HOUSTON – Claiming she injured herself at her local Wal-Mart three months ago, Katy resident Aida Sanford seeks damages.

Sanford brought a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Harris County on July 17.

The litigation was removed to the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas on Aug. 16.

Court papers show that the plaintiff just entered the defendant’s store in Katy last May 13 when the subject event occurred in which she tripped and fell over a protruding object.

According to the original petition, Wal-Mart had stacked a pallet of watermelons in the produce department with the pallet’s platform sticking out about 10 inches “or more” before Sanford’s visit.

The suit adds that Sanford sustained “serious” injuries and blames them on “the condition of the floor plan.”

“This structure constituted a dangerous condition that posed an unreasonable risk of harm to the plaintiff and others,” it says.

Consequently, the complainant seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.

She is represented by attorney Langdon Smith of Jim Adler & Associates in Houston.

Case No. 4:13-CV-2413

GALVESTON – Alleging he hurt himself in a fall off a barge earlier this year, Louisiana resident Randy Desormeaux has filed a lawsuit.

Desormeaux’s court papers, filed Aug. 16 in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas, blame the event in question on Apache Corp. and R360 Environmental Solutions.

The plaintiff says he was working on an Apache run job at the disposal site prior to the accident on Jan. 20, stating the company directed him to board an R360 barge to assess “problems they were having in pumping product.”

Skrabanek

According to the suit, the barge had non-functioning lights at the time, which purportedly caused Desormeaux to fall into the water.

It further states that the complainant sustained “severe” injuries to his shoulder, arm, neck and other parts of his body.

The respondents are faulted for:

• Failing to properly supervise their crew;
• Failing to properly train their employees;
• Failing to provide adequate safety equipment;
• Failing to properly assess the jobsite and inherent dangers;
• Failing to provide adequate medical treatment;
• Failing to maintain the barge;
• Failing to warn about hidden hazards aboard the vessel;
• Failing to remedy a known hazardous slippery condition;
• Failing to intervene in when it knew that other were acting improvidently;
• Failing to turnover the barge in a safe manner; and
• Failing to reasonably exercise its duty of actual control.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney M. Paul Skrabanek of Arnold & Itkin LLP in Houston is representing Desormeaux.

Case No. 3:13-CV-298

GALVESTON – Seaman Brodie Knight has brought a personal injury lawsuit against Seamar Divers International LLC, Superior Energy Services LLC and Walter Oil & Gas International LLC, recent court documents say.

The suit, filed Aug. 14 in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas, claims Knight injured himself more than two years ago on a vessel owned by one of the defendants.

Knight was assigned to the L/B Superior, which is owned and operated by defendant Superior, at the time of the event in question on Sept. 1, 2010.

Points

He alleges that he had just secured a load to be lifted by a crane when the operator improperly operated the piece of heavy machinery.

“The plaintiff was forced to initiate an escape route from danger and stepped back and down onto a box on the deck of the L/B Superior,” the original petition says.

The suit further states that Knight stepped on a piece of plywood which was on top of a storage box when it gave way and caused him “severe and permanent” injuries.

The respondents are faulted for:

• Failing to provide a safe place to work;
• Failing to provide a proper training to its crew members on rigging, lifting, communication and crane operation;
• Failing to provide a proper training to its crew members with respect to repair and maintenance of the vessel;
• Failing to properly outfit, repair and maintain the vessel; and
• Failing to inspect and assure the vessel was a safe place to work.

Consequently, Knight seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.

Attorney Chad D. Points of Denena & Points, P.C. in Houston is representing the plaintiff.

Case No. 3:13-CV-291

GALVESTON – A lawsuit blaming Marathon Petroleum LP for “an 11-hour long” emission event in June was amended.

The suit, which was filed a week after the alleged June 7 event, was revised to include more plaintiffs as well as new defendants namely Servpro Holding Co. Inc., Servpro Industries Inc. and Laser Marine Services Inc.

In the original petition, Tiki Island residents Russell Craig Hudeck and Renea Diamond explain that Marathon’s Texas City refinery refinery released various toxic chemicals into the air and caused its operations to shut down in the early morning hours of June 7.

It is believed that a pipe sheared apart at the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking unit, prompting the “uncontrollable” release of slurry, gasoline and other petrochemical products.

The purported release damaged the plaintiffs’ property as well as “unwittingly exposed them to these chemicals as they went about their daily business,” assertions echoed by the additional claimants.

Marathon failed to warn the complainants or the Tiki Island community that there was an ongoing emission event, they argue.

