Martha Patricia Mata has taken legal action against a business entity and its affiliates, claiming negligence led to her severe injuries. On April 25, 2025, Mata filed a complaint in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, against Spring Partners Licensing LLC, Spring Partners Retail LLC, and an unidentified employee referred to as John Doe.
The case revolves around an incident that occurred on November 29, 2023. Mata was at a convenience store owned by the defendants at 9322 Bissonnet Street in Houston when she suffered injuries due to alleged negligence. According to the filing, Mata had pre-purchased gas and returned to the pump when she encountered issues with it not dispensing fuel. She signaled for assistance from an employee, identified as John Doe in the lawsuit. During his attempt to help, Doe allegedly removed the gas nozzle improperly, resulting in gasoline splashing onto Mata's face.
Mata's complaint accuses Doe of multiple acts of negligence including failing to inspect and safely handle the gas pump equipment. The plaintiff argues that these actions were within Doe’s employment scope with Spring Partners Licensing and/or Spring Partners Retail. Consequently, Mata holds these companies accountable under vicarious liability principles for their employee's actions.
The lawsuit also claims that Spring Partners Licensing and Retail failed in their duty by not adequately training or supervising their employees on safe gas pump operations. They are accused of neglecting to implement safety procedures and policies which could have prevented such accidents. As a result of these failures, Mata asserts that the companies' negligence was a direct cause of her injuries.
In her pursuit of justice, Mata seeks monetary relief exceeding $250,000 but less than $1 million for damages including physical pain, mental anguish, loss of earnings capacity and wages both past and future, disfigurement, medical expenses incurred due to the incident as well as any other compensatory damages deemed appropriate by the court.
Representing Martha Patricia Mata are attorneys Sarah Y-Nhi Huynh from The Huynh Law Firm PLLC along with Pavel “Paul” Savinov and Michael Alvarez; Hilda Leonor Sibrian from The Law Offices of Hilda L. Sibrian is also listed as counsel for the plaintiff. The case is assigned Case ID 2025-29310 in Harris County's 215th Judicial District Court.