The Scans Looked Normal, but His Life Had Changed: Tom Crosley Went Looking for the Missing Proof

The scans showed the damage to Jerry M.’s neck, shoulders, wrists, and back. They did not explain why his memory was failing, his personality had changed, and his work as a master plumber had become increasingly difficult after a wrong-way 18-wheeler slammed into his pickup.

The insurance company used that gap to dispute the most consequential part of Jerry’s case: a traumatic brain injury that conventional imaging had failed to reveal. Tom Crosley did not accept the incomplete picture.

Over several months, Crosley studied more than 70 scientific articles, papers, and abstracts, consulted brain specialists across the country, and ultimately connected Jerry with University of California, San Diego researchers using magnetoencephalography to measure brain activity. The advanced testing recorded 39 bursts of abnormal slow-wave activity in 30 minutes—evidence that helped make an otherwise invisible injury understandable to a jury.

After a two-week trial, the jury awarded Jerry and his family more than $16 million.

That case captures what makes Crosley memorable. His value is not simply that he has handled serious personal-injury cases for more than three decades. It is his willingness to keep investigating when the familiar evidence does not fully explain what happened to an injured person.

Crosley founded Crosley Law in 2005 after approximately a decade as a partner at Branton & Hall. He is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and Board Certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has tried more than 60 cases as first-chair counsel, primarily representing plaintiffs in catastrophic-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

That courtroom background matters because Crosley’s cases often involve injuries with consequences measured in decades rather than months. When a four-year-old girl fell approximately 25 feet from a third-floor apartment window that could open several inches on its own, Crosley and attorney Brennen Jenkins examined not only the child’s traumatic brain injury but every available layer of insurance coverage. They continued pursuing the case beyond an earlier $10 million offer and secured a $30 million settlement during the final pretrial hearing, drawing contributions from 10 separate policies and eight layers of excess coverage.

In another case, a delivery truck ran over a young bicyclist, causing a skull fracture, massive intracranial bleeding, seizures, and permanent cognitive limitations. The young man spent a month in a medically induced coma and faced projected lifetime-care expenses of approximately $12 million. Crosley and his team conducted more than 30 depositions, interviewed over 40 additional witnesses, assembled a dozen experts, and prepared the case through nine mock-jury exercises. The resulting $20 million settlement funded a trust designed to provide for the client’s lifelong care.

Crosley has also demonstrated an ability to present devastating human loss to a jury. After an intoxicated driver struck a couple working on a vehicle outside their home—killing the husband and critically injuring his wife—Crosley worked closely with criminal prosecutors and developed evidence of the driver’s reckless conduct. When settlement negotiations failed, he took the case to trial and secured a $28 million verdict, one of the nation’s 100 largest jury verdicts that year. The result delivered more than financial compensation: after the trial, jurors offered their condolences, the driver apologized, and the family received a measure of accountability and closure.

Other lawyers regularly turn to Crosley for instruction on the subjects at the center of his practice. He serves on the Executive Committee of the American Association for Justice’s Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group and has delivered approximately 100 presentations, webinars, and podcast programs covering brain-injury evidence, motor-vehicle litigation, insurance disputes, and courtroom strategy. In 2025, he also launched Winning the TBI Case, a podcast that teaches plaintiff attorneys how to investigate, develop, and present traumatic-brain-injury cases. Its episodes examine neuroscience, medical imaging, expert testimony, evidence sequencing, and effective jury communication. Crosley is not simply applying these methods in his own cases; he is teaching other trial lawyers how to use them.

His professional leadership extends throughout the Texas legal community. Crosley represented San Antonio on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, served as the 121st president of the San Antonio Bar Association, and later led the San Antonio Bar Foundation. He also served as president of the San Antonio Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and as president of the San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association.

Crosley’s professional standing is matched by an extraordinary level of consumer validation. He has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 2016 and was named San Antonio’s Product Liability Litigation–Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” for 2024 and 2026. His Super Lawyers record includes selections in 2004 and every year from 2006 through 2026, culminating in a statewide Top 100 selection in 2025. Just as compelling for prospective clients, Crosley maintains a 5.0-star Google rating based on 368 reviews, giving consumers a substantial record of feedback to consider alongside his courtroom results and professional recognition.

The defining quality of Crosley’s work is his refusal to let the first version of the evidence become the final version of a client’s story. When conventional scans fail to reveal a brain injury, he searches for better science. When one insurance policy cannot address a lifetime of care, he traces every available layer of coverage. When a case carries profound human loss, he has shown that he can present those consequences clearly and powerfully to a jury.

For someone facing a serious or catastrophic injury, that combination of scientific curiosity, trial preparation, and persistence can be especially valuable. Crosley’s record demonstrates a practice built around finding the proof that turns a life-altering injury into a case judges, juries, and insurance carriers can fully understand.

That combination of experience, reputation, verified professional standing, and public credibility is why Thomas Andrew “Tom” Crosley was included on FreddieFender.com.