Wright & Greenhill attorneys Blair Leake and Stephen Barron successfully defended the City of Bee Cave in a recent jury trial in the Travis County 353rd Civil District Court. The lawsuit arose from a low speed rear-end motor vehicle accident involving a Bee Cave police officer.
The defense stipulated liability, leaving the jury only one issue to decide—the monetary value of the injuries actually caused by the accident. At trial, Plaintiff’s counsel argued that the accident caused the plaintiff to suffer a torn rotator cuff and bicep tendon which allegedly necessitated two surgical procedures, and Plaintiff’s orthopedic surgeon expert testified that such procedures were necessary and caused by the accident. The defense rebutted his testimony by offering medical and scientific literature and evidence demonstrating that no mechanism for such injuries exists for the type of rear-end accident at issue. Defendant’s evidence included testimony from another orthopedic surgeon as well as a biomedical scientist. The defense also exhaustively demonstrated that Plaintiff’s testified-to physical limitations since the accident were directly contradicted by his own social media posts, photographs, and videos of his active physical and social lifestyle, and by impeaching him based on his own previous sworn inconsistent testimony.
After deliberating for less than three hours, the Travis County jury awarded less than 9% of the roughly $300,000 worth of damages requested by the Plaintiff’s attorney at trial—and far less than the defense had previously offered to settle the case. The majority of Blair and Stephen’s law practice revolves around defending local cities, counties, and their employees in lawsuits alleging claims in fields that include but are not limited to personal injury, civil rights, premises liability, employment law, and numerous others.
Cause No. D-1-GN-20-001219; Andrew McCall v. City of Bee Cave; in the 353rd Judicial District Court of Travis County, Texas.