Category Archives: Firm News

In July 2020, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP filed suit against Praetorian Insurance Company and Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. on behalf of the wife of a deceased worker. She has been the victim of bad faith handling of her workers’ compensation claim with regard to her husband’s death.  The suit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Phoenix Division, states that Praetorian Insurance Company and Sedgwick Claims Management Services violated the duty of good faith and fair dealing, under Arizona law.

The duty of good faith and fair dealing requires insurance companies, including Arizona workers’ compensation carriers, to complete a reasonable investigation of a workers’ compensation, without delay.  This means that the insurance company and its adjusters must gather documents, interview witnesses, and review the file in an unbiased way.  After the reasonable investigation is complete, the duty of good faith and fair dealing holds that an insurance carrier may not deny a claim, unless it has a reasonable basis to do so.  Arizona courts have held that this means that an insurance company should not handpick information and must take an unbiased and impartial view of all of the facts of the claim.

In this suit, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP has alleged on behalf of its client, who was the wife of an employee of XP Services, that North Pointe Insurance Company and Sedgwick Claims Management Services denied her April 16, 2019 workers’ compensation claim in bad faith.  Doyle Dennis Avery LLP Client’s husband’s death occurred when he was fatally injured in a helicopter crash, while in the course and scope of his employment. As his common law wife, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client was entitled to spousal benefits under the works’ compensation policy cover her late husband’s work. Despite the evidence, North Pointe and Sedgwick ignored their obligation to timely and appropriately approve reasonable and necessary benefits. Indeed, on July 9, 2019, Defendants denied the claim.  This had the effect of denying income benefits, medical benefits and death benefits that were necessary to meet living expenses for the deceased’s family. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client also faced significant economic impact, economic, physical and mental distress from the wrongful and unjustified delay. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client also had to seek out an attorney to go through rigorous and costly legal proceedings to prove a claim that was easily apparent and known. The approval and background of the claim was also supported from the beginning with evidence from the Employer, XP Services, of the deceased.

It was only through proceedings with the assistance of an attorney in the Superior Court of the State of Arizona and for the County of Yavapai the that North Pointe and Sedgwick took action to investigate the claim further.  However, by that point, as the suit alleges, the damage had been done.  The delay in providing benefits resulted in mental, physical, and financial consequences from which Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client is still attempting to recover.

If you are an injured worker who has suffered from the delay in payment of workers’ compensation benefits, life insurance benefits, death benefits, property damage benefits, or other insurance payments, you may have a claim for insurance bad faith.  Doyle Dennis Avery LLP Trial Lawyers would like to offer you a free initial evaluation of your claim helping you understand your rights and potential case.

Doyle Dennis Avery LLP filed suit in August of 2020 in Harris County District Court under the Texas Labor Code against Republic Manufacturing Group INC. d/b/a Republic Bag Co. and Alpha Industries Management Inc. d/b/a Republic Bag Co. The suit alleges that Republic Bag Co. retaliated with discrimination against Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client and then fired her after she filed a workers’ compensation claim.

Texas workers have certain rights after suffering an injury in the course and scope of their employment. Under Texas law, an injured worker who reports and files a workers’ compensation claim and/or seeks benefits, including medical treatment, is entitled to protection under Texas Labor Code § 451.001. This is the law that the suit alleges Republic Bag Co. violated.

According to the legal filing, Republic Bag Co. knew of our client’s compensable on the job injury. Republic Bag Co. responded to the employee’s report of injury by first harassing and then firing her, fabricating various pretextual grounds for wrongfully and maliciously firing Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client as a result of her on the job injury and resulting claim for lawful benefits. Republic Bag Co. retaliated and terminated the injured worker because Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client filed an on the job injury claim, sought worker’s compensation benefits, and instituted a proceeding or caused to be instituted a proceeding under the Texas Worker’s Compensation laws, including reporting that she suffered an injury to her employer under Texas Labor Code § 409.001

Texas’ workers’ compensation laws, including Texas Labor Code Section 451.001, provide a cause of action for discriminatory misconduct and retaliation against a worker injured on the job. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client was a loyal and hard-working employee of Republic Bag Co., who was injured while working on the job on or about April 15, 2020. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client was retrieving a roll of bags from a machine as she frequently did before, but the machine pulled her right hand, resulting in injuries to her left middle finger, back, neck, arm, and body generally. The employee reported this work injury to her employer and received medical treatment, as permitted by Texas workers’ compensation laws. By making that report to her supervisor and employer as required by Texas Labor Code § 409.001, the injured worker instituted a proceeding under the Texas Workers’ Compensation laws, as protected by Texas Labor Code § 451.001.

In response to her report of injury and treatment as protected by Texas Labor Code § 451.001 Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client faced discriminatory actions from Republic Bag Co. and was ultimately wrongfully fired on or about June 15, 2020. Employers such as Republic Bag Co. are prohibited from firing or otherwise discriminating against employees for filing workers’ compensation claims, as identified in both Texas Labor Code §451.001 or 29 U.S.C § 215. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client did not receive the proper protections or rights guaranteed under the Texas Labor Code for injured workers, but was met ultimately with retaliatory and discriminatory firing from her job.

