HOUSTON – The First Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s ruling awarding a plaintiff more than $441,000 for injuries he received while working for Advance Tire and Wheels.
Plaintiff Abrhim Enshikar sued Advance Tire for negligence after an over-sized tire that he inflated without the benefit of any safety equipment exploded.
Court records show Enshikar struggled to inflate the tire alone and was aided by a coworker and supervisor. The supervisor left during the job to answer his cellphone.
The tire explosion injured Enshikar’s right hand, exposing the bone in his thumb. Both employees were hospitalized, and Enshikar spent three weeks in the hospital, during which time he had multiple surgeries on his right hand to save the thumb.
In a bench trial, the trial court heard testimony and found that Advance Tire’s negligence included “negligent supervision, negligently leaving the repair project before it was completed, negligent inspection of the tire and a failure to provide a safe workplace,” court records state.
Enshikar was awarded $441,496.90 for past pain and suffering, medical expenses, and physical impairment and disfigurement.
Advanced Tire appealed, challenging the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence, court records show.
On June 13, justices issued an opinion affirming the trial court’s judgment.
“We hold that Advance Tire owed Enshikar a duty to provide a safe workplace—including a duty to provide reasonably safe equipment necessary for the performance of the job—and that the proof at trial was legally and factually sufficient to support the trial court’s judgment that Advance Tire breached this duty and that this breach proximately caused Enshikar’s injuries,” the opinion states.
Enshikar is represented by attorney Christopher Wilsher.
Advanced Tire is represented by attorney Hiren Patel.
Appeals case No. 01-16-00020-CV
Filed in Harris County District Court, case No. 2012-15287