Case Results

Settlement in Negligent Security

Our largest case to date was turning down offers as high as $6 million to secure what our client truly deserved. This result shows the power of discipline, preparation, and refusing to settle for less. A man was shot at an apartment complex after management negligently failed to repair the front gate, allowing unauthorized individuals onto the property, which led to criminal activity, including the shooting. We put forth extra effort in finding key witnesses and former tenants of the apartment complex, when the defense had lost or misplaced all discovery documents. We turned down repeated offers of $1.5 million, $5 million, and $6 million before eventually agreeing to the $8 million settlement.

Slip and Fall Settlement at a Restaurant

Our client slipped and fell at a Houston-area restaurant in April 2023 and went on to need spine surgery. Through relentless discovery work, we uncovered that the restaurant had destroyed the surveillance footage and the scene photographs that would have shown how long the hazard sat on the floor. We pushed that failure to a ruling, and the court granted a spoliation instruction permitting the jury to presume the missing evidence cut against the defense. We also forced production of documents the defense had withheld throughout the case after the court overruled every privilege objection. The restaurant’s insurer paid $3,500,000 one week before trial.

Wrongful Death Settlement – Defective Motorcycle Helmet

Our clients lost their 17-year-old son on the road after the helmet he was wearing failed him. The manufacturer had sold that helmet on marketing that promised new technology and the full coverage of a true full-face helmet, when it delivered only minimal protection. Through our own investigation we located independent witnesses who described how the teenager had relied on that reputation for safety when he chose it. We pushed through repeated discovery fights against the manufacturer, the distributor, and the retailer that put the helmet in his hands. The defendants paid $3,250,000.

Settlement in Premises Liability – Trip and Fall

Max Paderewski successfully represented a client who suffered a trip and fall accident due to a neglected, defective piece of flooring at a major retailer. Our discovery revealed that this retailer destroyed critical video evidence of the incident and an internal email advising that the damaged flooring would not be repaired because the store was scheduled to close in a few months. The defendant retailer initially withheld this critical email, but through our aggressive discovery efforts, we uncovered it. We held the responsible party accountable, securing a significant settlement of $2,538,500 for our client’s injuries.

Galvan v. Red Bull – Settlement for a Commercial Box Truck Accident

With over 20 depositions and aggressive discovery, we uncovered critical evidence that turned this case into a major win. Our firm secured a $2,475,000 settlement for our client, who suffered a TBI and underwent two spinal disc replacement surgeries. The accident occurred when our client was rearended by a commercial driver with a history of speeding and incomplete training. We uncovered that the defendant company had access to data showing the driver sped every day and was involved in a previous rear-end collision only three months before rear-ending our client. The driver was assigned specific rear-end accident training, which he failed to complete before causing a second crash.

Settlement in Trucking Accident

Our client experienced neck and lower back injuries in a trucking accident, despite the seemingly minor property damage. Max diligently uncovered evidence of corporate negligence, highlighting a failure to supervise the driver, who had strayed from the expected transportation route. Through our aggressive discovery efforts, we proved that the defendant destroyed critical discovery evidence, including the trucker’s driving logs. By using call log data from the defendant’s cell phone, we determined that the driver detoured from his expected trucking route multiple times, did not sleep more than a couple of hours, and, despite being over a day late from his expected arrival, the defendant company did not monitor his location or question why he took personal errands during working hours
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Zaldivar v. White and Doordash – Settlement for a Commercial Car Accident

Despite no visible property damage and no surgeries, we secured over four times the amount of their medical bills after uncovering an undisclosed excess insurance policy. The case involved nearly 20 depositions and extensive trial preparation, demonstrating our readiness to fight for every dollar. Through detailed work with biomechanical and mechanical engineers, we proved that the defendant driver lied under oath about his speed at the time of the collision. Despite the defendants’ team of retained experts, we demonstrated that, despite minimal visible property damage, the accident involved significant force transfer to the client’s spine, causing permanent injury and the need for lifelong medical care. This was the largest publicly reported settlement for a nonsurgical case in Texas in 2024.

Settlement for a Rear-End Collision Caused by a Commercial Driver

Our client was riding in a taxi with her daughter in July 2024 when a driver working for a commercial dent repair company drove recklessly and crashed into the back of the cab. The defense offered $300,000 and insisted only $1,000,000 in coverage existed. Through tireless discovery we found an additional policy they had never disclosed. We also found that the company never trained or supervised this driver, and that he had a history of driving dangerously and talked about it freely to the people around him. We built the damages proof so a jury would hear from the most important witnesses directly. The case settled for $1,900,000 on the eve of trial.

Settlement for a Low-Property-Damage Collision

Our 70-year-old client needed a cervical fusion after a collision that left almost no visible damage to either vehicle. She had no history of neck or back complaints despite her age, stayed active, and lived a full life right up until this crash. The defense leaned on the small dent and on her disc degeneration to argue the collision could not have caused her injury. We took the treating surgeon’s deposition and turned that argument around. He explained that the degeneration in her spine made her more vulnerable to this injury, not proof that something else caused it. After two years of litigation, the insurer paid $1,290,000.