The amended petition states that Marathon summoned and dispatched representatives from Servpro and Laser Marine Services into the surrounding communities, but they “failed to properly inspect properties and assess damage and/or worsened the condition of properties through improper cleaning techniques.”

It insists that the respondents’ actions “have continued to exacerbate the damages suffered by residents of these communities.”

Marathon formally refuted the suit on July 17.

Case No. 13-CV-788

GALVESTON – A lawsuit blaming a Galveston attraction for a Sugar Land woman’s fall has ended, recent court records show.

Galveston County 10th District Court Judge Kerry L. Neves signed a final judgment order Aug. 21 ruling that Esther F. Tarlo take nothing against Moody Gardens Inc.

The order disposes the personal injury lawsuit nearly nine months after it was filed.

Tarlo sued Moody Gardens following her fall down the stairs near the entrance of the defendant’s IMAX Theater on Jan. 1, 2011.

She said went to get some 3-D glasses for her and her grandson when she “fell over the carpet that was not installed properly.”

The plaintiff claimed she hurt her ankle, knee and hip, insisting the area where she injured herself was under renovation and “did not have any lighting so that a patron could see where they were walking.”

Meanwhile, Moody Gardens countered that Tarlo was “negligent on the occasion” and the condition of the premises “did not pose an unreasonable risk of harm.”

It denied knowledge about the condition.

Case No. 12-CV-3185

HOUSTON – A Harris County man brought a lawsuit against the city of Pasadena in light of an incident in July 2011 in which one of its police officers allegedly shot him.

In court papers filed July 22 in Harris County District Court and removed Aug. 20 to Houston federal court, Antonio Hernandez accuses Officer Michael T. Martin of firing a 9mm semi-automatic gun at him during a stop in the southern part of the city the morning of July 22, 2011.

Martin joins his employer as a co-defendant.

Hernandez had left a nightclub near the intersection of Shaver Street and Spencer Highway prior to the events that are now the subject of the litigation.

Shortly afterwards, Martin pulled the plaintiff over along Spencer “ostensibly for spinning his tires while leaving the parking lot.”

Hernandez did not initially stop as he drove to a lighted area at a Texaco station close to the intersection of Spencer and Westside Drive, the suit says.

It further explains Martin attempted to approach Hernandez’s vehicle when it – despite being in neutral – “began to roll backward toward” that of the officer’s, adding the plaintiff stopped the vehicle and tried to get it back to his initial stopping point.

According to the original petition, the officer supposedly motioned Hernandez to pull the aforementioned vehicle forward only to draw his firearm on the latter.

Martin’s purported act evoked fear in the complainant, who subsequently “panicked and stepped on his accelerator pedal.”

“Officer Martin fired a shot, which caused a bullet to enter Mr. Hernandez’s left cheek at his upper jaw and exit his right cheek just below the level of his eye,” the suit states.

An apparent chase then ensued and ended “sometime later” on Burke Road near Red Bluff Road.

The plaintiff insists he “was fleeing for his life and was seeking a lighted area with witnesses in which to stop his vehicle.”

The suit asserts “this incident was not the first shooting incident involving Officer Martin while employed at the Pasadena Police Department.”

Hernandez’s ordeal reportedly and “at least partially” resulted in Martin’s suspension from duty, it says.

Consequently, the plaintiff seeks unspecified monetary damages.

He is represented by attorney Patrick D. Hagerty of Pasadena.

Case No. 4:13-CV-2440

GALVESTON – After he reportedly injured himself in a fall at his rented Bacliff residence, Eddie Chatman pursues legal action.

Chatman’s lawsuit, filed Aug. 20 in Galveston County Court at Law No. 1, blames Houston residents Tuong Trong Do and Tamy Tran as well as Rebecca Griffiths for the July 25, 2012, incident in question.

Do and Tran were the owners of the premises while Griffiths acted as a property manager.

The parties had a residential lease agreement dated June 1, 2012, in which the plaintiff rented a trailer for $500 a month through last July 1.

According to the suit, on July 25, 2012, Chatman fell through the floor of the trailer.

“The plaintiff was standing in the kitchen of said trailer when the faulty floor, which amounted to an unsafe and dangerous condition, collapsed under his feet,” it says.

Chatman asserts the floor’s structure was “made of wood and the surface of linoleum,” adding it “was not sound as it was not capable of supporting the ordinary amount of weight and pressure that would be distributed across the floor due to tenants’ foot traffic in the trailer.”

