Case Results
Schechter secures executive and his family a settlement for $6 million dollars after executive fell from golf cart and sustained a traumatic brain injury:
Suit was against operator of the golf cart and his employer for allowing the executive to stand on the back of the cart and for taking a turn at an excessive speed. After repayment of his $733,251.00 health care lien, the plaintiff and his family cleared $2,614,888.10.
Schechter secures verdict for parents of H.S. football star:
Richard Schechter obtained this jury verdict against an apartment complex owner and management company for the parents of a high school student who drowned in an apartment pool due to an improperly grounded pool light. The verdict is one of the largest in Harris County, Texas for the death of a teenager since the passage of tort reform legislation in the 1990s. The parents received $1,732,576.50 for their share of the verdict and settlements.
San Antonio jury finds for Plaintiff in tire failure case:
Richard Schechter was able to prove that the Firestone tire failure that led to a vehicle rollover and the death of the mother of two children was 60% due to the failure of two different repair facilities to properly patch the tire. One repair facility settled prior to trial while the other offered $100,000.00 before trial and then opted to go to the jury. The case settled after the verdict for a confidential amount, with the Plaintiff’s share of $691,837.37 being divided between the two daughters and placed in the registry of the court. This settlement was in addition to the monies recovered from Firestone.
Schechter recovers for family in death of ship repairer:
Our client’s husband, a ship repairer, was hired to repair a control system in the pump room of a vessel. The vessel owner isolated the lines being worked on, but failed to evacuate them. When the repairer opened the line, he was exposed to hydrogen sulfide gas and died within moments. In a ruling that was the first of its kind in Texas, the district court held that a wife could recover for loss of her relationship with her husband in a maritime death case. Plaintiff and her two children received $2,030,864.54 for their share.
Failure to maintain trailer leads to $1.3 million verdict:
A truck driver who underwent back surgery due to the failure of a leasing company to properly maintain the trailer he was pulling obtained a jury verdict of $1.3 million from a Fort Worth jury. The case ultimately settled for $950,000.00, with the plaintiff receiving $492,715.82 in addition to the $103,105.29 repaid to his workers’ compensation insurance company.
Schechter wins supply boat captain $987,500.00 verdict from federal judge:
Injuring his back in the Gulf of Mexico while attempting to secure a load that had come loose on the deck, this Mississippi supply boat captain cleared $596,023.37 after trial. The Defendant blamed the captain for failing to make sure the load was properly secured, and offered only $200,000.00 to settle prior to trial.
Schechter settles for $580,000 in death of a patient due to doctors’ failure to diagnose:
A retired Dallas County resident complained of chest pain, shortness of breath and burning when eating spicy foods for two years. His doctors diagnosed his condition as a reflux disease and never performed the key tests to determine whether he had heart problems. He died of heart failure. The widow and her sons received $299,258.00 for their share.
Schechter retained for mild head injury sustained by teenager in auto collision, recovers $400,000:
A 17-year old teenager was injured in an auto collision in New Mexico. Although her physical injuries were relatively minor, she complained of frontal lobe injuries that affected her ability to succeed in college academically. This is only one of several significant settlements the firm has made for individuals who have suffered closed head injuries in car accidents. Plaintiff received $217,204.00 for her share.
Schechter represents architectural, engineering and construction firm in contract dispute:
When this international architectural, engineering and construction firm with over $1.5 billion dollars in annual income was sued for breach of contract for allegedly underpaying an employee by tens of thousands of dollars, it retained Richard Schechter. Schechter was able to persuade a Harris County judge to award less than $6,000 to the plaintiffs.
Captain injured in sinking of lift boat receives confidential settlement:
The collapse of one of the legs of the MISS NEVELYN off the coast of Trinidad spawned significant litigation in federal court in Houston. Richard Schechter successfully prosecuted the captain’s case against the vessel owner of this lift boat and the repair company that allegedly fixed the lifting mechanism that failed.
Railroad worker wins confidential settlement arising out of wheel assembly failure:
A Houston railroad worker was injured when his car was struck by a wheel assembly that came off a truck. Before the railroad worker hired Richard Schechter, P.C., the truck owner had the truck repaired and sold. Proving whether the failure was caused by lack of maintenance or a road hazard, which is what the trucking company contended, was a challenge. Schechter was able to obtain a significant confidential settlement.
