Vuk’s Notable Case Results
Selected results:
For the family of a rigger killed when an industrial pipe crushed him during turnaround operations at a major refinery in Beaumont, Texas. The highest offer before the verdict was $500,000. One of the largest jury verdicts of its kind in the United States.
For a driver who suffered a severe brain injury when an employee of a trucking company crashed a company 18-wheeler into his vehicle in Houston, Texas. Damages included the need for a lifetime of medical treatment. Co-lead counsel with his law partner, Brian Beckcom.
For family members who lost a loved one and sustained severe burn injuries in a structure fire.
For the family of an ironworker who drowned in the Brazos River in Waco, Texas while working on the pedestrian bridge for Baylor University’s football stadium. After three weeks of trial the jury placed 100% of the blame on the defendant contractor. The highest offer before the verdict was $5,000,000.
For a family who lost a child, and had another child suffer catastrophic injuries, when their vehicle was rear-ended by a company truck driven by an employee of a construction company. As part of the work-up of this case, Vuk obtained a unanimous acquittal for the driver of the family’s vehicle in a felony manslaughter criminal trial, in which the State’s final pre-trial offer was 17 years imprisonment.
For a driver and his family member seriously injured when a commercial motor vehicle rear-ended them at high speed on an interstate highway in Houston, Texas. Injuries included paraplegia and the need for life-long medical care.
For the family of an employee who suffered catastrophic burns over 95% of his body in a work-place incident, resulting in death.
For a stevedore injured on a cargo ship when a moving gantry crane aboard the ship crushed him in Corpus Christi, Texas, resulting in multiple catastrophic injuries, the need for life-long medical treatment, and significant loss of life-time earnings in the maritime industry.
For multiple workers injured at an industrial plant when the largest crane in the world collapsed at their worksite.
For 43 workers injured during an explosion at an industrial facility in Jefferson County, Texas.
For the family of a company man killed by an active shooter at an oilfield worksite in the Middle East (Yemen).
For a family who lost their loved one when a commercial vehicle rear-ended them.
For a utility backhoe operator injured at an industrial worksite when hot steam released out of a suction line, causing catastrophic burn injuries and the need for lifelong medical care.
For a bus passenger who sustained multiple injuries when the bus crashed into another vehicle on an interstate highway in Pennsylvania.
For a fish processor working aboard a commercial fishing vessel who suffered severe injuries to his foot, including complex regional pain syndrome, after a heavy object fell on it. The highest offer before the verdict was $600,000.
For a deckhand assigned to a tugboat who suffered severe injuries to his foot while working aboard a barge after the wrecking ball of a crane landed on it. The highest offer before trial was $500,000. A Top 50 jury verdict in the United States.
Publications
Vuk’s published work in TRIAL Magazine covers product defects, amusement park safety, and claims brought on behalf of children:
- Is The All-American Amusement Park Safe? TRIAL Magazine, June 2004.
- Representing The Forgotten Child TRIAL Magazine, November 2002.
- Tires That Kill TRIAL Magazine, November 2000.
Hiring Vuk Vujasinovic
Vuk takes a small number of cases each year, and the ones he takes tend to share a shape: someone was seriously hurt or killed, a company had reason to know it could happen, and the other side has already decided what the case is worth.
That last part is what the work is really about. In the jury verdicts noted above, the defense’s highest offer before trial was $500,000, $600,000 and $5,000,000. The verdicts were $44,370,000, $4,081,047 and $17,720,000. Nothing about those cases changed in the meantime except that they were tried to a jury.
Vuk handles wrongful death, catastrophic injury, trucking and commercial vehicle collisions, maritime and offshore injuries under the Jones Act, industrial and oilfield explosions and fires, and products liability. Every case he accepts is worked up as though it will be tried, because a defendant that believes otherwise pays accordingly.
Not sure your case qualifies? Give us a call. The review costs nothing, and if it is not a case for Vuk, he will say so quickly and steer you in the right direction.
Vuk’s Background
A $500,000 Offer Followed by a $44,370,000 Verdict
A rigger was killed during turnaround operations at a major refinery in Beaumont when an industrial pipe crushed him. Before trial, the highest offer his family received was $500,000.
