WIGINGTON RUMLEY DUNN & BLAIR LLP OBTAIN LARGEST JURY VERDICT IN COUNTY’S HISTORY FOR VICTIMS OF DEADLIEST OIL DRILLING ACCIDENT SINCE DEEPWATER HORIZON
Jan 28, 2020
For immediate distribution: January 28, 2020
[Corpus Christi, January 27, 2020] –
A jury awarded $20,000,000.00 in McAlester, Oklahoma, today in a wrongful death lawsuit brought in the aftermath of the Patterson 219 oil rig fire near Quinton, Oklahoma, on January 22, 2018, considered to be the deadliest drilling accident since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
The jury awarded damages to each family plaintiff in the amount of $10,000,000. The $20 Million Jury Verdict is the largest jury verdict in the history of Pittsburg County and one of the largest verdicts ever rendered in the State of Oklahoma.
The families of victims Josh Ray of Fort Worth, Texas, and Cody Risk of Wellington, Colorado, were represented at trial by David Rumley, Jeff Wigington, and Joseph Dunn of Wigington Rumley Dunn & Blair, LLP.
The jury found Red Mountain Energy, Crescent Consulting, Patterson UTI, and National Oilwell Varco (NOV) responsible for the deaths of five men in the January 22, 2018 oil rig fire outside Quinton.
Lead trial lawyer David Rumley said, “Today is a great day for our civil justice system. We asked the jury to send a clear message about this horrible tragedy and they responded with the largest jury verdict in the history of Pittsburg County, and one of the largest jury verdicts ever returned in Oklahoma.”
From Oklahoma trial attorney Jeff Wigington, “Failure to accept any responsibility for the explosion meant a jury verdict was required for these families, and justice was served.”
Calling the jury’s verdict a victory, trial lawyer Joe Dunn said, ““Honest, hard-working men were blamed for this catastrophe. This trial has exonerated them and placed the blame on the corporations that caused this tragedy.”
About Wigington Rumley Dunn & Blair, LLP:
Wigington Rumley Dunn & Blair, LLP is a plaintiffs’ personal injury law firm with a record-setting history built upon a dedication to fighting injustice and helping victims of wrongdoing. WigRum is one of a handful of law firms in the United States to have achieved three nine-figure jury verdicts for its clients. In three trials alone, WigRum lawyers obtained verdicts of approximately half a billion dollars ($474,043,726.86.) in jury awards against some of the biggest corporate defendants in the country (Ford Motor Company and Volkswagen Group of America).
WigRum represents individual victims as well as collaborating with other law firms across the country to achieve justice for those who have been harmed due to the callous disregard or mistakes of others, with extensive experience in Texas multi-district litigation lawsuits.
For more information, including biographical information about plaintiff attorneys David Rumley, Jeff Wigington, and Joseph Dunn and the firm’s prior litigation of catastrophic oilfield incidents, please visit WigRum.com.
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Media Contact:
David Rumley, Esq. serves as Wigington Rumley Dunn & Blair, LLP media liaison for the Quinton trial, and he can be reached for additional information or commentary at drumley@wigrum.com or 866-494-4786.