Settlement for a Forklift Accident

Max Paderewski represented a warehouse employee who suffered severe ankle fractures due to a coworker’s negligence. A blocked warehouse lane forced our client to make a dangerous U-turn while operating a forklift. As a result, he was crushed between his forklift and an adjacent vehicle, requiring multiple surgeries. Through extensive research and work with experts in OSHA compliance and warehouse safety, we proved that a coworker forklift driver violated warehouse safety rules and caused a debilitating injury. Our commitment to securing fair compensation resulted in a significant case outcome of $925,000.

Premises Liability Settlement at a Houston Concert Venue

Our client fell at a Houston concert venue in December 2022 after the staff negligently allowed a hazard to remain on the ground for a considerable amount of time. She fractured her ankle and injured her lower back, and the back injury required surgery. The venue pointed to its written security and safety procedures. Through our tireless discovery efforts we found that the workers actually assigned to carry out those duties said they did nothing of the kind and did not consider the tasks their responsibility at all, exposing a wide gap between how management described the building and how it really ran. The venue and its carrier paid $850,000.

Settlement for a Mother and Her Daughter Injured in a Collision

Our clients, a mother and her teenage daughter, were injured in a December 2022 collision, and we sued both the driver and the owner of the vehicle. The insurer would not move at the first mediation and the case went to impasse. Rather than chase a discount, we kept building. We deposed the treating physician, retained multiple experts, and held the position that a case involving an injured minor was worth far more than the medical bills alone. Five months after that failed mediation the mediator put out a proposal, both sides accepted, and the carrier paid $800,000 across the two claims.

Settlement in 18 Wheeler Truck Accident

Our 22-year-old client was injured when she was rearended by a truck driver. Discovery revealed that the defendant driver was eating while driving, which distracted him and caused the rear-end collision. Despite the relatively low speed of the impact, our client suffered permanent neck and back pain at just 22 years old. We proved the extent of her injuries through retained experts and depositions of her treating physicians. This significant pretrial settlement reflects our firm’s commitment to securing full and fair justice for every client.

Settlement in 18-Wheeler Accident

Max Paderewski achieved a significant victory for a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a trucking accident. As our client slowed to avoid a disabled vehicle in the roadway, an 18-wheeler struck her from behind. As is common with mild traumatic brain injuries, our client appeared normal externally despite suffering from neurological symptoms, including tinnitus, or constant ringing in the ears. Max’s relentless efforts uncovered evidence of corporate negligence, revealing the trucking company’s history of hiring drivers with traffic and criminal violations. Through the use of advanced brain imaging, our team proved localized brain cell death that was initially missed on the MRI by the treating radiologist. Despite relatively low medical bills of approximately $60,000 and no externally visible injuries, we secured a substantial settlement based on consistent brainimaging findings that demonstrated a traumatic brain injury significantly altering our client’s life.

Settlement in Commercial Trucking Case

Max Paderewski represented a client who was rear – ended by a commercial truck, resulting in visible property damage and significant neck and lower back injuries. Our firm secured a substantial settlement despite the existence of a prior motor vehicle accident one year earlier, which the defense cited as the cause of the client’s injuries. The defendant insurance company argued that the previous accident was the true cause of all injuries.

With the assistance of a retained expert in epidemiology, we proved that, but for the second accident, our client would not have required spinal surgery. While other law firms may disregard cases involving clients with prior injuries, we pushed forward and ultimately secured a favorable settlement for our client.

Stowers Settlement in Drunk Driving Car Accident – Policy limits only $50,000.

We secured a $750,000 Stowers settlement with the insurance company for a drunk driver who carried an insurance policy with limits of only $50,000. Through diligent Stowers demand work, we were able to obtain a settlement many times greater than the defendant’s policy limits. Our client suffered neck and back injuries requiring radiofrequency ablations, without the need for surgery.

Benitez v. Hermano and Favor – Trial Verdict – Commercial Motor Vehicle Accident

We secured a trial verdict nearly double the highest offer made by the defense. Our client was turning left on a green arrow when she was struck by a delivery driver who ran a red light. As a result of the collision, she required knee surgery and experienced ongoing neck and back pain. This strong result reflects our relentless advocacy from start to finish. $509,554

Slip and Fall Settlement Resolved Without Filing Suit

Our client slipped on a wet floor at a grocery store in October 2024, moments after an autonomous cleaning machine passed through the aisle and left water behind it. The store ran that machine without anyone supervising the floor it left in its wake, and no one put out a warning. She bruised her tailbone, developed lower back pain, and went on to need injections. A previous attorney had told her no video of her fall existed and her case was going nowhere. She came to us instead. The insurer opened at $72,000. We built the claim to the point that the carrier paid $500,000 without our ever filing suit, on medical bills of about $100,000.

Settlement for Two Claimants in a Failure-to-Yield Collision

Our two clients were seriously hurt in January 2024 when a driver failed to yield to oncoming traffic and caused a violent collision. One faced a recommended lumbar fusion. The other faced two separate operations, a knee surgery first and a back surgery once she recovered from it. The projected cost of that future care alone exceeded the driver’s available coverage. The carrier had already rejected a pre-suit demand, so we filed suit and put it on written notice of its Stowers exposure and its duty to protect its own insured from a public trial and an excess verdict. The carrier paid the policy limits of $500,000 across both claims.

