GALVESTON – Once slated to go to jury trial in early next month, a lawsuit focusing on injuries allegedly caused by an unattached gasoline hose received extra time.

Plaintiff Georgios Maltsakis and defendants Murphy Oil USA Inc. and motorist Jerry Delossantos will now face off in court on March 17, 2014, instead of Jan. 13.

Galveston County Court-at-Law No. 3 Judge Kerri M. Foley issued an order in favor of the parties’ motion for continuance on Dec. 13.

As previously reported, Maltsakis filed suit earlier this year in response to the June 16, 2011, incident in which Delossantos allegedly drove away from a pump without removing the pump hose from his vehicle, resulting in gasoline “being sprayed all over Georgios and [his son's] face and body.”

The original petition shows the plaintiffs “immediately experienced burning sensations on their skin and eyes” and were taken to the nearby University of Texas Medical Branch where they underwent a series of X-rays and other tests.

Maltsakis adds he was forced to miss a week of work.

A delay in obtaining medical records from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston prompted the current continuance request.

The first instance was brought forth in October by scheduling conflicts experienced by the attorneys on both sides.

Cause No. 69,343

GALVESTON – The plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging their daughter was assaulted at a Dickinson day care last year have designated expert witnesses, recent court records show.

In a 23-page document filed Dec. 12, Christa Williams-Yates and Mark Yates enlisted seven individuals to testify as part of their case against Kid City Child Care Learning and Sports Center LLC and Symons Kid City Management LLC.

Among those slated to speak during the May 2014 jury trial are Dr. Sheri S. Corning, the girl’s treating physician; lead plaintiffs’ attorney Charles H. Peckham; and Alexia V. Gannon, a Houston-based attorney and investigator.

As previously reported, the suit claims the complainants’ child reportedly suffered nursemaid’s elbow while under the defendants’ supervision on Sept. 20, 2012, stating a staff member fought with the toddler in order to force her to enter the school from the playground.

“During the fight, this staff member forcibly and violently yanked the right arm of the child up over her head dislocating her arm at the elbow – a radial head subluxation,” the original petition says.

The suit accuses the respondents of disciplining the girl for crying instead of providing her medical attention.

Williams-Yates was reportedly told that the girl “was merely upset at being punished for being disruptive;” however, the former later discovered she was was actually in pain and took her to seek help.

According to the claimants, because of the subject incident, the child “has been distrustful of adults, has been much more defensive and accusatory of others, has been acting out violently and is in counseling post-injury.”

The defendants refuted the allegations in an original answer filed July 19.

Case No. 13-CV-793

GALVESTON – A qualified protective order was entered into an Alvin woman’s personal injury lawsuit against Beltone and a host of businesses, recent court records indicate.

Visiting Judge David E. Garner signed the order on Dec. 11, allowing plaintiff Waldine Geraci and the entities she brought the suit against to produce or obtain her health information from Clear Lake Regional Medical Center and other healthcare providers.

Geraci sued Beltone last May in response to a hip injury she reportedly sustained at one of its area stores two years ago, alleging the incident occurred when she tripped and fell on the last step of the store premises as she was about to enter her vehicle.

Insisting she did nothing to cause the event in question, the plaintiff asserts the strip mall in which the business is located has a handicap ramp that is “not easily noticeable” and an apparent lack of signs.

The original petition was revised twice with the most recent instance including more respondents.

Last month, a relative of Geraci serving as her next friend and the defendants filed a joint motion requesting the aforementioned protective order on grounds the former does not have medical power of attorney, which prompted the Medical Center’s refusal to release the claimant’s medical records.

A jury trial is scheduled for 9 a.m., Aug. 11, 2014.

Case No. 13-CV-612

GALVESTON – Claiming he was injured while performing a task for BNSF Railway Co. two months ago, San Leon local Dan A. Novak is pursuing legal action.

Recent court documents filed Dec. 20 in Galveston County District Court show Novak sustained injuries to his back and shoulders at a rock plant in Arcola last Oct. 16.

