David Oliver is a partner in the litigation section of Porter & Hedges and focuses his practice on personal injury trial work. He has been selected as a “Texas Super Lawyer” in Civil Litigation Defense in surveys conducted by Texas Monthly since 2004. He was also recognized as one of "Houston's Top Lawyers for the People" by H Texas Magazine in 2007. In 2008, In 2008, Mr. Oliver was listed in the Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel edition in the area of Civil Litigation Defense.

Mr. Oliver has litigated hundreds of personal injury cases across the state of Texas and tried dozens to verdict, winning all but one. He has tried cases before judges and juries from small counties (such as Jasper, Hardin and Newton) to medium (such as Jefferson, Orange and Matagorda) to large counties (including Harris and Bexar). He practices from Laredo to the Valley to Beaumont and on up to Texarkana. Mr. Oliver handles personal injury cases ranging from cancer to catastrophic injuries to wrongful death.

Prior to joining Porter & Hedges in 1999, Mr. Oliver was a partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.

Representative Experience

• Lead trial counsel in a wrongful death case involving claims of on-the-job exposure to benzene which allegedly resulted in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and death, Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division. The jury returned a verdict for the only defendant, Mr. Oliver's client, a major oil corporation. This was the first case in which DNA evidence of a benzene “fingerprint” was allowed.
• Lead trial counsel in Bay City, Matagorda County, in an alleged asbestos-induced mesothelioma wrongful death case on behalf of the only defendant to go to verdict. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant.
• Lead trial counsel for a large chemical corporation in a case wherein the plaintiff had been injured and severely brain damaged at work when he fell head first onto concrete from an elevation. The defendant was the target deep pocket. The Beaumont, Texas jury found no negligence on the part of the defendant.
• Lead trial counsel in Houston, Harris County, Texas representing the only defendant to go to verdict in a group of 10 asbestos cases with diseases running from pleural plaques to asbestosis to lung cancer. The jury found the defendant's products non-defective and his client free of any blame.
• Lead trial counsel for a major oil company in a benzene chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) case tried to verdict in Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas. Although the plaintiff was tragically dying of CML, the jury returned a defense verdict.
• Lead trial counsel in a benzene non-Hodgkins lymphoma case tried to defense verdict before a Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas jury.
• Lead trial counsel in numerous other matters including community exposure cases, contractor cases and employee gross negligence cases. Substances at issue have run from asbestos to benzene to chromium through zinc. Diseases have ranged from cancer to pulmonary fibrosis and cognitive impairment.
• Presenting science in the courtroom and conveying information about the scientific method, causal association and distinguishing science from pseudo science to courts and lay juries has been of particular importance to Mr. Oliver. On these topics he has written and spoken extensively. Copies of opening statements, closing statements, and direct and cross examinations of experts conducted by Mr. Oliver are available upon request.

Professional / Civic Affiliations

• Martindale Hubbell AV Rated Attorney
• Member of Fifth Circuit Bar Association; Houston Bar Association; Jefferson County Bar Association; Defense Research Institute; and Texas Bar Foundation

News

• 2008 Super Lawyers Announced (9/17/2008)
• Porter & Hedges' Attorneys Named in Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition (8/13/2008)
• Seventy percent of Porter & Hedges' Attorneys Named as 2007 Texas Super Lawyers (9/17/2007)
• 27 Porter & Hedges' Attorneys Named as 2006 Texas Super Lawyers (9/25/2006)
• Seventy Percent of Porter & Hedges' Partners Selected as Super Lawyers (10/1/2005)

Publications

• Toxic Torts: Risk, Foreseeability And Causation (10/13/2003)
• Jury's Understanding Of "Risk" May Make All The Difference In A Trial (6/6/2002)
• Scientific Knowledge in the Courtroom: The Trouble with Daubert (1/1/1999)
• Causal Association: General and Specific Causation in Toxic Tort Cases (1/1/1997)
• Benzene: State of the Science (1/1/1995)

Events

• Benzene Epidemiology, Privileges Relating to Underlying Data, the National Death Index, What is Discoverable and What's Required to Get Daubert (2/2/2006)