A Jefferson County jury returned $44,370,000 — roughly eighty-eight times the offer, and one of the largest verdicts of its kind in the United States. The facts had not changed. What changed was that the case was put in front of twelve people who heard all of it from Vuk and his trial team.
That pattern repeats throughout Vuk’s record. A fish processor with a crushed foot: $600,000 offered, $4,081,047 returned. A deckhand hit by a wrecking ball: $500,000 offered, $2,218,000 returned. An ironworker who drowned building a stadium footbridge over the Brazos: $5,000,000 offered, $17,720,000 returned on a finding that the contractor was 100% at fault.
Board Certification, and Why Vuk Talks About It
Vuk has been Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization continuously for over 26 years.
“The State Bar of Texas, not one of the many marketing companies out there that will sell you an ‘award,’ certifies lawyers in Texas. This is the gold standard,” he says. “Because of this, my clients know that my background, qualifications and skills have been thoroughly vetted by the State Bar, not just once, but continuously as we must apply for re-certification every 5 years. My clients often tell me they have peace of mind because they know they are represented by an attorney who holds a certification held by less than 1% of all the lawyers practicing in Texas. The insurance and company lawyers know this as well, and this helps my clients’ cases tremendously.”
Finance First, Then the Law Review
Vuk graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Finance, with Honors. He went to law school at the University of Houston Law Center, where he was selected and worked two years as an Editor of the Houston Law Review.
Vuk says, “my work on the law review was critical, as it sharpened my legal research and writing skills, which is often an overlooked talent. I believe lawyers who are known for their work in the courtroom need to have this type of foundation in order to offer the absolute best service to their clients. I think it’s rare to find a lawyer who is excellent in both trial work and legal analysis work.”
The finance degree is not decoration either. Catastrophic injury cases turn on future medical costs, lost earning capacity and life-care plans — arithmetic that decides what a family actually needs to live on, often for the rest of their lives.
He Learned the Defense Playbook First
Before starting his own law firm with Brian, Vuk worked at an international law firm, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, where he handled “bet-the-company” types of cases brought against the major tobacco and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Through this work, Vuk learned first-hand how large corporations and insurance companies defend against high-stakes lawsuits.
Now, Vuk uses what he learned while representing these corporations to benefit his clients who are making claims against these same types of companies. “My clients appreciate that I have this inside knowledge, and that I use it to enhance their cases at every opportunity,” says Vuk.
A Criminal Acquittal Inside a Civil Case
A family in Fort Bend County was violently rear-ended by a company truck. One child was killed and another catastrophically injured. Then the State charged the driver of the family’s own vehicle with felony manslaughter and made a final pre-trial offer of seventeen years in prison.
Vuk tried the criminal case to a jury verdict, and obtained a unanimous acquittal — and then worked up and resolved the civil case for the family. The defendants insisted the amount they paid be kept secret.
Very few personal injury lawyers would take on a companion criminal trial at all. It is the clearest example of a principle that runs through Vuk’s practice: the case is whatever it has to be to get the family a just result.
Court-Appointed to Lead the Largest Federal Takings Case in U.S. History
When the Addicks and Barker reservoirs caused thousands of homes and businesses upstream of the structures to flood during Hurricane Harvey, the federal litigation that followed became the largest Fifth Amendment takings case in United States history, involving over $1 billion in damages.
The federal court appointed Vuk as a Lead Counsel — In re: Upstream Addicks & Barker (Texas) Flood-Control Reservoirs, No. 17-cv-9001, U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Judge-appointed leadership is not applied for and not advertised; it is assigned by a judge who has to decide which lawyers can carry a case of that size and importance to the community.
Away From the Firm
Vuk is a first-generation American and lifelong Houstonian. He lives in Houston with his wife, Ofelia, their three children, twins Isa and Nikola, and Sava, and their Golden Doodle Lucy and Chocolate Lab Oliver. When he is not handling cases, Vuk enjoys spending time with his family at home and on family vacations. Vuk was a state-ranked varsity tennis player in high school, and still enjoys playing tennis. In addition, Vuk likes to play golf, snow ski, work out in the gym, walk and play with the family dogs, bike, and hike.