Before the event in question, the plaintiff picked up a wheel he was going to install on a flat car from a facility in Dayton.

BNSF reportedly provided him with a freightliner truck equipped with a crane and a hydraulic simplex jack to perform his work.

According to the original petition, the claimant and his helper were changing out the wheel on the car when the former “felt a pop in his back and shoulder area.”

Novak explains that he “had physical limitations due to a previous injury and was allowed to work within his limitations,” assert the company “negligently” assigned him to work in an area that was “likely to cause injury” despite his objections.

Consequently, the plaintiff seeks more than $1 million in damages and a jury trial.

He is represented by attorney Robert M. Tramuto of Jones, Granger, Tramuto & Halstead in Houston.

The case has been assigned to the Galveston County 212th District Court.

Case No. 13-CV-1572

HOUSTON – Complaining that the Klein Independent School District failed to assist his son after the boy allegedly sustained a head injury last year, a Harris County man has filed a lawsuit.

Instead of sending the then-Kuehnle Elementary School first grader to the nurse, recent court documents filed Dec. 20 in Houston federal court say, his teacher, Keely Lewis, dismissed his complaints while KES retaliated against him when it learned his parents fielded a lawful grievance.

The suit shows on Oct. 23, 2012, the boy was in class when he “accidentally fell and hit the back of his head on a desk,” stating he tried in vain to inform Lewis he was suffering nausea, dizziness as well as blurred vision. 

Lewis allegedly neglected to tend to the child, and his parents were prompted to seek answers from her and her boss, Kuehnle principal Mignon Johnson to no avail.

According to the original petition, Lewis and Johnson, who are defendants in the litigation, eventually admitted their mistakes to the boy’s parents, but “no action was taken to hold Lewis accountable.”

A complaint was subsequently filed to which the child reportedly experienced harassment from his teacher and other authority figures, it says.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Jason J. Bach of The Bach Law Group PLLC in Austin is representing the complainant.

Case No. 4:13-CV-3733

GALVESTON – A Harris County man alleges he suffered a wrist injury last year while using the restroom at the Kemah Boardwalk and is suing Landry’s.

In a lawsuit filed Dec. 23, 2013, in Galveston County Court at Law No. 3, Sebastian Kinlaw blames the Sept. 17, 2013, incident on a defective toilet.

Kemah Boardwalk

Kinlaw says the toilet “tilted to the left” and he was prompted to “put his left hand down to stop the toilet from tilting,” claiming he “fractured his left wrist” in the process.

The plaintiff also sustained injuries to his hand, teeth and general body, the original petition adds.

He accuses Landry’s of failing to fix the toilet though the defendant knew it presented a danger to him and other guests.

“An example of the defendant’s negligent activity would be their failure to monitor the defective toilet,” the suit says.

Consequently, the claimant seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Wes Klinger Jr. of the Wes Klinger Law Office PLLC in Beach City is representing Kinlaw, and Galveston County Court-at-Law No. 3 Judge Kerri M. Foley is presiding over the litigation.

Cause No. 71,271

GALVESTON – A timeshare trade broker wants a Harris County woman’s wrongful death lawsuit against it and the Silverleaf entities removed from Galveston County, according to recent court records.

RCI, LLC entered a motion to transfer venue into Andrea Mathis Mayer’s suit on Dec. 23, 2013, seeking an order from Galveston County 122nd District Court Judge John Ellisor which hands the litigation off to Montgomery County.

As previously reported, Andrea M. Mayer is pursuing legal action after her husband, Paul Mayer, died at the defendants’ Galveston time-share facility in December 2011.

The widow explains that she and the decedent were visiting the defendants’ property when they encountered “inadequate” accommodations which the suit alleges were not properly addressed or fixed.

Paul Mayer, 80, “was required by the defendants to exhaust himself that evening after arriving by carrying luggage up three flights of stairs, then walking back down the three flights of stairs for dinner and then back up the three flights of stairs to the room provided by the defendants,” the original petition says.

