In a split second, the lives of Jesus Huizar and his eight children were changed
forever. On July 15, 1981, Seferina Huizar, Jesus’ wife, was picking up their
daughter at Edinburg High School when a metal gate, used as a moveable
barrier to the parking lot, pierced her car and impaled the woman as her
horrified teenage son watched. One hour later, Seferina Huizar died at
Edinburg Hospital. It was an unbelievable occurrence and yet, as Frank
Herrera discovered, one that could have been prevented. Herrera took the Huizar case in 1982 after consulting with the devastated
husband and his family. Initially, Frank sued the school district, the school
engineer, the construction company, the general contractor and the
architects. Several months later, a 322nd District Court jury found the
architects 60 percent liable and the school district 40 percent liable for
the accident and rendered a verdict of 7.25 million. The insurance carrier for the architects, Continental Casualty Company,
however, decided to appeal the case in hopes that the Huizar family
would tire of the ordeal and were seemingly unimpressed by the record
and reputation of Frank Herrera. However, the family did not tire of the
fight and Herrera and his legal team persevered to uncover the details of
the negligence that clearly led to the death of Seferina. During his investigation, Herrera and his legal team found that the gate, just
two months before, had injured a high school student when it grazed his leg.
The student’s father wrote a letter to the school district stating that he felt
that the gate was dangerous and should be removed. Even the city’s police
chief warned the school that the gate could potentially kill someone. The
school district, however, did nothing and, as a result, the migrant mother
lost her life when she unknowingly drove into it
In settlement talks, Herrera was told that Continental would never agree to
the $5,000,000 he was demanding. Instead, the company offered the family
$75,000, an amount Herrera perceived as an insult linked to the working
mother’s migrant background. The offer only motivated the attorney to
continue his work on behalf of the Huizar family. Finally, seven years after
the tragedy, the Texas Supreme Court agreed with Herrera and determined
that the architects must pay damages of $5,100,000 to the family for the
wrongful death of their wife and mother |