“The defendants knew of the existence of the unreasonably dangerous condition,” the original petition says.

“The defendants did not warn the plaintiff of the faulty floor prior to or during the plaintiff’s tenancy.”

Consequently, the complainant seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.

He is represented by attorney Rhiannon Kelso of the Modjarrad & Abusaad Law Firm in Richardson.

The case has been assigned to Galveston County Court-at-Law No. 1 Judge John Grady.

Cause No. 70,517

GALVESTON – G & H Towing Co. recently addressed a local seaman’s $5 million lawsuit stemming from an alleged testicle injury.

Its original answer, filed Aug. 5, asserts that David Hall is responsible for the event last June in which part of an oxyacetylene torch “blew off” and struck him in the left testicle as he was repairing a pier.

Watkins

The mechanic adds that he suffered more injuries to other parts of his body, accusing his employer of failing to maintain a safe workplace, failing to properly maintain its equipment and failing to safely operate.

He reportedly launched the litigation invoking the Jones Act to which the defendant counters he cannot as he “does not qualify as a seaman.”

The three-page response explains that Hall’s exclusive remedy instead would be for “benefits to which he may be entitled under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act or the Workers Compensation Act of the State of Texas.”

It adds the Galveston County 212th District Court, however, “lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate any dispute which may arise out of the plaintiff’s claims for benefits as provided by those acts.”

Attorney James R. Watkins of Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams LLP in Galveston is representing the defendant.

Case No. 13-CV-950

GALVESTON – Claiming she lost her balance and fell as she stepped off a balance ball at a Friendswood 24 Hour Fitness about two years ago, Deborah Christensen seeks damages. 

A lawsuit filed Aug. 21 in Galveston County District Court blames 24 Hour Fitness USA Inc. and one of its employees for the Aug. 24, 2011, incident in question.

Prior to the event for which she now sues, Christensen purchased a total of 11 50-minute personal training sessions from Indalecio “Andy” Rivera for $590.99.

She recalls Rivera, who is a co-defendant in the case, instructing her to stand on the aforementioned balance ball to begin one of the sessions.

“After approximately one minute, the plaintiff was instructed to step off the balance ball,” the suit says.

“As she did so, she lost her balance and fell backward onto the floor.”

The original petition further shows that the complainant had no previous experience using the balance ball, but Rivera purportedly failed to spot her.

Apffel

It adds she “immediately felt excruciating pain” in her low back and pelvis area, and a physician who was at the gym determined she was in need of an ambulance.

Consequently, she seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.

Christensen is represented by attorney E.A. “Trey” Apffel III of the Apffel Law Firm in League City.

Galveston County 10th District Court Judge Kerry L. Neves is presiding over the litigation.

Case No. 13-CV-1091

GALVESTON – A Harris County man seeking damages for chest pain allegedly caused by a cast recently entered an agreed motion for continuance into his lawsuit.

David Sabot and Friendswood podiatrist Dr. Jeffrey J. Baxter are scheduled to head to trial on Sept. 23, but need more time with scheduling depositions with their experts, the motion filed Aug. 16 says.

Sabot initiated legal action against Baxter on Sept. 26, 2012, stating the physician misdiagnosed a foot injury.

According to the original petition, the apparent misdiagnosis and subsequent placement of said cast led to the plaintiff testing positive for a pulmonary embolus in early 2012.

The plaintiff tried to contact Baxter and co-defendant South Texas Foot Specialists in hopes of discussing the “multiple” injuries supposedly attributed to the cast to no avail, it says.

Court records show an original answer was entered Oct. 15, 2012.

Sabot’s motion further explains that some of the parties’ experts are currently abroad and not returning home until the week before trial.

It requests that Galveston County 212th District Court Judge Susan Criss reset the date “approximately” 120 days from the current setting.

Case No. 12-CV-2090

GALVESTON - Comal County resident Paul Whetstone seeks more than $1 million in damages from a marine company he claims exposed him to toxic chemicals.

Whetstone filed a Jones Act lawsuit against T&T Offshore Inc. and T&T Marine Inc. on Aug. 27 in Galveston County District Court.

In his suit, Whetstone claims he now wears a pacemaker following an incident last year in which “his heart and entire central nervous system shut down and he died.”

Riebschlager

Whetstone was revived and stabilized shortly afterwards, but rendered to unable work again, the suit says.

Prior to the subject event, the defendants permanently assigned Whetstone as a first captain to their vessel, the Ashton T.

