Travis County Jury Awards $4.5 Million After Construction Worker Is Struck by Falling Logs at Highway Project

On May 4, 2021, Steve Lopez was moving through a construction zone at the interchange of Highways 183 and 35 in Austin. Logs from the active job site fell and struck him. J.D. Abrams LP, the contractor responsible for the project, controlled the site where the hazard originated.

The injuries Lopez sustained reached across nearly every category of harm. His medical bills were substantial, and the damage to his ability to work and live without pain extended well past the incident date. The jury's final award broke down across past and future medical expenses, lost earning capacity, physical pain, mental anguish, and physical impairment.

DJC Law attorneys Guilherme Vasconcelos and Mark D. Pierce represented Lopez at trial in the 201st District Court of Travis County before Judge Madeleine Connor. The trial ran from August 6 through August 12, 2024. Defense counsel Rodney P. Geer of Fee, Smith and Sharp represented J.D. Abrams LP and affiliated Abrams entities.

Ten jurors found J.D. Abrams LP 100% negligent. The verdict totaled $4,507,000, composed of $300,000 for past physical pain and mental anguish, $900,000 for future physical pain and mental anguish, $150,000 for past physical impairment, $650,000 for future physical impairment, $780,000 for future loss of earning capacity, $727,000 for past medical care expenses, and $1,000,000 for future medical care expenses.

J.D. Abrams LP appealed in February 2025. The company filed its own motion to dismiss the appeal in April 2025, and the Texas Third Court of Appeals granted that dismissal on April 23, 2025. A mandate issued July 17, 2025. The trial court verdict stands in full.