The Trial Lawyer
Case Situation:
Successful trial of case involving detached retina, arising out of motor vehicle accident.
Case Outcome
The firm utilized the skills of a retinal expert and successfully argued the case, receiving a no negligence verdict from the jury.
1. Minor rear-end accident which was claimed to result in neck and shoulder surgery. Investigation revealed that plaintiff rode a roller coaster in New York City after he claimed to have injured his neck in the accident. Policy limits of $l00,000 were offered by the automobile insurance carrier and additional funds were offered by the employer of the defendant driver who was in course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the defendant finding no negligence.
2. Minor rear-end accident, jury found no negligence. Plaintiff wore a different color neck collar for each of the three days of trial.
3. Intersectional collision case which had to be tried twice. The jury found no damages and awarded a zero after the first trial. Trial judge granted a motion for new trial and the case was tried again a few months later. At the end of that trial, the jury found no negligence against the defendant again resulting in a zero recovery.
4. Minor rear-end accident in which defendant testified on the stand that he felt like he was at fault but not negligent. The jury agreed and found no negligence against the defendant. This case was appealed on the issue of the admission of fault, and the Court of Appeals ruled that fault is not the same as legal negligence.
5. Automobile/bus accident wherein plaintiff suffered a crushed foot which ultimately resulted in reflex sympathetic dystrophy and multiple amputations of her lower extremity. The jury found the plaintiff 40% negligent and the defendant 60% negligent. Case ultimately settled for the tort cap limit.
6. Intersectional collision in which plaintiff claimed broken bone in left foot from impact. Jury found no negligence and no damages.
7. Auto/bicycle accident wherein bicyclist suffered fractured left leg and stitches on forehead. Jury found no negligence on defendant.
8. Auto accident involving claim of defective tail lights. Jury awarded less than half of amount offered pre-suit.
9. Under-insured motorist case wherein co-defendant stipulated liability. Jury awarded 20% of pre-trial offer.
10. 3 car rear-end accident with defendant being the middle vehicle. Plaintiff received settlement from the driver of the car which started the chain reaction rear-end accident. Jury found no negligence and no damages against defendant.
11. Disputed rear-end accident wherein defendant claimed to have been knocked into the plaintiff by a third vehicle. Jury found no negligence and no damages. Plaintiff was mother-in-law of plaintiff attorney.
12. Intersectional collision with stop sign which had been knocked down at intersection. Jury found 50% negligence on each party and no damages.
13. Minor rear-end accident with claim of TMJ injury. Jury found no negligence and no damages.
14. Disputed intersectional collision wherein both parties claim a green light. Police report was adverse to Defendant. Defense was able to show through work records that the Plaintiff was texting at the moment of collision, and therefore jury found Plaintiff negligent and found that she ran the red light. Jury also awarded zero dollars. Favorable jury verdict in only 9 minutes of deliberation.
Case Situation
Disputed intersectional collision.
Case Outcome
Jury found defendant 75% negligent and plaintiff 25% negligent and awarded 20% of pre-trial offer.
1. Premises liability case – involving teenager cutting through defendant’s yard and getting screwdriver driven through his ankle. $30,000 in medical bills for infection to the foot, Jury found no negligence.
2. Auto pedestrian death case – jury found no negligence
3. Intersectional collision involving claim of damage to breast implant. Jury found no negligence.
4. Death case involving broadside collision wherein defendant was found to be more than two times the legal limit of blood alcohol. Also significant issue concerning design and warnings related to passive restrain seatbelt system. Trial lasted for 2 weeks with more than six expert witnesses covering subject matter from design and reconstruction issues to human factors. Jury found intoxicated driver only 30% negligent, automobile manufacturer 60% negligent, and deceased driver 10% negligent.
5. Premises liability case involving slip and fall on defendant’s home stairs. Plaintiff claimed unsafe condition in the lawsuit, but told the emergency room staff she “missed a step”. Jury found no negligence against defendant.
6. HPD officer attempts to pass defendant who is making a left turn. Jury found plaintiff negligent;defendant not negligent.
7. Defendant rear-ends plaintiff after non-party attempts a u-turn in the roadway. Jury found no negligence against defendant.
