Kurt Arnold is a fierce trial lawyer who has won more than $10 billion in verdicts and settlements for his clients since founding Arnold & Itkin. In fact, Kurt routinely wins more than $1 billion each year in recoveries on behalf of his clients and holds most of the records across the country for the highest verdicts and settlements. Kurt cares deeply about his clients and refuses to take “no” for an answer. One of his favorite parts of being a trial lawyer is helping individuals defeat companies that have continued to deny responsibility. His dedication to justice has resulted in dozens of jury verdicts and settlements more than $100 million, hundreds of jury verdicts and settlements in excess of $10 million, and thousands of recoveries exceeding $1 million. Kurt is also proud that his work has resulted in multiple nationwide product recalls. He is one of the nation’s most accomplished, skilled advocates both in and out of the courtroom. Kurt believes results matter, and his track record proves it.
Kurt has won numerous record-setting jury verdicts, including $117 million for the largest single-plaintiff personal injury verdict in Louisiana, $42 million for the largest verdict in Hawaii, and $44 million for the largest single amputee verdict in the United States. Kurt has recovered more than $10 billion dollars in verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients, including routinely securing more than $1 billion in recoveries every year. These record-setting recoveries for individual clients include $125 million, $92.7 million, $87 million, $81 million, $78 million, $77.5 million, $72 million, and $68 million. Additionally, Kurt has set records in Texas and Louisiana for workplace accident settlements of $357.7 million and $171 million. Kurt recently secured a $193 million settlement for two individuals injured offshore and a $139 million settlement for injuries resulting from an onshore explosion.
He has shattered records across the country with his results:
- Largest settlement for an individual burned at a worksite in United States history.
- Largest settlement for a wrongful death case in United States history.
- Largest settlement for a man killed offshore in United States history.
- Largest settlement for Jones Act injured seaman in United States history.
- Largest settlement for families injured in a plant explosion in United States history.
- Largest settlement for an undocumented worker in United States history.
- Largest settlement for a worker injured in Texas oilfield.
- Largest jury verdict for a single amputee in the United States.
- Largest jury verdicts in multiple states throughout the country.
Kurt’s accomplishments on behalf of his clients have earned him inclusion in some of the most distinguished organizations in the country. The National Law Journal named Arnold & Itkin to the top 50 Elite Trial Lawyer list in the country. Lawdragon has also named Kurt as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America and one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers. Kurt was also honored to join the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, which is an invitation-only group of the top 100 plaintiff lawyers in the country.
The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized Kurt for his extraordinary work in Admiralty and Maritime Law, as well as Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. When the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing 11 workers and injuring dozens more, 27 of the men and women on the rig chose Kurt as their lawyer. Kurt represented more workers on the Deepwater Horizon than any other lawyer in the country. His hard work resulted in unprecedented settlements on their behalves, ensuring they would be taken care of for life. Kurt understands the unique complexities of maritime litigation and has been a leader in every major maritime accident litigation from the Deepwater Horizon explosion to the El Faro cargo ship tragedy. His work in these maritime accidents resulted in the highest settlements in the country. Recently, Kurt secured a $193 million settlement for two men injured offshore—the largest in United States history.
Kurt has represented clients injured in the largest worksite accidents, plant explosions, industrial disasters, and land rig accidents across the nation, securing numerous verdicts and settlements in excess of $100,000,000. Notably, Kurt secured the largest settlement in Texas history for a workplace accident. After taking nearly 30 depositions, the company agreed to pay $357.7 million. Similarly, Kurt secured multiple eight-figure jury verdicts against a large energy company for its role in a plant explosion in Louisiana that injured dozens. Defendants refused to offer his clients a fair settlement offer before trial, so Kurt tried two back-to-back jury trials and obtained multiple eight-figure jury verdicts in each trial. After these jury verdicts, the defendants gave in and paid Kurt’s clients settlements that were more than ten times higher than the defendants had offered them before trial.
Kurt has also fought for the rights of thousands of families who were harmed by giant pharmaceutical companies’ defective drugs and has recovered billions of dollars in settlements on behalf of his clients. He has also recovered more than a billion dollars in recoveries against trucking companies with thousands of verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million for his clients. These successes have earned Kurt the reputation among his peers as the leader in catastrophic personal injury litigation. As a result of his track record for obtaining exceptional value for his cases, lawyers from around the world have asked Kurt to try their cases.
After co-founding his law firm at the age of 25, the success Kurt has achieved in the subsequent years is unparalleled. He has won bigger settlements and verdicts for his clients than anyone else his age in the country. Kurt largely attributes this to the personal approach he takes to each case. No client is just a number. Kurt knows his clients’ families, knows their stories, and knows their hardships. He cannot take “no” for an answer because it is personal to him.
Kurt graduated from the University of Texas with High Honors at only 19 years of age. Three years later, he graduated from the University of Texas Law School with Honors in the top 5 percent of his class. Kurt is licensed to practice in Texas and Pennsylvania, before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Kurt is proud of the firm he has built and takes pride in his team’s commitment to protecting clients and fighting for justice. He and his wife Tara, who is also a lawyer, live in Houston with their son Jaxon and daughter Isla. They are members of St. Paul’s Methodist Church and are founders of the Arnold & Itkin Foundation, which supports numerous charities.
