Meet Kenneth Cody, Winner of the Plattner Verderame Civil Justice Scholarship

Plattner Verderame, P.C., would like to congratulate Kenneth W. Cody, the 2018 winner of the Plattner Verderame Civil Justice Scholarship. Mr. Cody is currently enrolled at Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where he is a 1L student.

Mr. Cody is one of nine children, born and raised in Georgia. Before enrolling in law school, he completed a degree in Political Science at Texas Wesleyan University – but the story of how we arrived there is what led us to choose Mr. Cody as this year’s recipient.

The path to pursuing justice

In 2009, Kenneth Cody was working as a motorhand on an oil rig in Arlington, Texas. His role was to ensure that the rig was operating smoothly. At the start of his shift, he and his crew were performing pressure tests, and his driller told him to go to the bottom of the rig and release a valve, to alleviate some pressure the driller thought was building in the line. This part of the rig, called the cellar, is the filthiest part of the entire mechanism, filled with residue and stagnant water, with a stench so potent you could taste it.

Mr. Cody struggled to release the valve, which was stuck tight in place. When he told his driller that the valve was stuck, he was ordered to try harder and move faster. As Mr. Cody puts it:

“For leverage and additional strength, I positioned my left knee on the ledge of the cellar, placed both hands on the 48-inch pipe wrench, and pulled with brute force. Suddenly, as if dynamite had been discharged next to my eardrum, 3,500 psi of pressure blew out of the steel bolt. The water’s force overpowered me and pushed me into the cellar. I recall being disoriented from the noise and not being able to hear anything for at least thirty seconds. I had to pull myself out of the cellar and crawl ten feet to try and escape the gushing, six-foot-deep, water. I laid down and took deep breaths to try and regain my composure, while the rest of my crew, startled by the noise and loss of pressure, ran down to the cellar. My crew mate pointed out to me that there was blood gushing from my left knee, where a steel bolt had gone completely through it.”

Mr. Cody thought that the only remedy was workers’ compensation, which he took – but it left him feeling unsettled. The driller, it turns out, had not followed proper protocol, and had tested positive for drugs – and that the company had overlooked previous failed drug tests, allowing the driller to remain in his supervisory position. In Mr. Cody’s mind, it seemed wrong that the owner of the company and the driller were both negligent, and yet no one was being held accountable.

It was only later that Mr. Cody learned he could have taken a different course of action against the company and the driller – but by then, the seeds had been sown. Kenneth Cody’s experiences inspired him to go to law school, so he could help injured men and women seek justice for themselves, and ensure that negligent parties were held accountable for their actions.

We believe that Kenneth Cody is an inspiration, too. When we founded out law frim in 1991, we did so because we wanted to help give a voice to those who had none. We work every day to keep our civil justice system strong, so that wrongdoers are held to account for their actions. In order to continue in this work, we need to make sure that a new generation of attorneys will fight for those same ideals. This is why we founded the annual Plattner Verderame Civil Justice Scholarship: so we could help passionate law students throughout the country pick up the torch of justice.

We want to wish Kenneth Cody a warm “Congratulations!” once again. We expect great things from him.