1.Minor tap rear-end accident wherein plaintiff claimed $88,000 in medical bills. Husband of plaintiff claimed to have witnessed the accident but could not identify the defendant's vehicle from photos presented. Defendant claimed that plaintiff double-stopped while leaving a private drive. Jury decided that plaintiff did not prove any negligence against the defendant and found no negligence against either party. Damages were predicated and plaintiff received no money.
2. Defendant strikes plaintiff from rear after plaintiff makes multiple lane changes from right to left. Jury found no negligence against defendant; 100% negligence against plaintiff.
3. Uninsured motorist claim in which plaintiff claimed unremitting vertigo and headaches. Jury found no negligence on either party.
4. Rear-end collision; jury found negligence on defendant but no damages.
5. Motorcycle accident in which plaintiff attempted to pass defendant who was making a left turn into a private drive. Plaintiff found to be 80% negligent in causing accident.
6. Rear-end collision; jury found negligence on defendant but no damages.
Case Situation
Motor vehicle collision tried to verdict with allegations of drinking on the part of the defendant.<br><br>
Case Outcome
Jury awarded less than the amount of money offered to the plaintiffs pre-trial.
1. Alleged insurance company engaged in bad faith in settlement of property damage claim. Jury found no violation of insurance agreement and no bad faith on insurance carrier.
2. Premises liability case involving severe laceration from non safety glass. Although defendant admitted knowing that the glass was not safety glass, jury found no negligence on defendant.
3. Cat bite case wherein plaintiff suffered severe infection from a bite from defendant’s cat. Over $l5,000 in medical bills. Jury found no negligence against the defendant cat owner.
4. Alleged injury on construction site in downtown Houston, successful result by summary judgment motion.
5. Alleged injury based on accident with forklift; case dismissed after discovery but before trial.
6. Head-on collision after defendant’s handicap modified van suffers a brake failure. Jury found no negligence on defendant.
7. Defended company against allegations of sexual discrimination; case settled post-verdict.
8. Slip and fall accident on wet floor resulting in need for low back surgery. Defendant found not negligent.
9. Multiple auto/pedestrian cases all tried to victory by Sprague & Associates attorneys.
10. Multiple slip and fall accidents successfully defended for Sprague & Associates’ clients.
11. Auto collision tried wherein plaintiff’s primary claim for damages was that the injuries from the accident caused the failure of her marriage. Plaintiff’s ex-husband was subpoenaed to trial and testified that the plaintiff engaged in infidelity and that was what caused the failure of the marriage, not the accident. Jury found no damages against defendant.
12. BB gun shooting case; represented defendants found only 25% negligent while non-party was found to be 75% negligent.
13. Successfully defended auto collision cases with defenses which included , fog, sunshine in the eyes and a bee in the car.
14. Rear-end accident wherein plaintiffs claimed 3 plaintiffs in vehicle, while defendant testified that only one of the plaintiffs was actually in the car. Defendant found 50% negligent and no damages awarded for any of the 3 alleged plaintiffs.
15. Disputed sideswipe accident. Jury found both parties 50% negligent and awarded 7% of pre-trial offer. Defense verdict successful defended on appeal.
16. Rear-end accident on freeway resulting in permanent brain damage to plaintiff; dispute as to whether or not plaintiff had been drinking before collision. Jury found no negligence against defendant.
17. Uninsured motorist case involving hit and run accident. Jury found no accident occurred.
18. Two cases tried with similar fact patterns on consecutive weeks. In the first accident Sprague & Associates attorneys convinced the jury that a rear-end accident occurred because the plaintiff made a sudden lane change and found the plaintiff 100% negligent. The next week, with the same fact scenario, Sprague & Associates attorneys convinced the jury that even though the defendant made a lane change, that the rear-end accident was wholly the responsibility of the plaintiff who struck the defendant from behind.
19. Premises liability case involving amputation of 3 fingers on a table saw. Homeowner successfully defendant, jury found no negligence against defendant.
20. Disputed red light accident with plaintiff claiming vertigo and memory loss. Plaintiff offered $12,000 pre-trial but jury found no negligence on defendant.
21. Intersectional collision in which plaintiff claimed accident was precipitating event in heart attack. Verdict for defendant.
