Practice areas: Personal Injury, Transportation & Maritime, Products Liability
Licensed in Texas since: 1999
Education: The University of Texas School of Law
Languages spoken: English, Spanish
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2023, 2026 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2008 - 2012 
Free Consultation VB Attorneys
1220 Augusta DriveSuite 240
Houston, TX 77057 Phone: 877-724-7800 Email: Brian Beckcom Visit website
Brian Beckcom is a trial lawyer who represents clients in personal injury and wrongful death cases in Houston, Texas and beyond. Brian is an expert in maritime and offshore injury cases, Jones Act injury cases, trucking and transportation cases, industrial accidents, oilfield injuries and wrongful death cases. Brian is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a distinction held by less than 1% of Texas lawyers.
Brian founded VB Attorneys in 2004. He works with his law partner, Vuk Vujasinovic, representing injured clients and families.
Selected work
His work includes a $29,920,310 settlement in a distracted-driving case, a $10 Million recovery in a Jones Act case for an injured boat captain, and a $5 Million settlement on behalf of an injured logger. Brian also represented nine crew members of the Maersk Alabama and Captain Wren Thomas, an American boat captain and former United States Marine taken hostage by Nigerian pirates.
In the distracted-driving case, Brian and Vuk served as co-lead counsel for a young man who suffered a severe brain injury in an 18-wheeler crash. Their investigation obtained deleted phone data and timestamped social-media records. Those records helped establish what the truck driver was doing before the collision. The case ended in a $29,920,310 settlement.
Brian served as lead counsel in the Jones Act case involving a towboat captain who did not receive prompt and adequate medical care. The case produced a $10 Million recovery.
In the logger's case, a log struck a worker in the head at a Conroe timber facility. Brian subpoenaed the workers' compensation insurer and the liability insurer. Their records documented the logging company president's statements that the worker was a temporary employee. That evidence opened access to the company's liability coverage, and the case settled for the full $5 Million policy limit.
Pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama in April 2009. Brian represented nine members of the crew in litigation against Maersk. The litigation proceeded in federal and state courts across three states and ended in confidential settlements for the crew members he represented.
Captain Wren Thomas warned of pirate threats before an attack on the C-Retriever off Nigeria. Nigerian pirates kidnapped him and held him for eighteen days. Brian represented him in litigation against Edison Chouest Offshore and Chevron. The case ended in a confidential settlement.
Education and legal scholarship
Brian earned degrees in computer science and philosophy at Texas A&M University. He earned his law degree with honors from the University of Texas School of Law, where he served as Chief Notes Editor of the Texas Law Review.
He worked as a research assistant to Professor Charles Alan Wright, principal author of Federal Practice and Procedure. He studied admiralty and maritime law under Professor David W. Robertson. Before founding VB Attorneys, Brian practiced at Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston, representing corporations in litigation.
Brian wrote "Pushing the Limits of the Judicial Power: Tolling State Statutes of Limitations Under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(d)," published at 77 Texas Law Review 1049 (1999). The United States cited his article in its October 2001 Supreme Court brief in Raygor v. Regents of the University of Minnesota.
Brian is a sixth-generation Texan, a third-generation member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and a Ross Volunteer. He hosts Lessons from Leaders with Brian Beckcom, a podcast exploring leadership, decisions, adversity and performance.
Tell Us What Happened
Brian's office is at VB Attorneys, 1220 Augusta Drive, Suite 240, Houston, TX 77057. Call (877) 724-7800 for a free case review.
First Admitted: 1999, Texas
Professional Webpage: https://www.vbattorneys.com/attorneys/brian-beckcom/
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Confidential Settlement | Maritime tow-winch amputationBrian Beckcom served as lead counsel for a tug engineer who lost part of his foot in a tow-winch incident aboard the Rebekah. The litigation involved two federal limitation-of-liability proceedings. The case ended in a Confidential Settlement in November 2025. The amount remains confidential.Public case account and counsel attribution, 2025
- Confidential Settlement | Captain Wren ThomasBrian Beckcom represented Captain Wren Thomas after pirates kidnapped him from the C-Retriever and held him for 18 days off Nigeria. A favorable Fifth Circuit ruling reopened his maritime negligence claim, and the case later ended in a Confidential Settlement.
- $5 Million Settlement | Johnny and Carolin HarrisBrian Beckcom led the case after a logging injury caused Johnny severe brain damage and vision loss. He addressed the disputed employment classification and negotiated a $5 Million Settlement for Johnny's future care.
- $10 Million Settlement | Hagler familyBrian Beckcom and Vuk Vujasinovic represented the Hagler family after equipment hanging from a Tornado Trucking rig struck their vehicle, killing a two-year-old child and injuring his mother and sister. The investigation exposed altered driver logs and additional insurance coverage. The case ended in a $10 Million Settlement.
- $29,920,310 | Nick T., commercial trucking brain injuryBrian Beckcom and Vuk Vujasinovic co-led the case after an 18-wheeler crash caused a severe brain injury. Their investigation obtained deleted phone data and timestamped social-media records. The case result was $29,920,310.
