Brantley W. White

Biography

Brantley White received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1989. He is a 1993 graduate of the Texas Tech University School of Law. After graduating from law school, Mr. White worked as a trial lawyer, representing injured plaintiffs for four years at the Wilk Law Firm in Dallas, Texas. During his tenure with the Wilk Law Firm, Brantley successfully litigated and tried numerous personal injury cases before joining Harris & Watts, P.C. in February 1998. In the fall of 2001, Brantley was named partner to the firm of Watts & Heard, L.L.P. In May of 2002 he joined his former partners, Craig M. Sico and Roger S. Braugh, Jr., to form Sico, White & Braugh, L.L.P. Brantley is admitted to practice law in the State courts of Texas, and in the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Western, and Northern Districts of Texas.

Mr. White is an “AV” rated lawyer in the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory and has been continuously voted as a “Texas Super Lawyer,” as featured in Texas Monthly.  Mr. White is a member of the Texas Trial lawyers Association (TTLA), Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ). Mr. White is also a member of the Attorneys Information Exchange Group (AIEG) and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He focuses his practice on automotive defect litigation, child restraint litigation, work place accidents, heavy truck wrecks, and tire litigation. Mr. White has successfully first-chaired both product liability and general negligence lawsuits to verdict. Mr. White has obtained numerous Plaintiff verdicts for his clients.

In the area of general negligence, Mr. White has obtained numerous settlements in construction or workplace accidents, involving falls, explosions and electrocutions.  In Weiss v. Rough Creek Management LLC, Mr. White obtained a 6.4 million dollar verdict for his injured client against Rough Creek Management LLC for its negligent erection of a un-marked chain across a cattle Guard, which caused a catastrophic ATV accident an injuries to his client. In Samaniego v. Garrett Paving & Maintenance, Mr. White recovered another 7 figure verdict for his client whose leg was crushed by piece of machinery. In trucking litigation, Mr. White has authored a paper on how to prosecute the plaintiff’s case utilizing the Federal Motor Carrier Regulations. Mr. White’s knowledge of motor carrier regulations has resulted in numerous recoveries for his clients in counties all over Texas.

Mr. White has won numerous cases involving commercial motor carriers, or 18-wheelers. These verdicts have been awarded in both state and federal courts. In Olivares v. Burlington Motor Carriers, a state court case in Laredo, Texas, Mr. White uncovered evidence proving the driver of the 18-wheeler lacked sufficient training to operate the vehicle. The jury found Burlington negligent and grossly negligent. The jury awarded damages to the father of a nineteen-year-old man, Juan Olivares, Jr., who was killed in the accident. In Browning v. Colonial Freight Systems, Inc., Mr. White tried the case to a Waco federal court jury. Mr. White obtained a unanimous verdict and proved that the driver of the Colonial Freight 18-wheeler changed lanes into the Plaintiff, Mr. Browning, despite the investigating trooper’s testimony indicating the accident was the fault of Mr. White’s client. The jury awarded damages to Mr. White’s client, who lost his left hand, and was permanently disabled due to the accident.  Mr. White has settled several other 18-wheeler cases while the case was being tried to a jury.  Mr. White is often consulted to help try cases with other lawyers and enjoys associating with other firms to help bring justice to their clients in the event the case must be tried to a jury.

Mr. White’s litigation in the area of defective products, including tires, defective roofs on vehicles, defective tires and defective child restraints has been featured in such publications as the L.A. Times, as well as on newscasts such as Good Morning America and news stations across the country. Mr. White has authored a comprehensive paper on child restraint litigation, Strategies on Navigating Through FMVSS 213, which was presented at the annual Association of Trial Lawyers of America Convention, and he devotes a large part of his practice to representing children who have been injured due to defective child restraints and other juvenile products.  Mr. White has given numerous national lectures on how to prosecute cases against large corporations in cases involving defective products. Most recently Mr. White was asked to address the American Association of Justice on how to win a defective tire case.  Mr. White shared his techniques he employed to win a case against Michelin involving a catastrophic injury to a teenager injured due to a defective tire.

Mr. White’s automotive and tire litigation has produced impressive settlements for his clients against companies such as General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Goodyear, Continental and Cooper Tire Company in both state and federal courts. Most recently, Mr. White obtained a $41.7 million dollar verdict on behalf of a client, who was paralyzed due to a defective Michelin tire in the case Rocha v. Michelin North America. The verdict against Michelin North America is widely recognized as one the largest verdicts ever obtained against a tire manufacturer in the United States of America.

Mr. White has two daughters who continue to remind him to be kind, never quit, keep your promises and be honored to represent those who have been denied justice.

Highlighted Representative Experience

  • Rocha v. Michelin North America, Dimmit County Texas, personal injury case in which Mr. White obtained a unanimous 41.7 million dollar award for his 18 year old client who was paralyzed to due a defective tire made by Michelin.  Evidence proved the tire was contaminated by rain water leaking into the tire building room at the plant.  The verdict is believed to be the largest verdict ever against a tire manufacturer for a single injury.
  • Olivares v. Burlington Motor Carriers, a state court case in Laredo, Texas, Mr. White uncovered evidence proving the driver of the 18-wheeler lacked sufficient training to operate the vehicle. The jury found Burlington negligent and grossly negligent. The jury awarded damages to the father of a nineteen-year-old man, Juan Olivares, Jr., who was killed in the accident.
  • Browning v. Colonial Freight Systems, Inc., Mr. White tried the case to a Waco federal court jury. Mr. White obtained a unanimous $6,000,000 verdict and proved that the driver of the Colonial Freight 18-wheeler changed lanes into the Plaintiff, Mr. Browning, despite the investigating trooper’s testimony indicating the accident was the fault of Mr. White’s client. The jury awarded damages to Mr. White’s client, who lost his left hand, and was permanently disabled due to the accident.
  • Weiss v. Rough Creek Management LLC. Dallas County Texas, Mr. White proved the management company negligently undertook the erection of an unmarked chain across a nature trail the defendant invited the Plaintiff on to ride an ATV.  The case was tried to a a Dallas County jury in the 191st District Court and resulted in a 6.4 million dollar verdict.
  • Samaniego v. Garrett Paving & Maintenance, Corpus Christi Texas, Mr. White obtained another 7 figure verdict against a paving contractor for negligent operation of machinery.

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin
  • Texas Tech University School of Law

Activities and Affiliations

  • Texas Trial lawyers Association (TTLA),
  • Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA)
  • Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ)
  • Attorneys Information Exchange Group (AIEG)
  • Million Dollar Advocates Forum