22. Multiple cases tried involving validity of releases signed by plaintiffs as well as conditions precedent in insurance contracts.
23. One vehicle rollover involving product liability case against tire company. Two deaths and 3 serious injuries. Settled before verdict.
24. Rear-end accident on Hwy 146 over the 4th of July weekend. Plaintiff claimed to have been rear-ended after being stopped for about 30 seconds. Defendant said the Plaintiff stopped suddenly. Plaintiff’s passenger claimed 6 to 8 broken teeth from the accident with over $8,000.00 in dental bills. The Plaintiffs’ depositions were contradicted by recorded statements given before lawsuit was filed. The jury found no negligence on the Defendant and the Defendant paid no damages.
25. Side-swipe accident between automobile and school bus. Disputed as to who made lane change into whom. Each party claimed that they were ahead of the other, however Plaintiff, driving the school bus admitted she did not see the Defendant until right at the time of impact. We argued that Plaintiff was higher up, had more mirrors and greater training to keep a proper lookout and failed to do so. Jury agreed, and found Plaintiff to be 80% negligent while Defendant was found to be only 20% negligent. Plaintiff’s attorney sent the Plaintiff to a chiropractor after the worker’s compensation doctor said she could return to work. Jury found the school bus driver negligent for failing to keep a proper lookout and failing to control her speed. Defendant paid no damages.
26. Collision occurred when Defendant was making a left-hand turn across three lanes of traffic. The 1st and 3rd lanes stopped to allow her to make her turn, and when she saw the Plaintiff coming in the middle lane she stopped and he hit her. Plaintiff was impeached on several key points during cross-examination. He claimed that the prescription medications he was taking at the time of the deposition caused the discrepancies. The deposition showed that the Plaintiff had in fact not taken any medications for two full days before the deposition was taken. Verdict for the Defendant.
27. An unwitnessed accident occurred where each party claimed the point of impact was at different spots in the intersection. Plaintiff claimed that she had immediate pain which was 10 on a 10 scale but the police report showed no injury. Jury found 50% negligence on each party but no damages for the Plaintiff.
Case Situation: Defended elderly woman who was non compos mentis at the time of trial who had turned left in front of the plaintiffs resulting in a broken femur of the pregnant passenger.
Case Outcome: Case was ultimately settled at post-verdict mediation.
Case Situation: Plaintiff claimed injury and ultimately shoulder surgery as a result of attempting to aid the defendant who had a single vehicle accident and ended up hitting a tree. The defendant testified that he hit some foreign object in the roadway, which caused him to lose control and strike the tree. Plaintiff hurt herself trying to extricate the defendant from the vehicle and in running to get help. Defendant admitted consumption of 1 ½ beers, but denied intoxication.
Case Outcome: Verdict rendered in favor of the defendant. (Trial involved plaintiff attorney Thomas Wheat who had been appointed as Judge of the 75th District Court in l969. The sitting judge, Thomas Cain, of the 75th District Court presided over the trial and plaintiff attorney Zeke Zbranek who later succeeded Thomas Cain as judge of the 75th District Court.)
Case Situation: Defendant turned left in front of plaintiff but claims plaintiff changed lanes from behind a slow moving 18 wheeler.
Case Outcome: Jury found 50% negligence on each party and awarded no damages.
1. Single car accident which occurred as a result of the Defendant driver swerving to avoid feral hogs on a country road at night. Plaintiffs were defendant’s former girlfriend and her family who were asleep at the time of the accident. Trial began on September 10, 2001 and recessed for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers. No negligence verdict rendered on September 12, 2001.
2. Auto accident case in which two minor plaintiffs claimed injury. However, the plaintiff driver told her doctor that she hurt herself in cheerleading rather than the accident. The plaintiff passenger admitted that the lawsuit was her dad’s idea. The testifying doctor said that the accident caused low back injuries while the treating chiropractor swore that the accident caused neck injuries only. Jury found negligence against the defendant but no damages.
3. Disputed red light intersectional accident with alleged loss of consciousness, jury found plaintiff 75% negligent and awarded no damages.
4. Auto/pedestrian accident in which defendant admitted cutting through a parking lot. Jury awarded less than pre-suit offer.
5. Three car rear-end accident begun by non-party. Jury found no negligence on defendant.
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