negligent helicopter charter company.
18-Wheeler Wreck, Deceased Motorcycle Rider
A father of two was killed when an 18-wheeler from Canada turned left in front of his motorcycle in San Jacinto County. After filing suit in Galveston federal court, Burwell Nebout secured a settlement in mediation on behalf of the wife and two children.
Refinery Toxic Exposure
A tankerman was overcome by toxic fumes from a Louisiana refinery while working on a barge. Burwell Nebout filed suit against the refinery and tug boat company in Harris County and obtained a successful recovery.