On March 16, 2012, the Ashton T ran aground on the Galveston north jetty, and the plaintiff was ordered to repair the “significantly damaged” ship.

The original petition alleges that Whetstone had to work “in a closed environment with little or no ventilation and ingested fumes and vapors from paint, polyurethane, welding gasses and other toxic and harmful substances in the air.”

He also claims that he was made to eat and sleep “in this environment” and not allowed to leave the Ashton T.

Whetstone claims he requested adequate protection from “such harmful and deadly fumes, vapors and metals in the air” to no avail.

After defendants released him from duty on April 28, 2012, Whetstone states he was taken to San Antonio’s Baptist Hospital where surgeons installed the pacemaker.

According to the suit, the pacemaker “has permanently prevented the plaintiff from performing any form of work activity in the maritime and aviation fields because he is no longer qualified to maintain his ship captain and aviation license(s).”

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Gary M. Riebschlager of Brent Coon & Associates in Houston is representing the complainant, and Galveston County 122nd District Court Judge John Ellisor is presiding over the case.

Case No. 13-CV-1118

GALVESTON – A Harris County man claims his employers made him use a ladder during inclement weather, alleging he fell and hurt his arm, recent court documents say.

Mir Asadullah Sipra is suing Ocean Petroleum Inc. and proprietor Mehboob Ali Mohammed.

Hammock

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 29 in Galveston County District Court, shows that on Dec. 28, 2012, the defendants instructed Sipra to hang banners and signs in front of the outside of the League City Shell gas station.

It recalls the area being “slightly wet due to the rain.”

According to Sipra, the other manager on shift did not hold the ladder as he was hanging the banners.

“The ladder was unstable and the plaintiff fell from the ladder onto the cement,” the original petition says.

Emergency responders were called to the store, and a customer carried the complainant inside the store while they were waiting for the ambulance.

Sipra was then taken to the nearby Clear Lake Regional Hospital.

The incident in question left him with “multiple fractures in his arm requiring surgery,” the suit says.

Consequently, the plaintiff seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.

He is represented by attorney R. Talmadge Hammock of Hammock Law Firm, PLLC in Houston.

The litigation has been assigned to Galveston County 10th District Court Judge Kerry L. Neves.

Case No. 13-CV-1137

HOUSTON – The parties in a lawsuit arising from an elevator crash at a Houston skyscraper have reached an “amicable” settlement, recent court records report.

U.S. District Court Judge Lee H. Rosenthal signed an order of dismissal on Aug. 22 disposing Harris County residents Leslie Williams and Victoria Martinez’s suit against Chevron U.S.A. Inc.

Williams and Martinez originally initiated legal action against Chevron, which owns the building where the Feb. 7 incident occurred, in Harris County District Court in March before the case was removed to Houston federal court two months later.

The women explained that they caught an elevator to head down to the lobby when the car “malfunctioned and skyrocketed from the 39th floor and crashed into the top of the elevator shaft 11 floors up.”

They add the impact threw them into the ceiling and caused light fixtures and ceiling tiles to fall on them before they ended up on the ground when the car stopped.

The suit furthered showed that Houston firefighters rescued the plaintiffs, alleging a Chevron employee controlling the elevator saw the car moving upward and “purposefully let it go so they could meet the trapped plaintiffs on an upper floor.”

The complainants said their legs, ankles and backs were injured in the crash.

Chevron provided a formal rebuttal on Aug. 13.

Fujitec America Inc. and Houston resident Makesi George later joined Chevron as co-defendants, but were dismissed as well.

Judge Rosenthal’s order denies any pending motions and gives any party up to at least 14 days from the “date any motion for reinstatement is filed” to resubmit those motions.

She also set a 60-day window for the entire case to be reinstated “on presentation of adequate proof that the settlement could not be consummated.”

Attorney Martha Louise Buttry of King Spalding LLP in Houston represented the respondent.

Case No. 13-CV-1308

GALVESTON – The defendant in a local man’s lawsuit stemming from his alleged fall on its barge wants a higher court to hear the litigation, recent court records state.

Douglas Rutherford is suing Breathwit Marine Contractors Ltd. for more than $1 million over the subject incident which occurred in February.

Nork

Rutherford, an employee of non-party Kelso Concrete Co., explains that he was attempting to re-tie some parted mooring lines that rubbed against exposed metal edges in an effort to keep the company’s DB3003 deck barge from drifting away when he stepped on a manhole cover and fell in.