If you have suffered from discrimination, retaliation, termination, or firing after reporting a work place injury to your employer, filing workers’ compensation claim, or other protected actions please contact us. Texas employees, including you, may have the right to pursue a claim against your employer under the Texas Labor Code or Fair Labor Standards Act. The lawyers at Doyle Dennis Avery LLP have decades of experience in representing injured workers under these laws. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP Trial attorneys will ensure you receive the utmost care and we will fight all the way for what you deserve. Our attorneys have decades of successful trial experience and can lend that expertise to you. For a no-cost evaluation of your potential legal claim, contact the lawyers at Doyle Dennis Avery LLP .

Texas employers often tell their employees that they are working “at will” as a means to suggest Texas employers are free at any time to take any action against an employee, including firing them. However, Texas law has various protections for injured workers, including Texas Labor Code, Section 451.001. The protections and legal analysis of a potential wrongful termination or discrimination claim does not stop there and includes various protections for employees injured while on the job.

Specifically, the Texas Labor Code forbids an employer from wrongfully terminating or retaliating against an employee for initiating and/or filing a workers’ compensation claim. Based upon this law, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP has recently filed suit against Michael McCreery d/b/a B-Mac Company. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client was a loyal and hard-working employee of B-Mac company who on or about August 21,2018 sustained a lifting injury to his neck and back while working on the job. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client reported this injury to his superiors and employer as is required for Texas workplace injuries. Texas employees who are injured while performing their work duties are granted certain protections for workers’ compensation. Under Texas law, a workers’ compensation claim is the primary way that Texas workers’ receive benefits, including medical and income benefits after they are injured at work. Without these protections and benefits guaranteed under the Texas Labor Code, Texas workers would have to fend for themselves after an injury they sustained on the job that may impair their ability to continue work in the near future or long-term.

After Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client suffered the work injury and reported it to his employer he was met with hostility, harassment and ultimately terminated on or about September 28,2018. Simply pursuing a workers’ compensation claim for an on the job injury under Texas law cannot be met with negative actions or termination. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP has filed suit on behalf of this injured worker to protect his right against wrongful termination under the Texas Labor Code. The suit seeks lost wages, future lost earning capacity, mental anguish damages, pain and suffering, and punitive damages arising from the wrongful firing.

Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s lawyers strongly believe in the importance of protecting injured workers, who suffer from retaliation or discrimination. Nobody should lose their job or face further repercussions for simply doing their job and what is legally allowed of them after a workplace injury. If you have been the victim or workplace discrimination or wrongful termination, call us today for a no-cost initial evaluation of your potential legal rights and remedies.

The attorneys at Doyle Dennis Avery LLP Trial Lawyers have dedicated decades of their legal careers developing and refining their skills to protect workers throughout the United States. Texas law, similar to all states, provides specific protections to workers who suffer from retaliation, termination, or firing by their employer. Businesses and the economy do not run without the hard work of millions of Americans, and when they face discrimination and termination at work, they deserve to know what protections, benefits, and remedies are available to them.

Due to Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s vast experience in Texas courts, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP was hired to file suit against DISA Global Solutions Inc, DISA Holdings Corp, University MRO LLC, University Services LLC, and Pyschemedics Corporation for various alleged violations and negligence regarding Federal and State business practices. DISA Global Solutions is a foreign corporation doing business in Harris County, Texas where their headquarters are located. DISA Global Solutions is a third-party administrator for drug testing for companies working in the upstream and downstream energy sector. University MRO LLC and University Services LLC are both wholly owned entities of DISA who aid in their completion of work. Psychemedics is a foreign corporation with headquarters in Massachusetts and operating as a hair drug testing company throughout the United States, including Harris County, Texas. The suit was filed in Harris County District Court in Houston, Texas.

DISA Global Solutions and their entities control over the management and administration of drug testing for virtually the entire upstream and downstream energy sector. DISA completely controls the drug testing process from collection to laboratory analysis. DISA determines who is selected for drug testing, what kind of drug test is performed, when employees should be drug tested, and mandates and controls how an employee is tested. DISA then sends the specimens to Psychemedics for processing before the report is sent the Medical Review Office of University Services, a DISA entity. DISA exclusively utilizes University Services, an entity wholly owned by DISA, to provide services as the Medical Review Office(“MRO”). University Services is then responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results for the drug testing program and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test results. DISA maintains the final decision whether to accept the drug test result or reject it. DISA also decides and controls under which a contractor employee member may request a re-analysis of his or her original specimen. Thus, DISA through its contracts and agreements virtually controls all aspects regarding to drug testing for the upstream and downstream energy sector.