Kennedy

Andrea M. Mayer further asserts her late spouse, a cancer survivor and Korean War veteran, was overwhelmed by fatigue, fell, and fatally struck his head on “an improperly self-closing door” in the room, ultimately accusing the respondents of deceiving them into purchasing a time-share in Conroe.

RCI’s motion argues Montgomery County is a suitable venue since it provides a “convenience” for the parties and witnesses.

While Galveston County is a proper venue, the six-page document states, its jurisdiction “would impose an economic and personal hardships on the defendants.”

According to the motion, the proposed switch in location would benefit Silverleaf, which is headquartered in Dallas.

Attorney Joseph T. Kennedy of Baker Donaldson in Houston is representing RCI.

Case No. 13-CV-1481

GALVESTON – Claiming he sustained multiple injuries while working at sea last year, Chris Stripling has filed a lawsuit.

The Jones Act suit, filed Jan. 2 in Galveston County District Court, blames Breathwit Marine Contractors Inc. and The Tug Jacob B LLC for said injuries Stripling alleges he suffered on March 19, 2013.

Buzbee

At time of the events in question, Breathwit employed the plaintiff aboard the Jacob B.

Court documents show the defendants ordered Stripling to lift a spool of wire, asserting he injured his hand, wrist, shoulder, back and other parts of his body as he performed the task.

“The plaintiff was instructed and taught that lifting such objects manually was the correct and proper way to move such an object,” the original petition says.

“The plaintiff was not provided any other means, such as a mechanical means, to move this object.”

Breathwit is further accused of failing to provide a seaworthy vessel.

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

He is represented by attorney Anthony G. Buzbee of The Buzbee Law Firm in Houston.

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

Case No. 14-CV-0003

GALVESTON – A local couple is pursuing legal action against a Dickinson day care facility over what they claim was an incident that traumatized their young daughter.

In court documents filed Jan. 2 in Galveston County District Court, the couple accuses Teacher’s Choise and its administrators, Rick and Teresa Miller, of failing to help the girl with her alleged trauma.

The plaintiffs claims that in May 2012, the child told her mother and other close relatives that she does not like it when a teacher at the Enchanted Forest facility “shakes her boobies” in front of her and the other children.

According to the suit, the teacher, who is also named as a co-defendant in the litigation, allegedly touched the toddler with her breast.

According to the complainants, they were unsuccessful in addressing the teacher’s purported actions with her superiors.

“The day care’s administrator said that she had talked to the teacher, who had denied the allegations,” the lawsuit says.

“Ms. Miller also told the mother that she did not want to call the girl a liar, but that Enchanted Forest was the best day care in the area and they were welcome to go somewhere else.”

The original petition further explains that the Millers blamed the ordeal on the claimants, stating the defendants also demanded the latter still pay tuition.

In response, the parents removed the girl from the day care.

They contend she “would cry and become upset” when they pass by the defendants’ premises with her in the car.

Consequently, the plaintiffs seek unspecified monetary damages.

They are represented by attorney Kenneth C. Kaye of League City.

Galveston County 56th District Court Judge Lonnie Cox is presiding over the case.

Case No. 14-CV-0002

HOUSTON – Claiming he was exposed to glacial acetic acid while working at a chemical plant in La Porte two years ago, Harris County resident Jason Mitchell has filed a lawsuit.

Recent court papers filed Dec. 27, 2013, in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas blame Austin Industries Inc. for the alleged exposure.

Thweatt

At the time of the events in question, Mitchell was employed as a support operator by Baker Petrolite Corp.

The suit asserts the aforementioned exposure was caused by a leak from a tank containing the glacial acetic acid, insisting the defendant’s employees “failed to make necessary repairs and maintenance.”

It adds an ambulance brought the plaintiff to a nearby medical facility following the subject event, which supposedly caused him to vomit blood.