In Brownsville Navigation District v. Izaguirre, 829 S.W.2d.159
Richard Schechter fought all the way to the Texas Supreme Court to preserve a hard-earned victory he had won for his clients from a Cameron County jury. Schechter represented the wife and children of Epigmenio Izaguirre, a warehouse worker who was killed when the trailer he was helping to unload rolled over, and he was pinned under a large roll of steel coil. At trial the jury found several defendants to have been at fault. On appeal the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment against the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company and the Missouri Pacific Truck Lines, while reversing the judgment and holding that the Brownsville Navigation District could not be held liable. Under the law in effect at that time, the Missouri Pacific defendants were liable for all damages after the settlement credits.
Schechter wins significant jury verdict for plant worker:
A Liberty County plant worker received a jury verdict for his injured low back. The defendant claimed that the accident, which was unwitnessed, never happened, and that the injury was caused by a condition the plaintiff was born with. The Chambers County jury unanimously rejected defendant’s evidence, including videotaped surveillance of the Plaintiff, which the plant owners argued showed the Plaintiff could perform his old job. The case settled after the jury verdict and entry of judgment for a confidential amount.
Family of iron worker killed in fall receives confidential settlement:
Richard Schechter obtained a significant confidential settlement for the wife and child of a Fort Worth area iron worker who fell to his death from a building under construction.
Schechter represents small oilfield service company:
After purchasing a family-owned oilfield service company, the buyers were dismayed to learn that some of the family members were breaching their covenant not to compete and were actively soliciting business from former clients. Schechter was retained to sue the family members who were violating their agreement for breach of contract as well as theft of trade secrets. Additionally other companies in the oilfield were sued for tortious interference with contract.
Schechter settles cases alleging improper design of a forklift:
A 15-year old was injured when the forklift he was driving overturned. A significant confidential settlement was reached in the middle of trial. We were able to offer evidence that the forklift was improperly designed due to failure to provide operator restraints.
Manufacturer settles case alleging defective mobile crane:
Richard Schechter obtained a substantial confidential settlement for a Beaumont resident who underwent back surgery due to a fall from an allegedly defective crane. The defect focused on the method of entry and exit from the crane.
Railroad worker injured when defectively manufactured seat collapses settles:
Prior to the start of trial the manufacturer of a seat installed in a pick-up truck and the railroad settled with a railroad worker who underwent back surgery as the result of the collapse of a seat in the truck. The Plaintiff claimed there was a defect in the support system of the seat and the metal in that seat.
Pipefitter at refinery wins a significant verdict:
Complaining of chronic neck and back strain, a Beaumont area pipefitter received a substantial jury verdict for injuries he sustained when plant employees allegedly turned on a pump too soon and failed to have a properly located relief valve. The refinery operator, prior to trial, offered an amount equal to one-tenth the verdict. The case ultimately settled on appeal for a confidential amount.
Schechter wins one of the largest medical malpractice verdicts in Tarrant County:
A few hours after surgery to install a shunt to drain fluid out of the brain of a young woman, the patient suffered a brain herniation that left her in a chronic vegetative state. Plaintiffs contended that the nurses failed to properly monitor the patient. At trial Schechter obtained almost ten times the amount of the hospital’s pretrial settlement offer. After the verdict the parties settled for a confidential amount, with the settlement being structured to ensure the young woman would have medical care and monitoring for the rest of her life.
Railroad employee wins significant jury verdict for operated back:
Richard Schechter represented a railroad employee in Laredo who injured his back on the job while lifting. After a hard fought one week trial Schechter obtained a jury verdict for the worker. The case settled on appeal for a confidential amount.
Schechter represents Texas Democratic Party in claim for slander and mail fraud:
When an injunction was sought against the Texas Democratic Party to enjoin it from sending out a campaign piece, Richard Schechter was retained to defend the Party. He also represented the party in a subsequent suit for slander and mail fraud. The suit was ultimately dismissed with no payment of money.
Schechter defends small businesswoman in breach of covenant not to compete:
A Houston small businesswoman was sued for breaching a covenant not to compete that she executed when selling her deceased husband’s business. Schechter represented her in a suit by the buyer of the company and countersued for breach of contract. The case ultimately was resolved by a confidential settlement on terms that Schechter’s client found favorable.
