After three and a half years of legal battle, former Amazon worker, Regina, has finally secured court confirmation of a $2.51 million arbitration award — a result Amazon fought to prevent, even after championing arbitration as a fair alternative to court.
Ms. Regina, a warehouse employee at an Amazon Fresh facility in Fort Worth, was struck twice in the back by industrial carts on the job — resulting in spinal injuries that ultimately required surgery and forced her out of the workforce. Amazon, as a non-subscriber under Texas law, had opted out of workers’ compensation and instead forced her claims into arbitration through a mandatory employment agreement.
What followed was years of delay and procedural maneuvering. After a final merits hearing held in January 2025 at Bennett Legal’s Dallas office, the arbitrator issued a detailed 14-page award holding Amazon responsible for failing to maintain a safe workplace. The ruling awarded Regina $2.51 million.
The arbitrator noted that the injuries occurred not once, but twice, due to Amazon’s own workers failing to look out while rushing and faulted the company’s safety enforcement and training practices.
“This never should have happened,” the arbitrator wrote. “The evidence showed Ms. Regina could work without limitation before these incidents and has been unable to work since.”
Amazon’s Flip-Flop: “Fairness” Only When It Wins
After spending years insisting arbitration was the correct and fair forum, Amazon abruptly reversed course the moment it lost. In filings and emails, Amazon’s lawyers accused Bennett Legal of “bullying the arbitrator” — a charge as baseless as it is revealing.
In private correspondence, Amazon even invited Regina’s attorney to join it in attacking the arbitration process, calling it “illegitimate” — despite the company’s own insistence that arbitration was mandatory and proper.
Charles Bennett, Managing Attorney at Bennett Legal, responded:
“Amazon got exactly the process it demanded — and lost. Now it wants a do-over. But Ms. Regina has waited long enough. This award is just, it’s final, and it’s time for Amazon to pay what it owes.”
The Path Forward
After filing a motion to modify the award, Amazon continued to resist payment even as the statutory timeline for judicial review expired. A Dallas court confirmed the full award, including pre- and post-judgment interest .
Amazon has now announced that it will pay the full amount, totaling over $2.5 million, including post-judgment interest through May 2025 .
But the case stands as a warning: corporations like Amazon who push workers out of court and into private arbitration must be held to the outcomes of those proceedings — win or lose.
Regina fought for years. She endured surgery. She lost her job. But this award — and this confirmation — mark a powerful reminder: justice is still possible, even
