Jury Awards $640 Million After Crane Company Offered $6.9 Million Settlement

A Harris County jury awarded David Lester Loree II's family $640 million after TNT Crane & Rigging offered $6.9 million to settle.

The crane company had blamed Loree for his own death.

What Happened at Texas A&M

David Loree was working as a journeyman pipefitter on September 22, 2021, installing HVAC units on the fourth floor of the College of Business and Library building at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Crews were moving a 5,100-pound air handler unit when the unit tipped over, crushing and killing Loree.

Wind gusts reached 45 miles per hour that day.

Safety protocols require lift jobs to be called off when wind speeds exceed 25 mph.

The Evidence TNT Couldn't Explain

Text messages showed TNT managers acknowledged the unit's instability 40 minutes before the fatal incident.

They never halted the lift.

Francisco Montelongo, Loree's colleague, was rushed to the hospital with body and head injuries but survived.

The Verdict That Changed Everything

The jury awarded $159.8 million in compensatory damages on May 12, then added $480 million in punitive damages the next day.

They found TNT acted with gross negligence.

The jury assigned 0% of the blame to Loree, completely rejecting TNT's defense strategy.

Loree's wife Milena burst into tears when the verdict was read, burying her face in the desk while clutching her lawyer's hand.

What Happened Next

In September 2025, both parties filed a joint motion to settle, and the Court of Appeals vacated the trial court's judgment in October.

David Loree left behind his wife, two sons, and mother, all of whom testified during the trial.

The $640 million verdict stood as one of the largest wrongful death awards in Texas history before the settlement was reached.