The Alfred Firm has settled a personal injury case for $315,000 against an apartment complex located in Port Arthur, Texas. Our client suffered a neck injury when an entire cabinet installation fell from a wall and hit her in the head.
The Alfred Firm’s investigation revealed that the cabinetry in several apartments, including our client’s apartment unit, were installed improperly. We filed suit in the Jefferson County District Court against the apartment complex’s management company and the company that built and installed the cabinetry.
Shortly after our lawsuit was filed, the insurance companies behind the apartment management and cabinetry installation companies reached out to discuss an “early resolution” to the case. We quickly figured out that they were not serious when they extended a settlement offer of $30,000. Our client authorized us to reject the settlement offer and to continue forward in discovery.
The depositions in this case were brutal for the apartment management complex and for the cabinetry installer. They blamed each other for the incident. Specifically, the management company argued that the incident was caused by the cabinetry company’s poor workmanship. The cabinetry company alleged that the management company directed, approved, and signed off on their workmanship. We agreed with both of their arguments. Most importantly, we knew that our client had done nothing to cause an entire cabinetry installation to fall from the wall.
Despite the fact that our client had done nothing wrong, after realizing that we were likely going to take the case to trial, the insurance companies and their lawyers went on the attack. They searched our client’s social media for anything they could find that would paint her in a poor light. They attempted to evict her from her apartment for no reason (we fought for her and prevented this). And they even brought in a well-known hired gun doctor to say that our client was not as injured as she claimed to be.
The insurance companies also hired three additional law firms, midway through the case, to represent the apartment management and cabinetry installation companies. Fortunately, the new law firms were able to advise the insurance companies of the tremendous risks they would face if they were to take the case to trial against The Alfred Firm.
The case ultimately settled for $315,000, which was more than ten times the amount of the initial $30,000 settlement offer. Our client received $165,000 after her attorneys fees, medical expenses and case expenses were paid.
This case was handled by The Alfred Firm’s Founder Byron C. Alfred and Chief of Staff Amanda Zubire.
Byron C. Alfred is a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer that has received national recognition for his record-setting verdicts and settlements. Attorney Byron’s cases have generated over $100 Million in verdicts and settlements over the last 5 years. In 2019, after obtaining the second largest work injury verdict in the country, Attorney Byron became the youngest lead counsel and the first African American lawyer ever inducted to the prestigious Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame.