“He was diagnosed with bronchitis following the exposure, experienced respiratory problems as well as burning in his eyes and throat,” the original petition says.

Mitchell blames the respondent for:

• Exposing him to an unsafe work environment;
• Failing to warn him;
• Failing to take precautionary measures;
• Failing to properly supervise its employees; and
• Failing to institute proper safety rules and regulations.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney L. Lee Thweatt of Terry & Thweatt PC in Houston is representing Mitchell.

Case No. 4:13-CV-3769

GALVESTON – A lawsuit focusing on a forklift collision at a Galveston cruise terminal was reportedly settled.

According to recent Galveston County court records, plaintiff Mary Moses and defendant Suderman’s Contracting Stevedores Inc. reached a settlement on Dec. 19, 2013.

The July 2012 suit was set for a jury trial the morning of Jan. 6, which would have made the litigation one of the first to be heard in court this year.

As previously reported, Mary Moses filed the suit on July 5, 2012, after an employee with the defendant drove a forklift into Moses as she was screening baggage on Feb. 15, 2012.

Moses claimed the forklift knocked her from behind and caused her to seriously injure her left knee, right hip and her entire right side.

She originally sought compensation for physical pain and impairment, mental anguish, lost wages and medical expenses.

The respondent provided an original answer just three weeks after the suit was filed.

An incomplete discovery process prompted the parties to apply for and obtain continuance last summer.

Attorney Christopher K. Johns of The Buzbee Law Firm in Houston represented Moses while attorney James R. Watkins of Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams LLP in Galveston served as Suderman’s counsel.

Case No. 12-CV-1466

GALVESTON – The parties in a League City nursing facility resident’s personal injury lawsuit were recently given more time to conduct additional discovery from a local state district judge, Galveston County court records indicate.

The case arising from plaintiff Nell Dawson’s alleged fall at the Regent Care Center of League City was slated to go to court on Jan. 13; however, an agreed motion for continuance filed Dec. 19, 2013 was granted by Galveston County 56th District Court Judge Lonnie Cox before the end of last month.

As previously reported, Dawson is suing RCC League City Inc., Regent Care Center of League City LP and employee Lon Smith, alleging their refusal to provide her with a bedpan resulted in her suffering injuries.

According to the suit, Dawson requested a bedpan from defendant Smith and other staff, but the respondents failed to accommodate her.

After defecating in her bed, the original petition explains, the plaintiff tried to get up and go to the bathroom on her own only to hurt herself.

The RCC entities provided an original answer.

In a hearing on Dec. 30, Judge Cox rescheduled the trial for April 7.

Both parties indicate they will use the extension for the defendants’ deposition.

Case No. 13-CV-0015

GALVESTON – A lawsuit alleging an area woman suffered injuries when a hot cup of coffee fell on her at a local fast food restaurant more than a year ago was recently disposed.

Court records show Helen Julian and S.M. Watford Group LLC, doing business as Sonic Drive-In Restaurant, settled the barely six-month-old case in litigation.

As previously reported, Julian initiated legal action last June 28, claiming the beverage she purchased at the defendant’s eatery in Santa Fe had an unsecured lid.

The plaintiff said the server handed the drink to her “in a way that made the improperly placed lid pop off, causing the steaming hot coffee to spill onto (her) lap and inner thighs.”

The mess left her with second and third degree burns with “painful and unsightly” scarring, according to the original petition.

Julian initially sought about $100,000 in damages.

The defendant provided an original answer on July 28, 2013.

A jury trial was scheduled for Sept. 15 later this year.

Attorney Jonathan Kieschnick of The Crim Law Firm P.C. in Houston represented Julian while attorney Louise Benjamin Malek of David Klosterboer & Associates in Houston served as the respondent’s counsel.

Case No. 13-CV-842

GALVESTON – The owner of a Galveston hotel named in an Oklahoma woman’s personal injury lawsuit has filed a motion to compel, recent Galveston County court records show.

