Sunday, October 21, 2001

18 The Law

Lawyers are easy targets and it has been popular to look upon them as a detriment rather than an asset, but the ones in Corpus Christi have set trends in Texas and the nation, whether it's Ford Explorer-Firestone rollovers, defective hip implants, or toxic mold.
   "The jury system can force changes," said Mike Ramsey, president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, "and South Texas attorneys have done a lot of benefit to not just the local community, but on a state and nationwide level."
   Milestone cases
   Issue: Defective Bell helicopter tail rotors. In 1978, lawyers Bill Edwards and David Perry received national recognition for their work in exposing the problems.
   Lasting impact: Rotor blade system was recalled and replaced.
   Issue: Fuel tank designs in some Ford cars that tended to catch fire on impact. In 1983, a jury awarded $106.7 million to the families of Devary Durrill and Bonnie Watkins, killed in a 1974 Mustang II.
   Lasting impact: Automobile industry improved fuel tank design.
   Issue: Tenants' security. In 1987, Julie Bliskey was raped in her apartment after an intruder stole a pass key. Bliskey had asked for a keyless deadbolt lock that could be operated from the inside.
   Lasting impact: Led to a state law that requires additional locks and other security devices in apartments and other rental property.
   Trends in the making
   Explorer rollovers: A day before the nation's first Bridgestone/Firestone trial was set to begin in Corpus Christi in January, attorneys reached a settlement that, while undisclosed, will reportedly cover victim Donna Bailey's estimated $26 million in medical costs. It also has influenced other settlements throughout the nation.
   Hip implants: In August, a Nueces County jury awarded three area women $15.4 million in a lawsuit over hip implants gone bad. The lawsuit was the first of its kind against Sulzer Orthopedics of Austin, which now faces a class action lawsuit.
   What's next
   Mold cases: Nueces County leads the state in claims per 1,000 policy holders. The state attorney general is investigating why claim costs are higher in Nueces County. And a local engineer who conducts mold assessments for both sides of the fence says local lawyers know more about mold than the insurance industry representatives they face in depositions and courtrooms.
  
  

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