This suit was filed against Defendants regarding their collection, testing, reporting, administration, mismanagement and dissemination of a false positive drug test result on or about November 5, 2018. Prior to Defendants’ improper conduct, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client worked in the oil and gas industry for approximately 10 years. During this period, they were tested multiple times and never tested positive for illegal drug use. As part of pre-employment screening for a new job in the energy industry, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client was sent to DISA Gulf Coast Service Center to take a urine and hair follicle drug test on or about November 5, 2018. The Defendant then inaccurately concluded Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client tested positive for an illegal drug. The result simply was inaccurate and incorrect. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client did not and does not use illegal drugs. During the same time period, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client was under the continued medical care related to a high-risk pregnancy, and as part of this treatment, the client never tested positive for any illegal drugs. Since the false positive test result, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client has continued to receive drug tests and repeatedly confirmed that they do not take illegal drugs.

The Defendants as a result of the false positive placed Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client’s name into both DISA’s and Pyschemedics’ drug testing databases. These misrepresentations and false statements have barred Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client from obtaining employment with oil and gas industry employers who either have agreed to use DISA for their drug testing or companies with zero tolerance drug testing program. As a result of its conduct, Defendants have embarrassed and humiliated Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client and completely blackballed them from working in the oil and gas industry. Defendants actions caused Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client to suffer serious economic and noneconomic harm, including irreparable damage to the client’s reputation and loss of employment. In addition, Defendants have harmed Doyle Dennis Avery LLP Client’s employment prospects, ruined their reputation, resulted in substantial emotional and financial distress, and destroyed the client’s standing in the community.

Doyle Dennis Avery LLP , on behalf of their client, is pursuing compensation for harm done by the Defendants. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client suffered mental anguish, and of reasonable probability will continue to suffer mental anguish in the future, past and future reputational harm, past and future lost wages, and damages generally. Our lawyers are proud to represent workers against employers who refuse to follow the law and do not respect the rights of their employees. In this case the Defendants allegedly had actual, subjective awareness of the risk involved with their behavior, but nevertheless continued with coconscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client.

Workplace safety is incredibly important, but more important is the standards companies have regarding measuring it. Companies need to know that the protections and safeguards they have in place actually work. In this case, it is alleged the Defendants did not ensure those safeguards and protections worked properly and as a result seriously harmed Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client. The attorneys at Doyle Dennis Avery LLP proudly and fervently support their clients in pursuing the justice they deserve. If you have experienced discrimination or wrongful termination, call us for a free evaluation of your potential legal claim.

PREMISES LIABILITY AND DOG BITE LAWSUIT

In May 2020, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP filed suit on behalf of our client against individual defendants. The client had been the victim of a violent dog mauling at the residence of the defendants. The suit, which was filed in Nueces County, Texas states defendants’ negligence in numerous matters with regard to the handling of a known dangerous animal caused serious permanent injuries and damages to Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client.

Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client in November 2019 was invited to the Defendants’ residence. When the client arrived, they were introduced by the Defendant to their dog who was represented as friendly. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client went to pet the dog when it lunged at the client and clamped down on the right side of the client’s face. As a result of this incident, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client suffered severe injuries and impairment, nerve injury and scarring arising out of a long laceration that perforated their facial muscles as a result of the vicious mauling. The dog also was not vaccinated properly at the time of the attack. The physical pain and mental trauma immediately following the attack was severe. The client required immediate medical treatment including stitches, antibiotics, pain medications, and a tetanus shot. The client has also faced long term care issues from this attack.

This incident has greatly changed Doyle Dennis Avery LLP client’s life with permanent disfigurement and damage to the client’s face. The client has a large scar due to the encounter with continued issues with pain, numbness, and sensory loss along the scar. The client’s damages also include medical costs and the mental anguish caused by the initial attack, distress during the recovery, and continued anguish caused by the condition the client has been left in from the attack.

The defendants’ callous disregard for their visitors’ rights and safety ultimately caused this unfortunate and preventable incident. Known to the defendants and unknown to Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client the defendants’ dog, a pit bull, had vicious propensities and posed a danger to humans when not properly controlled. Defendants showed gross negligence in failing to handle their known dangerous animal, failing to take measures to make the dog less of a threat to attack people, and otherwise failing to exercise the ordinary care of a pet owner. Defendants grossly negligent behavior regarding their own pet ultimately resulted in life changing physical and mental injuries to Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client. As a result, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP ’s client seeks damages related to the physical and mental trauma associated with the mauling and those damages he is owed as he continues to suffer from the repercussions of the attack.

If you are seriously injured due to the gross negligence of individuals you may have a claim to recover damages for injuries and associated damages. Individuals at fault due to gross negligence can be held liable for their behavior if you were seriously injured or harmed as a result. Doyle Trial Lawyers can help you understand your rights and how to pursue a claim against defendants whose negligent behavior results in severe injuries and damage to individuals. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP works on a contingency fee basis, which means we do not get paid unless your case has a positive resolution. Please reach out to Doyle Dennis Avery LLP  today for a free consultation to discuss your legal rights after a serious injury caused by other’s gross negligence.