Settlement for a Red-Light Collision

Our 38-year-old client suffered a permanent spine injury when a driver ran a red light and struck him, and he received multiple injections to his spine. The defendant insisted he had the green light, which turned the case into a dispute over who had the light. Through tireless discovery work we produced his own text messages to our client admitting that he ran the red light. He then denied the existence of those text messages under oath. A Texas jury does not forgive that kind of contradiction, and his insurer paid $500,000 rather than find out.

Settlement for Maintenance Mechanic’s Hand Injury

Max Paderewski’s client, a dedicated maintenance mechanic, endured permanent hand injuries, including lasting nerve damage, when he was instructed by his supervisor to clean a moving conveyor belt. Max successfully advocated for his rights and secured a substantial settlement for his hand injury.

Settlement in Commercial Pickup Truck Collision

Our client was involved in a sideswipe collision with a commercial pickup truck, resulting in minimal visible property damage but causing permanent injuries to the shoulder, neck, and back. Through aggressive depositions, we proved that the defendant knowingly changed lanes into our client’s vehicle without checking their mirrors. Our attorneys secured a $450,000 settlement to ensure our client received the compensation deserved for the injuries sustained.

Settlement for Family of Five in a Car Accident

Our attorneys achieved a $360,000 total settlement for a family injured in a motor vehicle accident. All five family members sustained injuries to the neck or shoulder. While the children made full recovery, the adults did not. Our firm tenaciously fought the insurance company’s reluctance to recognize the severity of the injuries and ultimately secured justice for our clients, despite minimal visible property damage. We obtained the full policy limits from both the defendant’s insurance and our clients’ underinsured motorist coverage.

Settlement for a Nightclub Fall

Our client fell on her knee walking in from the patio at a Texas City nightclub in July 2024. The floor near that entry was soaked with spilled drinks, and the club had put out no warning signs and no cones. The club kept security and safety staff on hand that night, and none of them did anything about the condition of the floor. She tore her ACL completely, damaged the meniscus, bruised the bone at both the femur and the tibia, and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery four months later. No one at the club ever filled out an incident report. We pressed the claim against the club and its carrier and recovered $350,000 without filing suit.

Stowers Settlement for a Car Accident – Policy limits only $30,000

Our client was rear-ended while driving, resulting in significant neck injuries. Despite the defendant carrying an insurance policy with limits of only $30,000, our effective Stowers demand practice allowed us to resolve the case for an amount exceeding the available policy limits.

Settlement for an Injury During Medical Transport

Our client, a 30-year-old man who had spent five years rebuilding his life after a spinal cord injury, depended on a medical transport company to get him to and from rehabilitation. In October 2024 the company put him in a van, and instead of finding the proper securement hooks, the driver chose to pull away with him unsecured. His scooter tipped in traffic and landed on top of him, causing a further brain injury and a lower back injury. Through depositions and court-ordered discovery we proved the company had written a fraudulent incident report naming a different van, one that carried the right equipment, while its own photographs showed a van that had none of it. The case resolved for $300,000.

$250,000 Recovery on a $50,000 Policy

Our client was rear-ended while stopping for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Max Paderewski diligently represented her at trial for injuries including pain to the upper back, right shoulder, and neck, resulting in a $209,669 jury verdict fully compensating her for her losses. The insurance company’s highest pretrial offer was just $3,000, and the jury awarded every penny requested.

The defense argued that our client’s prior car accidents caused the injuries. The jury rejected that argument, returning the highest verdict in Harris County courts in 2022 and the second-highest county court verdict in all of Texas that year. The insurance company appealed, but the appellate court upheld the jury’s decision.

Despite policy limits of only $50,000, the insurer ultimately paid the full verdict plus interest, totaling approximately $250,000.

Settlement for Premises Liability Slip and Fall

Max Paderewski represented a client who was injured in a slip -and -fall incident after slipping on water leaking from a cooler located just a few feet from the cashier. Through aggressive deposition practice, we proved that corporate policies governing slip -and -fall hazards, cleaning, and floor inspections were not followed and were unfamiliar to employees working daily in the store. The client suffered permanent lower back injuries, and our team secured a $225,000 settlement reflecting the severity of those injuries.

Zayas v. Trinh – Trial Verdict – Rear-end Car Accident

Max Paderewski represented a client who was rear-ended by a vehicle operated by a landscaping company, resulting in mid-back injuries that required lifelong radiofrequency ablations. Despite the defense disputing the need for future treatment, we secured a $345,000 settlement that included compensation for the client’s future medical care. The defendant initially failed to disclose an additional available insurance policy, claiming that only $30,000 in coverage existed. Through aggressive deposition practice, we uncovered this additional policy, which ultimately funded the settlement.

Stowers Settlement for a Failure to Yield Auto Accident

Our client, a hairdresser, was injured in a failure-to-yield accident caused by the defendant. Through our effective Stowers demand practice, we secured with the insurance company beyond the defendant’s limited insurance policy.