HABLAMOS ESPANOL

The law firm of Trenchard and Hoskins has offices in El Paso, Texas, Roswell, New Mexico and Kermit, Texas. The firm limits its practice to wrongful death and serious personal injury cases with special competence and experience in handling oilfield accident cases. The firm is licensed to practice in all New Mexico state and federal courts as well as all Texas state courts and the Western and Northern Federal District Courts of Texas.

Like most laws firms who handle personal injury cases, there is no charge for initial consultation and our fee for representation is usually a contingency fee, i.e. there is no fee unless there is a recovery. The fee is a percentage of the net recovery, typically one-third.

Wrongful Death & Serious Injury Cases
Product Liability
Oilfield Accident Cases

Extensive experience in handling wrongful death cases. Over the last 37 years the Trenchard and Hoskins has succesfully handled over 100 wrongful death cases. The law firm also has extensive experience in successfully handling burn cases, spinal cord injuries, head trauma, amputations and other serious personal injuries.

The law firm of Trenchard and Hoskins has offices in El Paso, Texas, Kermit, Texas and Roswell, New Mexico. The firm limits its practice to wrongful death and serious personal injury cases with special competence and experience in handling oilfield accident cases. The firm is licensed to practice in all New Mexico state and federal courts as well as all Texas state courts and the Western and Northern Federal District Courts of Texas.

Calvin W. Wesch (1926-1998) started the predecessor firm in 1954 in Kermit, Texas. He was a trial lawyer who served two terms as district attorney. Bob Trenchard moved from Odessa to Kermit in 1978 to form the partnership Wesch & Trenchard. By the time Royce Hoskins joined the firm in 1995, the practice had been primarily limited to personal injury trial law and a substantial part of the caseload was in New Mexico. A Roswell office was opened and Mr. Hoskins moved to New Mexico. Subsequently, Bob Trenchard moved to El Paso and opened the firm's El Paso office. Our five experienced paralegals have over 70 years combined experience including Karen Quarles and Rosie Hernandez who have each been with the firm for over 25 years. Norma Chaparro, MBA, a certified interpreter, offices at our El Paso location.

Bob Trenchard was selected as one of the Texas Super Lawyers by Texas Monthly Magazine. He was Co-Chairman of the The Mining and Oilfield Products and Accident Group from 1995-2003. He is board certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Royce Hoskins worked as a law clerk for U. S. District Judges Lucius Bunton and Royal Ferguson before joining the firm. He is an invited lecturer at legal seminars concerning New Mexico worker’s compensation issues. Mr. Hoskins handles New Mexico worker’s compensation claims in addition to the firm’s other practice.

Paul Tellez joined the firm in 2008. Mr. Tellez is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and obtained his law degree from the University of Wisconsin. His practice is primarily representing persons who have suffered workplace injuries.

Josephine Lue is a graduate of Penn State University and Texas Tech School of Law where she was editor of the Law Review. She is licensed in Texas and New Mexico. She handles New Mexico worker's compensation cases, personal injury cases in both states and does appellate work.

For over 30 years, the firm has been more successful in representing the victims of oilfield accidents in West Texas and New Mexico than any other firm if success is measured by the number of large verdicts and settlements obtained. The firm has also achieved success in obtaining large verdicts and settlements in motor vehicle accidents, pipeline and plant explosions, and products liability cases. Trenchard and Hoskins has always been rated AV, the highest rating, by Martindale-Hubbell. Ratings and additional biographical data are available at www.martindale-hubbell.com.

Like most law firms who handle personal injury cases, there is no charge for initial consultation and our fee for representation is usually a contingency fee, i.e. there is no fee unless there is a recovery. The fee is a percentage of the net recovery, typically one-third.

Not every case ends with the jury verdict in the trial court and not every important case involves large damages. The following are cases where Trenchard and Hoskins were successful on appeal in establishing important changes in the law that have benefitted not only our clients but Texas and New Mexico workers and their families:

Padilla v Hooks Int'l, 99 NM 121 (Ct. App. 1982, cert. den.) Established the Rescue Doctrine in New Mexico. The doctrine allows a rescuer to recover damages for injuries sustained in a rescue attempt from the party whose negligence put the person to be rescued at risk.

Lujan v Houston General Ins. Co., 756 SW2d 295 (Tex. 1988)
Established the Positional Risk Doctrine in Texas. Oilfield worker's clothes were saturated with gasoline and paint as a result of mishap at work. When he removed clothes at home, hot water heater ignited fumes causing worker to burn to death. Texas Supreme Court held that accident was work-related since the risk resulting in death originated at his job.

State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company v. Valencia, 120 N.M. 662 (Ct. App. 1995). Established further coverages and rights under the Underinsured Motorist statues in New Mexico.

