A jury has awarded over $411 million to Jose Valdivia, a 28-year-old Texan who sustained severe spinal and brain injuries after a scaffolding bar fell on his head at a refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The incident resulted in him being confined to a wheelchair and having limited ability to speak.
The $411 million award is the largest single-plaintiff personal injury verdict in Louisiana history, according to Roland Christensen of Arnold & Itkin, and Valdivia’s lead attorney.
The 12-person jury delivered the verdict Feb. 28, following a week-long trial with days extending to 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., Christensen said.
On April 18, 2023, Valdivia sued Brock Industrial Services, LLC; Brock Services, LLC; and Phillips 66 Company, all based in Houston, in the19th Judicial District Court for the Parish of East Baton Rouge.
Valdivia was represented by Christensen, Alec Paradowski, and Jonathan Mack of Arnold & Itkin LLP and Tony Clayton, Michael Fruge, and Brilliant Clayton with Clayton Fruge.
Brock’s attorneys were Chris A. D’Amour, Kyle L. Potts, and Taylor E. Brett with Adams and Reese LLP, based in New Orleans. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In August 2022, Valdivia worked at Phillips 66’s Lake Charles refinery. While doing his job, a 20-pound metal bar struck him from above and despite wearing a hard hat and protective equipment, Valdivia sustained spine and brain injuries. He was rendered barely able to speak and confined to a wheelchair.
Valdivia’s legal team argued that Brock Services, his employer, engaged in conduct certain to cause injury, beyond gross negligence. The incident involved a coworker described as a “walking hazard,” highlighting serious concerns about Brock Services’ safety practices.
Brock denied obvious responsibility for this preventable tragedy and spent the trial attempting to downplay Valdivia’s injuries, Christensen said.
“Without juries courageous enough to stand up to large corporations like Brock Services, those who do the hardest and most dangerous work go unprotected. My hope is that this verdict will cause serious change in the scaffold industry to put safety first,” Christensen said.
This trial could have been avoided if Brock’s insurance had acted reasonably. Brock’s insurers declined multiple settlement demands within Brock’s insurance limits, which were less than the verdict amount, according to Christensen.
“We wanted to settle this case with them and would have settled it well within their insurance policy and they forced us to try it which was kind of crazy,” he said.
Brock’s insurers did not offer any settlement amount to Valdivia, opting to proceed with the trial instead. In 2024, the property and casualty insurance industry reported net profits of over $99 billion while increasing rates. In Brock’s case, they chose not to settle serious claims.
“Mr. Valdivia was horribly injured and deserved to be fully and fairly compensated. Brock also deserved to be protected by its insurers. That did not happen because of Brock’s insurers,” Christensen said. “If Brock’s insurers had acted reasonably to protect Brock, this case never would have gone to trial.”