On a spring afternoon, Gary*—a retired rancher and family man—was surprised to discover a group of contractors trimming trees at his Bandera County residence. The crew had been hired to clear trees for an electric company right of way, but Gary had no way of knowing this. He was never informed or asked for his consent.
Naturally, Gary wanted to know what was going on. He approached the crew to inform them they were trespassing and ask why they were cutting trees on his property.
In response to this simple question, one of the workers, Gabriel*, immediately began to threaten Gary. He became so hostile and aggressive that he had to be physically restrained by his crew leader. (It is suspected, though not confirmed, that Gabriel was under the influence of controlled substances at the time.)
Gary didn’t want to risk a confrontation, so he turned around and started walking back to his house. But before he could get to a safe distance, the crew leader let Gabriel go. Once he was no longer restrained, Gabriel immediately sucker-punched Gary on the side of his head. He dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Gabriel’s supervisor ordered him to immediately report to company headquarters. No one from the tree trimming company rendered any first aid to Gary.
* Names changed for confidentiality.
Gary suffers a broken jaw, concussion, and permanent nerve damage
By the time police arrived, Gabriel was long gone, and Gary had regained consciousness. He was bleeding from the mouth, had broken teeth, and suffered severe jaw pain. Diagnostic testing later revealed that his jaw had been broken in two separate places.
Gary needed reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to his jaw, including plates and screws inserted in his chin and under his left ear. His jaw was wired shut after surgery and he could only eat liquid food through a syringe.
Even after Gary’s jaw healed, it remained slightly askew. He needed several dental surgeries to repair his broken teeth and allow his jaw to close properly. He also permanently lost feeling in his jaw and lower lip, and frequently developed ulcers due to accidentally biting himself while eating.
Gary also continued to suffer from neuropsychological symptoms due to his concussion. These included dizziness, severe headaches, hearing loss, double vision, anxiety, irritability, and difficulty with memory and concentration. A brain scan confirmed the diagnosis of a traumatic brain injury.
Crosley Law investigation reveals shocking details
Even on the surface, the details of this totally unprovoked assault were appalling. But the story gets worse. Crosley Law’s investigation revealed multiple inexcusable failures at almost every level.
The company ignored Gabriel’s lengthy criminal history
Gabriel had a long history of arrests for felony and misdemeanor criminal activity, including burglary, theft, and possession of controlled substances. He also had multiple at-fault car accidents and convictions for DWI and driving on a suspended license. And he had been dishonorably discharged from the Army after using cocaine.
In short, he was clearly not a man that gave any thought to the potential consequences of his actions, or someone any reasonable company would entrust to drive a work vehicle or work on a homeowner’s private property.
A simple background check would have made all this clear. But the tree trimming company hadn’t even requested one until two months after Gabriel had been hired. And because his name had been entered incorrectly, the order couldn’t be completed. Nobody at the company followed up.
When Crosley Law asked a company representative, point blank, who is supposed to review the background check, they admitted “obviously not anyone very well,” and agreed that the company never would have hired Gabriel if they had known about his criminal history.
Incidentally, it turned out that Gabriel had gotten the job through a connection with a company foreman. Both were motorcycle gang members. Crosley Law obtained a photograph of Gabriel wearing a motorcycle jacket with a “1%er” patch, a symbol typically used by clubs that openly engage in criminal behavior.
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The company failed to notify property owners
There was also the question of why Gary hadn’t been notified about workers on his property. The entire confrontation probably could have been avoided if the company had fulfilled its contractual obligation to obtain Gary’s permission before accessing his property and beginning work.
Yet company representatives admitted that notification had never taken place and also agreed that notifying Gary would likely have helped prevent this entire situation from occurring.
The work crew and supervisor completely ignored company policy
The tree trimming company had a strict policy of de-escalation when dealing with customers. That is expected for the industry. Any contractor that needs to access private property on behalf of a utility company understands that they will almost certainly deal with upset or aggravated property owners from time to time. (A company foreman estimated he had to speak with angry property owners around once every other month to convince them to let work resume.)
Setting aside the fact that it was Gabriel, not Gary, who was responsible for the interaction becoming hostile, company policy in this case was still clear. The crew was required to cease operations, step back in a non-threatening stance, leave the premises without engaging with the customer, and call the general foreman.
Of course, none of these protocols were observed. The crew leader admitted under oath that his crew had failed to restrain Gabriel, had failed to follow policy, and that following policy would likely have resulted in a much better outcome.
The work crew tried to protect Gabriel—not Gary
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the work crew failed to provide any aid whatsoever to Gary.
And when the police arrived, the crew clumsily tried to cover for their colleague. The workers played dumb with the Bandera County Sheriff’s office, pretending they did not know Gabriel’s name or where he had gone.
This, of course, was an obvious and transparent lie. As previously stated, Gabriel had been ordered back to company HQ. His team knew exactly who he was and where he was. It didn’t take long for officers to figure out the truth and charge Gabriel with assault causing bodily injury.
Crosley Law fights for and wins a great settlement for Gary
Despite the egregious behavior of its employees, the insurance company for the tree trimming company refused to make an initial settlement offer, saying that that Gary’s claim was not covered under the policy, since he was the victim of an intentional assault, not a covered “accident.”
You might be surprised to learn that personal injury cases based around malicious, intentional harm (like assault and battery) are often more challenging to win than cases based on simple carelessness. That’s because insurance policies usually cover negligence, or careless actions, but exclude coverage for intentional conduct.
But this was not a typical case. Gabriel’s extensive criminal history demonstrated his propensity for not just recklessness, but criminal violence. And that’s before considering the company’s gross negligence and shocking failures in its hiring, training, and supervisory practices.
The case went to mediation. In the end, we were able to secure a $1 million pretrial settlement for Gary, which was the entirety of the primary insurance policy covering the tree trimming company.
Injured? Call Crosley
If you’ve been injured due to the carelessness or maliciousness of others, contact Crosley Law today at (210) 529-3000 for a free case review. We will compassionately and objectively evaluate your legal options—and if we think we can help you, we will.
