Mayer recently secured a favorable jury verdict in a personal injury case involving a dump truck that rear-ended a vehicle in Orange, Texas. Although liability was stipulated, the central issue at trial was the extent and cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.

The plaintiff did not seek emergency medical care at the time of the accident and first consulted an orthopedic specialist approximately three weeks later. She was diagnosed with shoulder and elbow injuries and later underwent surgery. While she returned to work after periods of physical therapy, she claimed ongoing pain limited her ability to perform her job at full capacity and sought approximately $1.97 million in damages.

Represented by Roger Oppenheim, Eduardo Moya and Elizabeth Jones, the defense focused on causation. They argued that the plaintiff’s injuries stemmed from long-standing, work-related degeneration caused by years of repetitive lifting, rather than the low-impact collision. The team introduced evidence of a prior motor vehicle accident and presented expert testimony supporting a diagnosis consistent with cumulative strain injuries from the plaintiff’s 20-year career as a cocktail waitress.

The defense also faced the added challenge of trying the case without the trucking company or driver present in the courtroom.

The jury returned a verdict of $172,000—just $3,000 less than the defense’s prior settlement offer. The result reflects the jury’s close evaluation of the medical evidence and the effectiveness of Mayer’s approach to defending stipulated liability cases where causation is in dispute.