According to the plaintiff, the barge’s deckhands negligently tied the lines.

He adds that he seriously and permanently injured his arms, wrists, legs, hips, back and general body, insisting the event was not his fault.

Meanwhile, the respondent submitted a notice of removal to the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas late last month.

The two-page document does not explain why the defendant seeks to have the case argued in Galveston federal court.

In addition to the notice, an original answer was included.

Attorney Thomas R. Nork of Legge, Farrow, Kimmitt, McGrath & Brown, L.L.P. in Houston is representing Breathwit.

Cause No. 70,403

GALVESTON – A Baytown woman is suing her employer on allegations it allowed to for her supervisor to sexually assault her, recent court documents say.

According to a lawsuit brought against Evolution Industrial Cleaning LLC Sept. 3 in Galveston County District Court, plaintiff Vicki Jeffcoat was the target of Lance Hodge’s unwanted advances during a work-related trip to Port Comfort in late August 2011.

The suit says the ordeal in question began when Hodge asked Jeffcoat to give him a ride so he can check on a project in the area.

After taking a look at said project, it was decided the pair would spend the night with the other workers.

Jeffcoat explains that Hodge asked her to take a walk with him to discuss work, but the latter instead talked about how she supposedly made him jealous by talking to another male colleague and that he “had fallen in love” with her.

She adds Hodge’s alleged remarks made her uncomfortable, and when they were returning to their quarters, he grabbed her from behind “and was feeling her up and sucking on her neck in front of the other employees.”

Hodge increased his efforts to get the claimant to sleep with him despite her adamant refusal, allegedly culminating in him poking her in the eye and calling her a “stupid b****,” the original petition says.

A co-worker ultimately separated Hodge from the plaintiff, expressing “worry about the safety” of the latter.

Hodge joins Evolution as a co-defendant.

The company is faulted for failing to train and supervise employees such as Hodge, the suit says.

Consequently, Jeffcoat seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Philip J. Orth III of The Linebaugh Law Firm P.C. in Baytown is representing the complainant, and Galveston County 405th District Court Judge Michelle Slaughter is presiding over the case.

Case No. 13-CV-1155

HOUSTON – Claiming Wal-Mart’s refusal to give him his medication caused him to suffer a “major life-threatening injury,” a Harris County resident has pursued legal action.

Shan Kovaly initiated the litigation against Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC and two of its employees at one of its stores in north Houston in Harris County District Court on July 25.

It was removed to the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas on Sept. 4.

The suit shows that the plaintiff sought medical treatment for chest pains in late August 2012.

In response to his heart-related diagnosis, he was prescribed 25 mg of Lopressor, 20 mg of Pravachol, 325 mg of aspirin, 75 mg of Plavix and 10 mg of lisinopril, all of which to be taken on a daily or nightly basis.

The plaintiff went to the defendants’ store to fill the prescriptions, but alleges the pharmacist and pharmacy manager on duty at the time refused his request “because of the lack of quantity noted on the scripts.”

According to the suit, Kovaly was not even given a 72-hour emergency supply of the drugs, which caused him to again suffer chest pain and go in and out of the hospital in September 2012.

His most recent confinement revealed “the presence of an acute/subacute stroke in the right posterior cerebral artery distribution” originating from “a cardio-embolic source,” court documents say.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Steven R. Davis of Davis & Davis in Houston is representing the plaintiff.

Case No. 4:13-CV-2599

GALVESTON – A Houston woman claims she sustained injuries while visiting a local beach club two years ago, recent court documents say.

Katherine Bollman is suing Terramesa Holdings LLC, Pointe West Beach Club, Beach Club at Pointe West and Property Owners Association of Pointe West Inc. for the alleged Sept. 4, 2011, incident.

Pointe West

The personal injury lawsuit was filed a day before the event’s two-year anniversary in Galveston County District Court.

In the original petition, Bollman asserts that she “slipped and fell due to water on the floor of the bathroom” at the premises.

“As a result of this incident, the plaintiff suffered personal injuries,” the suit says.

It, however, does not specify what parts of Bollman’s body were reportedly hurt.

The respondents are faulted for:

• Failing to maintain a safe premises;
• Failing to warn the plaintiff of the dangerous condition;
• Failing to exercise reasonable care to reduce or eliminate the risk; and
• Failing to act as a reasonably prudent person would have done under the same or similar circumstances.

Consequently, the complainant seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.

Ivey

She is represented by attorney Jack Todd Ivey of the Ivey Law Firm P.C. in Houston.