Beneficial Personnel Services v Rey, 927 SW2d 147 (Tex Ct Ap-1996) and Beneficial Personnel Services v Porras, 927 SW2d 177 (Tex Ct App 1996). Recovery of actual and punitive damages by oilfield workers in employee leasing fraud cases.

Gutierrez v. J & B Mobile Homes, 126 N.M. 494 (Ct. App. 1998). Established the precedent for determining the standard for an Employer/Insurer's right to an independent medical examination.

Ramirez v. Dawson Production Partners, Inc., 128 N.M. 601 (Ct. App. 2000). Established the Traveling Employee Doctrine under the New Mexico Workers' Compensation Act. The Traveling Employee Doctine provides that a worker can be considered on the job while traveling to and from work under certain circumstances even though work has not commenced and worker is not being paid.

Banks v. IMC Kalium Carlsbad Potash Co., 134 N.M. 421 (2003). Established that the Daubert analysis for admissibility of expert witness testimony is not applicable in New Mexico Workers' Compensation proceedings.

Sandoval v Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc., 146 N.M. 853, 215 P. 3d 791 (Ct. App. 2009) Jury Verdict in amount of 2.2 million dollars for fractured femur of well service floorhand caused when Defendant's tool blew apart and struck him in the leg. Defendant claimed the jury had awarded an excessive amount for pain and suffering. The Court held that the jury's verdict should not be set aside except in extreme cases where it resulted from passion, prejudice, partiality, sympathy or some corrupt case. In upholding the verdict and affirming the case, the New Mexico Court of Appeals recognized the importance of the jury's role and held that an appellate court's opinion should not be substituted for that of the jury.

Who is responsible for my damages?
If you are hurt on the job, your employer should have worker's compensation coverage. That insurance will pay medical bills as well as weekly benefits while you are unable to work. When you are released to work, you will likely be entitled to additional benefits if you have any permanent impairment. If you were injured due to the fault of your employer or someone who works for your own company and no one else is at fault at all, you are limited to worker's compsnsation. You are entitled to worker's compensation if you were injured while on the job without regard to fault, i.e even if you were at fault or no one was to blame.

What state law applies to worker's compensation benefits?
If you were hired in one state and only worked in that state, you probably will receive benefits under the law of that state. However, if you are injured in another state than where you were hired or where your yard or employer's place of business is located, you will likely be able to elect which state law you want to apply. You should consult a lawyer concerning whether you have the right to make an election.

Which state provides better benefits?
As a general rule, New Mexico worker's compensation benefits are better for the injured worker and usually New Mexico should be elected. Again, this is something you will need to consult a lawyer about.

When can a recovery of actual damages be made rather than being limited to worker's compensaton?
If you are injured due to the fault of a third party, you can make a claim for your actual damages. A third pary is a company or person other than your employer or another employee who works for the same company as you do. For example, if you are a roughneck, the oil operator's representative (the company man) and all the other contractors are third parties. If it is anyone's fault other than your tool pusher, driller or one of the other roughnecks, there is a third party claim. If you are injured as a result of a defective product (defective equipment) you may have a third party claim against the seller, manufacturer or supplier of the product.

What damages are recoverable in a third party action?
Unlike worker's compensation claims which are limited to medical expense, a percentage of your wages for a limited period of time and limited benefits for permanent impairment, all types of damages recognized under the law are recoverable in a third party case. These include pain and suffering, medical expense, lost earnings and loss of earning capacity, physical impairmemt, disfigurement, loss of household services and loss of consortium. Future damages as well as past damages are recoverable.

Can more than one company or person be responsible for an accident?
Yes. All parties whose fault caused the injury can be Defendants in the lawsuit except your employer and your co-employees. In a situation involving gross negligence or intentional injury, the employer may be sued in New Mexico under some circumstances and, in Texas, if the conduct results in death. In both states, the responsibility for the accident is detemined by the jury in their verdict with your conduct as well as your employer's conduct being considered. The jury apportions a percent of fault as to each persion or party and amount of recovery is calculated by the Judge based on those findings. You will need an attorney to explain this as the law in Texas is different from that in New Mexico and this is a complicated issue. In general, your recovery is reduced by the percent of your fault and your employer's fault and, in Texas, you make no recovery if you are more than 50% at fault.

What is the fee charged by your firm?
We handle cases on a contingency basis meaning there is no fee if there is no recovery. Typically, the fee is one-third after deduction of expenses, i.e. the fee is not one-third plus expenses as charged by some firms. On third party cases, we also do not charge a fee on amounts required to be paid back to worker's compensation so the fee is typically 35% of the net recovery after paying back expenses and worker's compensation. Negotiating a reduction of the worker's compensation lien is part of the service we provide at no additional fee. There is no charge for an initial consultation concerning your case.

DISCLAIMER
The facts of each case are different. Therefore, you should consult an attorney about your own particular situation. The above answers generally apply to most situations but may not apply to your case.