A wrongful death lawsuit over the recent fatal helicopter crash in Houston is among five new lawsuits of note in Southeast Texas.
Darin Lerma, et al., v. National Helicopter Solutions, et al.
Harris County District Court, Nov. 1
The representatives of the estates of three people who died when a helicopter crashed into a Houston radio tower in October are seeking more than $50 million from defendants National Helicopter Solutions, Porter Equipment Holding, SBA Communications and the late Samantha Grandbouche.
Grandbouche was the pilot for a helicopter tour of Houston when on Oct. 20, it struck a radio tower whose lighting had failed days before.
CNN reported the lights were "unserviceable" until the end of the October. All occupants, including a child, died in the crash. They are Julio Lerma, Dylon Lerma and Marie Alonso.
"To ensure the safety of the flight, Porter Equipment, NHS and Grandbouche should have conducted checks of the helicopter, the weather, the visibility, the flight plan and all airspace notices prior to taking off on the flight," the lawsuit says.
"Specifically, (defendants) should have reviewed the flight path, assessed all terrain and reference landmarks along the flight path, checked all temporary flight restrictions along the route and studied all Notices to Air Missions advising of temporary conditions that could impact the flight."
Randall Sorrels of Sorrels Law represents the plaintiffs.
Linda Hulin v. Houston Tubulars, et al.
Harris County District Court, Nov. 1
Hulin sues for more than $1 million on behalf of the Estate of Chester Hulin, who died from injuries sustained in October in a traffic accident on Mykawa Road in Houston.
He was driving a tractor-trailer owned by Houston Tubulars and/or Double D Oil & Gas. The lawsuit alleges the vehicle was unsafe.
Hulin's tractor-trailer left the roadway, burst into flames, crashed and rolled over, the suit says.
"The incident in question proximately caused Chester Hulin to suffer horrific burns and other injuries from the time of the incident until he finally succumbed to his injuries when he passed on Oct. 31, 2024," the suit says.
It seeks an injunction to preserve the tractor-trailer and all of its electronic data.
Stanley Law v. X Social Media and Jacob Malherbe
Harris County District Court, Oct. 30
The Stanley Law firm seeks more than $1 million from an alleged marketing campaign that went wrong. The firm represents plaintiffs in mass tort litigation like Camp Lejeune and CPAP machine lawsuits.
Malherbe's company X Social reached out to Stanley Law in 2022 to discuss marketing for plaintiffs. Stanley Law agreed to a "match" arrangement that included a co-counsel agreement with a firm that would equal the funds spent by Stanley Law.
But after forking over its share, Stanley Law says it was unable to obtain any status updates on the success of the campaign but continued spending with X Social, the suit says.
By September 2022, Stanley Law was informed two-thirds of the money it spent was gone and the rest would be too by the end of that week, the suit says.
"Defendant was, in essence, running a Ponzi scheme whereby funds from one law firm were being used to deliver marketing for other law firms," the suit says.
"They were using new money to take care of older obligations, in addition to taking a 'management fee.'"
Gina Karacostas v. Linde, Inc., et al.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Oct. 29
Karacostas says she was injured in June 2023 between piers 16 and 18 in Galveston when her left femur was shattered by a forklift designed and made by Linde.
"The forklift was and is unreasonably dangerous," the suit says. "The forklift was being driven by a fellow employee and it malfunctioned and would not stop or back up and pinned Plaintiff to the stairs of the shore crane."
The suit says a group of people had to push the forklift off her because it would not reverse. Karacostas says the resulting injuries have led to more than 25 surgeries.
DLS-Archer v. National Oilwell Varco
Harris County District Court, Oct. 28
NOV is sued over an electronic loadcell, which are used to measure mechanical forces and allow drilling rig operators to know how much force is being applied.
DLS began using the cell at issue in September 2021 but 14 months later, the company says it malfunctioned.
"Specifically, during a well extraction maneuver to remove a drill string and run production casing in the operator's well, the cell failed to accurately record the amount of load or weight on the drill string," the suit says.
"Due to the cell's failure, excessive tractive force was applied to the drill string, causing the drill string to shear and break, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars' worth of equipment."