The case has been assigned to Galveston County 212th District Court Judge Susan Criss.

Case No. 13-CV-1156

GALVESTON – Crosby resident Tessa Brisher has brought a lawsuit against Home Depot U.S.A. Inc. in response to an alleged incident at its Pearland store.

Brisher’s suit, which focuses on a fall she claims to have taken, was filed July 22 in Brazoria County District Court.

Galveston federal court received the litigation on Sept. 4.

The plaintiff, who was an employee of Central Garden and Pet Co., explains that she was pulling a pallet jack at the defendant’s store on Sept. 20, 2011, when the piece of equipment “malfunctioned” and injured her.

“The jack got stuck causing the plaintiff to fall,” the original petition says.

“The defendant caused the injury to the plaintiff as they did not keep the pallet jack in a good operating condition.”

Court papers do not show the scope and extent of Brisher’s supposed injuries.

Brisher blames Home Depot for:

• Failing to maintain a safe workplace;
• Failing to have in place proper rules regarding the safe operation of a pallet jack used at its store;
• Failing to properly maintain its pallet jack; and
• Failing to warn third parties, like the plaintiff, of the dangerous condition created by not properly maintaining its pallet jacks.

She insists “this hazard could have been eliminated through proper training, proper implementation of safety procedures, proper inspection and/or proper warning.”

Consequently, Brisher seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Philip J. Orth III of The Linebaugh Law Firm PC in Baytown is representing the complainant.

Case No. 3:13-CV-314

GALVESTON – A local fitness club named in a father’s personal injury lawsuit submitted a list of witnesses, recent court records show.

Galveston Racquet Club Inc.’s designation of experts, filed Sept. 3, lists two of its employees, two staff members from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and four medical providers.

Paul Garza filed suit against the exercise facility on March 19, 2012, stating the defendant did not take measures to prevent his young son from hurting himself at the Galveston Health & Racquet Club on March 18, 2010.

The elder Garza explains that he entrusted the child to the club for daycare, but the boy “was allowed, either through consent or inadequate supervision, to climb atop a blue, plastic covered foam block, approximately 4 feet tall.”

According to the original petition, the child “fell and broke his wrist and growth plate” and “may have suffered permanent and disabling injuries as a result of this accident.”

Mydestinee Wilson and Anna DelBosque were workers at the time of the subject incident while Sophia Stewart, Kathleen Andrews and Krystle Smith conducted an investigation into the plaintiff’s allegations for TDFPS.

Dr. Philip E. Rosen, Dr. James Twining, Bay Colony and Bay Area Pediatric Assoc., P.A. are the complainant and his son’s medical providers.

The respondent countered the suit earlier this year on grounds the boy’s supposed injuries were “caused solely by unforeseen or unforeseeable circumstances and/or actions of the plaintiff that were beyond the reasonable control of the defendant” and his father’s complaint was made way past the two-year statute of limitations.

Both parties are slated to face off in a jury trial  9 a.m., Dec. 2.

Case No. 12-CV-500

GALVESTON – Alleging she slipped and fell at a League City McDonald’s and was required to undergo a procedure afterwards, local resident Beth Garcia seeks damages.

Garcia’s personal injury lawsuit, filed Sept. 4 in Galveston County District Court, names Kacom Communications Inc. and McDonald’s Corp. as defendants.

Her spouse, Michael, joins her as a co-claimant in the litigation.

Recent court documents show that Beth Garcia was a customer at the restaurant in question the late morning of Sept. 23, 2011, when “she slipped and fell in the dining room of the store next to the drink and condiment dispensing station.”

“Mrs. Garcia slipped on liquid and other material that was left on the floor,” the original petition says.

“This fall was caused by the negligence of store management in failing to properly maintain the floors in a safe condition and creating a hazard to all patrons.”

Swofford

The Garcias further explain that Beth Garcia struck the door jam leading into the play area and the floor, adding “911 had to be called.”

League City emergency responders transported her to the nearby Clear Lake Regional Hospital where physicians determined she dislocated her right shoulder and fractured her right humerus.

Beth Garcia then underwent a procedure to reduce the dislocation of her shoulder and decrease the distraction of the fracture to her humerus, the suit says.

Consequently, the couple seeks unspecified monetary damages.

They are represented by attorney Robert A. Swofford of Collins, O’Neal & Swofford, PLLC in League City.

The case has been assigned to Galveston County 405th District Court Judge Michelle Slaughter.

Case No. 13-CV-1157