Eagle Pass sits at a pivotal point in Texas, where federal and state agencies have long worked together to secure the U.S.-Mexican border. But in January 2022, a routine undocumented alien (UDA) transport ended in tragedy when a Customs and Border Protection tactical unit pickup truck, operating in violation of national safety standards, overturned on a ranch road and fatally injured Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Special Agent Anthony Salas and injured four of the six UDA’s also being transported.
Salas, a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran, first-born child of his parents, loving spouse of 18 years to his high school sweetheart and father of three minors, was airlifted to a San Antonio trauma hospital, where he later died after life support was withdrawn, with his family by his side. The Salas family turned to Daniel J.T. Sciano, CEO and President of Tinsman & Sciano, Inc. and Associate Attorney Aaron Valadez, for justice in taking on the federal government to prove liability. Sciano’s practice has long focused on catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims, including Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) cases, and his track record of securing favorable resolutions is largely unmatched – particularly against the federal government.
For example, in 2023, Sciano and a team of other firms made national headlines by jointly securing a $270 million FTCA judgment against the United States of America following the largest mass shooting in Texas at the Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in 2017, which resulted in 26 deaths. This result was only the most recent of numerous recoveries secured throughout Sciano’s career when taking on governmental agencies and corporate wrongdoers.
“This was not a run-of-the-mill wrongful death claim, and Customs and Border Protection disregarded mandatory safety rules designed to prevent exactly this kind of tragedy,” notes Sciano, who was named a 2024 Texas Watch “Champion of Justice” and received the 2025 National Board of Trial Advocacy “President’s Award.”
The fatality sent shockwaves through state and national offices. Former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote a letter to Salas’ family describing the fallen DPS trooper as a Texas hero, and Salas was publicly recognized as such by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Furthermore, State Senator Cesar J. Blanco, a member of the Texas Senate, honored his bravery and “ultimate sacrifice” on the Senate floor in a formal resolution of tribute.
Sciano filed suit on behalf of the family and tried the case to judgment in federal court in the summer of 2025. U.S. District Judge David Briones, a lifetime-appointed Article III Judge for the Western District of Texas in El Paso, Texas heard the case and issued a final judgment awarding a total of $45.6 million to compensate the Salas family for their individual losses.
“The judgment accurately reflects the value of Salas’ rich and purposeful life,” Sciano says. “It also provides compensation for Anthony’s conscious pain and mental suffering just prior to his passing, and the mental anguish and loss of companionship and society suffered by his parents, wife and children.”
Following the result, the government appealed the case to the Fifth Circuit, where Sciano continues to fight for the Salas family in the second quarter of 2026. Sciano’s decades of success in trucking litigation and FTCA disputes uniquely position him to advocate for the Salas family, as he is Double Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury & Civil Trial Law and Triple Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) in Civil Trial Law, Civil Practice Advocacy and Truck Accident Law. This level of expertise is extremely rare. In Texas, less than 1% of licensed lawyers are Double Board-Certified.
Sciano acknowledged that his advocacy was driven by the emotional depth of the tragedy, especially since Salas was only 37 years old at the time of his passing. In addition to his admirable career in the military, Salas was described as the rock of his family.
“This was one of the most emotionally taxing cases of my career,” notes Sciano, who Best Lawyers® named as the San Antonio “Lawyer of the Year” in 2010 and 2012 for Personal Injury Litigation–Plaintiffs. “The family lost an incredibly strong and beloved member – as did the law enforcement community – and the government forced them to relive this tragedy with each motion and delay. This grieving family wants closure, and our firm is providing the utmost respect and compassion as we progress toward final resolution.”