- Confidential Settlements | Maersk Alabama crew litigationBrian Beckcom served as lead counsel for nine American crew members following the April 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, the incident portrayed in Captain Phillips. The litigation against Maersk Lines Limited and Waterman Steamship Corporation ended in Confidential Settlements. The amounts remain confidential.Public case history
- Confidential Settlement | Captain ArmstrongBrian Beckcom represented Captain Armstrong after he developed botulism following a meal from his towboat's galley. The Jones Act case examined the food served aboard the vessel, the company's response to his illness, and his future medical needs. The case ended in a Confidential Settlement in 2017., 2017
Special Licenses / Certifications
- Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 2006
- Bar and court admissionsTexas: admitted November 3, 1999; State Bar of Texas No. 24012268. Eligible to practice in Texas. Federal court admissions: United States Court of Federal Claims; United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas; United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Educational Background
- Brian studied computer science and philosophy at Texas A&M University. He was a varsity basketball letterman, a member of the Corps of Cadets, and a Ross Volunteer., 1991-1996
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D. with Honors, 1999. Chief Notes Editor of the Texas Law Review; research assistant to Professor Charles Alan Wright; studied admiralty law under Professor David W. Robertson.
White Papers
- Most of us are interested in leading a meaningful life, a “successful” life. We are interested in succeeding professionally, personally, and spiritually. We want to ensure that when we look back on the arc of our lives and the end of our days that we can feel like we succeeded in what we set out to do. But how do you even know if you “succeeded” in any real sense of the word? How do you define and measure success? If you play sports, it’s easy. Whoever scores the most points or has the lowest score to par or gets the highest ranking or wins the national championship clearly “succeeded” at what they set out to do. If you take a test at school and get an “A,” then clearly you’ve succeeded there as well. When we get away from specific, measurable events like sports or tests or similar things, however, defining success gets more difficult. And because it gets harder to define, it’s also harder to know whether you’ve succeeded or not. So how do you define success in your life? I used to think success was about how many dollars you accumulated or how famous you became or how many toys you bought or how many medals and awards you won. Not anymore. To me, success is more about trying to figure out what I value most – family, friendship, learning, helping other people – and then trying to be better at the things I value. I know I’ve succeeded when I’ve devoted time and effort to what I value most. This book is a compilation of my essays on success. I hope they inspire you. When you read the second edition, you will find three sections – Mindset, Organize, and Strategy. I believe you need to get into a success-oriented mindset to be able to implement success strategies in your personal and professional life and have organized this book to help you get in the success mindset so you can put success strategies to work right away., Success, 2015
- Get the guide the insurance companies don’t want you to have The one thing we’ve learned in two decades of helping people fight insurance companies is that the insurance industry will do whatever it takes to avoid paying your claim. In order to avoid paying you just and fair compensation for your claim, the insurance industry has come up with an extensive and ridiculous collection of tricks and traps to make you give up and go away. Or to make you sign away your legal rights. Or to get you to agree to a settlement that covers only a fraction of your bills. We wrote the book on beating the insurance company Dealing with insurance adjusters, injury claims, insurance claims, hospital bills, collections agencies, is a problem most people never have to face. And every insurance company knows this – what’s worse, they use your ignorance to their advantage. We don’t think that’s fair to you. That’s why we wrote this insider’s guide to winning your case. We’ve taken every question asked of us over the years, every situation clients have found themselves in, and every trick we’ve seen insurance companies play and compiled them into one book. How to Win Your Injury Case is the book the insurance industry doesn’t want you to read. This book is the definitive guide to winning your case – keep it handy so you can refer to it whenever you have a question. This is information you need now. Which is why we’re offering it to you for free. In addition to walking you through what to expect every step of the way, we’ve included stories of people who didn’t consult us soon enough or who didn’t follow our advice. These cautionary tales are in there to help you spot the red flags and warning signs that the insurance company is trying to trick you. Here’s the clincher – nobody else is doing this. It’s a no-brainer to us, though. You need this crucial information to win your case, but nobody is willing to give you the inside scoop on how you can actually do that. Except for us. We know from over two decades of helping people that when you have the information you need to win your case, you do. Knowledge is power. Power we want you to have. If you have any questions after reading our insider’s guide, give us a call or send us an email. This process can feel overwhelming at times, which is why we’re happy to answer all of your questions for you for free., How to Win Your Injury Case, 2012
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Brian Beckcom authored this Texas Law Review article examining federal supplemental jurisdiction and the tolling of state statutes of limitations. The United States cited the article in footnote 13 of its merits brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Raygor v. Regents of the University of Minnesota. The linked Department of Justice brief documents the citation., Author, Pushing the Limits of the Judicial Power: Tolling State Statutes of Limitations Under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(d), Texas Law Review, 77 Tex. L. Rev. 1049 (1999), 1999
Other Outstanding Achievements
- Host, Lessons from LeadersBrian Beckcom hosts conversations with accomplished people about leadership, decision-making, adversity, and performance. The podcast reflects his continuing study of preparation, communication, and judgment under pressure.
Honors
- Selected to Texas Super Lawyers in 2015–2023 and 2026. Selected to Texas Rising Stars in 2008–2012., Texas Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers, 2026
Industry Groups
- Commercial Trucking
- Industrial Operations
- Maritime
- Oil And Gas
Office location for Brian Beckcom
1220 Augusta Drive
Suite 240
Houston, TX 77057
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2015 - 2023, 2026
- Rising Stars: 2008 - 2012