The noted personal injury attorney and consummate Texan passed away quietly at age 90.
Mr. Jamail received his law degree from the University of Texas in 1953 and built a successful legal practice that included over 100 judgements of at least $1 million. The pinnacle of his career may have been a $10.5 billion (with a “b”) judgement he obtained on behalf of Pennzoil Co. against Texaco, Inc.
Some twenty years later, the man who earned the nickname “king of torts” admitted that he had a hangover during closing arguments in that case, as he was still recovering from a night of drinking with country-western singer Willie Nelson and former Longhorn football coach Darrell Royal. “I tried telling them that this was the biggest damn case of my life—hell, of anybody’s life—and that I needed to prepare. But they weren’t having any part of it,” he recalled. In an unrelated incident, the man UT Law School Dean Ward Farnsworth described as a “larger-than-life figure—a one-of-a-kind Texan” was censured by the Delaware Supreme Court after telling an opposing lawyer that he could “gag a maggot off a meat wagon.”
As a student, Mr. Jamail flunked a torts class at UT Law School.
A Successful Negligence Case
Mr. Jamail’s career proves an important point. Successful recovery in a negligence case depends on having an attorney who can put the pieces together in a persuasive way, because in most cases, all the pieces are already there. The components of a car crash case are:
- Duty: Typically, drivers have a duty of reasonable care towards one another. At a minimum, they must be capable of safely operating a vehicle, focus on the road, and drive defensively.
- Breach: Breach of duty is always a fact question. Common breaches include alcohol intoxication, speeding, distracted driving, and fatigued driving.
- Cause: There must be a logical and direct link between the defendant’s breach and the plaintiff’s damages.
- Damages: The loss must be a compensable one that is tied to physical injury or property damage; that loss could be economic or noneconomic.
The plaintiff must prove negligence by a preponderance of the evidence, which means more likely than not.
If you or a loved one was hurt or killed due to someone else’s carelessness, contact the aggressive attorneys in Manhattan at Proner & Proner for a free consultation. Our main office is conveniently located across from Grand Central Station.