Neel Shah Hospitality, Inc.’s 94-page motion, filed Jan. 2, seeks complete discovery responses from plaintiff Shawna Martin.

As previously reported, Martin sued the company nearly a year ago on allegations her young son was injured at the Comfort Inn & Suites on Jan. 14, 2007, during a vacation.

The original petition states Martin and the boy were getting off the hotel elevator when a large marble tile fell from a wall and onto the child’s head, chest and leg.

“Allowing a loose tile which was inadequately secured to the wall….. posed an unreasonable risk of harm and the defendant had constructive knowledge of that risk,” the suit says.

The respondent gave a formal response to the claims last May 31.

It asserts the complainant’s written interrogatory answers were “unverified” and her objections and other responses “included meritless objections and omitted information which is relevant to the case.”

Martin also failed to provide a medical records authorization in response to a request for disclosure, the motion says.

Attorney Steven C. Howard of Taunton, Snyder & Slade, PC in Houston is representing the defendant.

Case No. 13-CV-123

GALVESTON – When Harris County resident Bernadette Dale and her daughter embarked on a Carnival cruise in the summer of 2008, little did the two know they would return home to launch a legal battle against the company.

An early January 2009 lawsuit filed in Galveston County District Court blamed Carnival Cruise Lines Inc. for an incident aboard the Conquest in which a male employee “made inappropriate and sexually suggestive comments to the minor, grabbed her arm, and forcibly attempted to pull her into an elevator.”

Dale insisted the worker, who was not sued, ruined the trip and negatively affected the teen’s mental state, stating Carnival “failed to supervise the employee to prevent such an occurrence.”

A month after the suit entered Galveston County court records, Carnival removed the litigation to the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas as well as provided an original answer to the allegations.

Both parties reached a settlement in the spring of 2010, and then-Galveston federal Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt issued an order of dismissal, effectively shutting the two-year-old case.

Attorney Giles Kibbe of Beaumont represented Dale while attorney James T. Brown of Legge, Farrow, Kimmitt, McGrath & Brown in Houston served as Carnival’s counsel.

Case Nos. 09-CV-0017, 3:09-CV-0022

The Litigation Look Back series revisits cases covered by The Southeast Texas Record.

GALVESTON – A Houston couple claims the wife was injured during a boat ride almost two years ago and has pursued legal action, recent court papers say.

Geoffrey and Jennifer Wagner are suing Teleflex Inc., Boston Whaler Inc. and Marine Max Inc. for the April 14, 2012, incident in question in Galveston County District Court.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 8, shows Jennifer Wagner and the couple’s daughter were passengers on a 19-foot vessel built by Boston Whaler en route to the Texas City Dike from Port Bolivar.

According to the original petition, during the course of the ride, the boat’s steering cable broke and caused the vessel to make a sharp right turn.

“Unfortunately, the failure of the cable cause the plaintiff Jennifer Wagner to fall and strike her head on the gunnel on the port side in an attempt to protect her daughter as she held her in her arms,” it says.

The suit asserts that Marine Max sold the vessel to the complainants while the cable which purportedly malfunctioned was made by Teleflex.

Consequently, the Wagners seek unspecified monetary damages.

They are represented by attorney Alton C. Todd of The Law Firm of Alton C. Todd in Friendswood.

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

Case No. 14-CV-0024

GALVESTON – A Georgia man blames Caribbean Breeze Boat Rental for injuries he claims to have sustained while on its premises back in October.

According to a lawsuit filed Jan. 7 in Galveston County Court at Law No. 2, Cumming, Ga., resident Lynwood Gamble was helping one of the defendant’s employees carry a kayak down to the water when the former fell.

Jeff Todd

Gamble asserts a makeshift dock he was on was not tied down at the time of incident in question.

“The makeshift dock that was not tied down on the premises of Caribbean Breeze Boat Rental posed an unreasonable risk of harm because individuals walking down to the water, especially carrying a kayak may trip and fall on the makeshift dock that was not tied down through no fault of their own and severely injure themselves,” the original petition says.

