Uncovering the Truth Behind a Woman’s Senseless Murder

In addition to being the top verdict in Texas during 2022, the jury’s $7.3 billion award represents the largest verdict handed down nationwide. The case was the subject of intensive coverage on the Courtroom View Network, which later named the outcome the “Most Impressive Plaintiffs Verdict of 2022.” The high-profile lawsuit drew local and national media attention, shedding light on the inadequate employment and safety policies of some in-home service companies.

Man Paralyzed by Construction Site Safety Failures

Many laws cover the companies that build our homes and offices to make sure they protect their workers and the people around their worksites. But, unfortunately, one Hamilton Wingo client found out in a terrible way that not all construction companies do the right thing.

When the man’s family called Hamilton Wingo, they suspected that his injuries were not caused by an “act of God,” as the construction company claimed. However, after investigating the facts and hearing from everyone involved, our attorneys discovered that there was far more to the story.

When we brought those details to light, the defendants quickly decided to resolve the lawsuit with a confidential settlement less than eight months after Chris Hamilton sued them for wrongful death.

Uncovering the Facts in a Business Deal

Although Hamilton Wingo is best known for helping people in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases, this insurance coverage dispute shows how well our trial skills translate to high-stakes business litigation.

The story began when a successful Texas business struck a deal for a major purchase of medical equipment. When the agreement transformed into a multistate bankruptcy and appellate battle stretching from Florida to California, Chris Hamilton was called to help.

Relying on his years of trial work, Chris persuaded an appeals court that a national insurance company should honor its policy and provide coverage for an earlier award of more than $17 million. The case was later settled for a confidential amount.

It Was Nearly the Perfect Coverup

Attorneys Chris Hamilton and Ray Khirallah were asked to help the widow of a motorcyclist after a GARDA Armored Truck making an illegal left turn collided with him, resulting in his death. 

In a trial that could have resulted in a $100 million verdict, the family of Virgilio Martinez—a motorcyclist who crashed into a turning armored truck—reached a confidential settlement with security company GardaWorld just one day after jurors heard closing arguments accusing Garda of being responsible for the death of Mr. Martinez in 2018.

Corsicana Road Construction Negligence – It’s Expensive to Cheat

The Trial attorneys of Hamilton Wingo were asked to help Emmet Gonzales and his wife after the negligence of a road construction project in Corsicana caused tremendous and severe injuries to Mr. Gonzales.

“This is a significant case that is going to help keep families on Texas roadways safer. This company learned a lesson that it is expensive to cheat, and in the State of Texas, rules affecting the safety of families on the road are of the highest importance. We’re honored and privileged to be able to represent the Gonzalez family in this very important case. We are honored to be able to get this type of outcome where Mr. Gonzalez, while he’ll never be the same, is going to be comfortably and appropriately taken care of for the rest of his life.”

Protecting Families from Drunk Driving: Holding Bars Accountable

The Trial attorneys of Hamilton Wingo were asked to help the surviving family of Patrick Beck, Sr., his wife Janet Beck, and daughter Leah Beck after they were all killed in a fiery collision when a drunk driver crashed into them on the right shoulder of Interstate Highway 20.

Before running onto the shoulder of the highway and killing the three family members, the drunk driver had become intoxicated at a prominent bar in Dallas/Fort Worth where staff knowingly served him the equivalent of more than 10 standard drinks—past the point of obvious intoxication according to the drink count alone—with the express permission of management.

Hamilton Wingo attorneys sued the drunk driver for causing the deaths of Patrick Beck, Sr., Janet Beck, and Leah Beck. They also sued the prominent bar where the drunk driver had been drinking prior, alleging that their over-service of alcohol and negligence was a proximate cause of the collision in question and the tragic deaths of three family members.

Something in the Water

North Texas rancher Cody Murray and his father Jim went to investigate a pump house after seeing water spraying from it and, when they flipped a switch, a ‘fireball’ sparked by built-up methane exploded on the men.

The explosion shot out 30 feet in both directions, catching Cody’s T-shirt on fire and ’caused serious burn injuries to his father, wife, and four-year-old daughter’, according to the lawsuit.

Attorney Chris Hamilton helped fight back against the oil and gas companies responsible. The suit alleged the methane was from the fracking wells near the Murray’s house in Perrin, which is 35 miles from Fort Worth—the birthplace of fracking.

A Preventable Attack

A prominent Dallas theater director was severely beaten and robbed outside the Cityplace Target. Hamilton Wingo attorneys sued Target Corporation, alleging that store security failed to protect him and even discouraged him from calling police.

“Do not let him call the police. Don’t call the police,” the lawsuit quotes the store’s head of security as telling employees. “We have a police officer here, and we will take care of it.”

But there was no security to be found in the parking lot as Derek Whitener left the store. And when he got to his car, he was attacked by the same masked men whose presence had worried him enough to alert employees on his way into the store on Haskell Avenue.

Defending the Constitution

When the Trump administration issued a ban on individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, lawyers from all over the country mobilized to fight it.

Chris Hamilton and Paul Wingo were among dozens of attorneys inspired to take action after seeing the scenes of chaos unfolding in the nation’s airports.

“We have a situation in this country where are airports essentially were turned into a series of Guantanamos, where people are being held with no information regarding who’s being held and no access to counsel and that’s a huge problem,” Hamilton said.

“This is the first time I’ve ever felt that I just needed to heed the call of action,” says Paul Wingo. “This is the reason I got a law degree.”

Protecting Taxpayers and Elderly Victims

For years, a medical company illegally paid doctors to use a device for a procedure that hadn’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Chris Hamilton was able to help expose what they had done when one of the company’s former employees who worked as a territory business manager for Atrium from 2007 to 2012 came forward. They alleged the company engaged in a nationwide scheme to promote its iCast brand stent for use in the vascular system, even though it had only received federal approval for treating tracheobronchial obstructions.

The resulting settlement is one of the largest in U.S. history under the federal False Claims Act involving a medical device where the government declined to intervene.

McDonald’s Teen Deaths

Headlines will always sensationalize the amount one person had to pay another, but at the heart of this case were two teenagers killed in the prime of their lives, and a corporation recognized by every person on the planet that refused to accept responsibility.

The case against McDonald’s began as an insurance claim in an auto accident. Chris Hamilton was contacted by a law school classmate representing William and Nicole Crisp, whose 19-year-old daughter, Lauren, was killed in a car accident on February 18, 2012. As Chris listened, he learned that what had happened that night was much bigger than a traffic accident, and involved an incredible act of negligence by a multibillion-dollar corporation.

Dallas Doctor Hit With $19.7M Verdict After Patient Death

A Dallas County jury delivered a $19.7 million verdict against a local doctor on behalf of the family of Katina Clark, who spent more than a year in a permanent vegetative state before her death following brain damage she sustained as a patient at the same hospital where she worked as a surgical technician.

The medical providers refused to accept responsibility, but Chris Hamilton was able to get the woman’s husband and two small children the compensation they deserved from the hospital and the doctors.

“We are thankful to the jury and the court for their hard work in this case, which ended with the right result,” attorney Chris Hamilton said. “No amount of money will bring back Katina, and she never should have died. Our hope is that this verdict will cause other health care professionals to take better care of their patients.”