Consequently, the complainant sues for pain and suffering, disfigurement, impairment and lost earnings.

He is represented by attorney Jeffrey N. Todd of The Law Firm of Alton C. Todd in Friendswood.

The case has been assigned to Galveston County Court-at-Law No. 2 Judge Barbara Roberts.

Cause No. 71,346

GALVESTON – A Santa Fe couple sued after their dog purportedly attacked a local woman have filed a summary judgment in the case, according to recent court records.

In the 16-page document submitted Dec. 27, 2013, Tihara and Gerald Hall insist Ellarein Fourcade did not provide evidence their dog assaulted her more than two years ago.

As previously reported, Fourcade launched the litigation against the Halls last March 14 over the June 10, 2011, incident in question.

She claims the canine bit her one time on the back of her left leg and inflicted “severe, painful and permanent” injuries.

The Halls reportedly did not have a “beware of dog” sign posted on their property.

Fourcade further accuses the respondents of failing to properly manage and control the dog and allowing said dog to “viciously attack and bite” her.

Meanwhile, the defendants formally deny the allegations.

Their motion asserts that Fourcade “entered the defendants’ property uninvited and without the actual or constructive knowledge of the defendants for the purpose of checking on the defendants’ neighbors,” labeling the claimant a “trespasser.”

It adds her own interrogatory responses “establish the lack of evidence.”

“To date, the plaintiff has produced no evidence of the dangerous or vicious nature of the defendants’ dog,” the motion says.

“The only evidence presented as to the temperament of the dog indicates that the bite suffered by the plaintiff was the first occurrence of its kind as to the dog in question.”

Attorney Melissa Krampota of G. Patrick Collins & Associates in Houston is representing the Halls.

Cause No. 69,475

GALVESTON – Following an incident which reportedly left him injured and dangling from his work trailer, Brazoria County resident Carl Tichacek is pursuing legal action.

Tichacek sued his employers, Jones Motor Group Inc. and Hot Shot Express Inc., in Brazoria County District Court on Nov. 4, 2013.

The case was removed to the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas on Jan. 10.

Prior to the subject event on June 7, 2012, the defendants dispatched Tichacek to pick up a load.

Just as the plaintiff arrived at the dispatched destination, he “realized that he did not have the proper trailer and equipment to effectively and safely load steel coils.”

He then reported the situation to his employers and was told to “continue with the job and do the best he could loading the trailer with the steel coils.”

Court documents further explain that Tichacek decided to perform the task in the morning as “it was too dark,” stating he went to step on the trailer and slipped.

“The plaintiff broke his leg and ankle in 16 places and was left dangling from the trailer for approximately 45 minutes before someone heard his anguishing cries for help and was rescued,” the suit says.

It asserts “inadequate” lighting caused the aforementioned incident.

Consequently, Tichacek seeks unspecified monetary damages.

He is represented by attorney Paul A. Higdon of Higdon Lawyers in Houston.

Case No. 3:14-CV-0011

A Brazoria County man is suing over claims he was injured by federal officers.

Charles B. Walker filed a lawsuit March 20 in the Galveston Division of the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Texas against Officer Joseph A. Ham, the United States of America, the United States Department of the Interior, Region 2 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Officer Micah Edwards and Cody Dingee. 

Walker accuses the defendants of wrongful arrest, unlawful search and seizure, criminal trespass, negligence, personal injury and unlawful detention.

According to the complaint, on July 23, Walker was battered and handcuffed by federal wildlife service officers Edwards and Dingee without provocation. Walker alleges that he asked the officers if they were federal officials and then they attacked him, knocked him to the ground, handcuffed him and searched for a reason for arrest.

Walker is seeking more than $100,000 in damages. He is acting pro se.

The case has been assigned to District Judge Gregg Costa and referred to Magistrate Judge John R Froeschner for pretrial proceedings.

Case No. 3:14-CV-00104

This is a report on a civil lawsuit. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.

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