Trucking Accident
$1 million settlement: our client's mother was killed when she was rear-ended by a big rig on Highway 101 near Windsor, and pushed into an SUV. Both passengers of the SUV also died, so the insurance proceeds had to be divided in a fair manner. We successfully argued that in our client's Pomo culture, it is not unusual for a young man to live at home into his mid-30's, thereby increasing his economic damages and his share of the settlement.
Dog Bite
We obtained a $100,000 settlement for a client who was bitten by a dog. The defendant's insurance company claimed our client had provoked the dog, but we proved that the dog was badly treated by its owner, who kept the German Shepard confined to a small space every day, resulting in its bad temper and behavior. Our client was unemployed, had only $741 in medical bills, and did not need plastic surgery, so the bulk of the settlement was for his pain and suffering.
Wrongful Death
Interesting case: our client was in the middle of divorce proceedings with her husband when he was killed in a trucking accident. We represented her (and her daughter) in a wrongful death action against both the trucking company that employed the negligent truck driver and the paper company that overloaded the truck, and successfully argued that since California law presumes that a divorcing couple will reconcile, the pending divorce was irrelevant. A settlement of $750,000 was obtained at a two day mediation on the eve of trial.
Drunk Driving Case
These are always emotional cases for our clients, but this one was particularly hard. Our client was rear-ended in San Rafael, on his way home from work. The impact pushed his sedan into an SUV in front of him, so he felt a second big impact. Then he was rear-ended again, and pushed into the SUV again. Then it happened again, and he was pushed into the SUV again, so he actually felt six (6) separate impacts. At this point, he thought someone was trying to kill him. What was happening was that the drunk driver was trying to disentangle his Mercedes from our client's vehicle so he could get away. He was eventually apprehended by passersby and arrested. He served no jail time, but we obtained a settlement of $560,000, part of which was paid by the drunk driver, part by his insurance carrier. Our client had suffered damage to his knee and had two surgeries to repair the problem.
"No Damage" Auto Accident in Hawaii
Our client was injured while on vacation in Maui. The bumper on the vehicle she was a passenger in had no damage; the other vehicle had no damage either. However, we successfully argued that she was an "eggshell" plaintiff because she'd had her first ribs removed 20 years prior for a thoracic outlet condition, which led to her vulnerability in the shoulder area. She had two torn rotator cuffs as a result of the accident, which were not discovered right away by her doctors. We obtained a settlement of $185,000 for her, after obtaining a license to practice in the Hawaiian Federal Court.
30 Years of Future Chiropractic
Sometimes you just have to try the case. When our client came in to our office, she had already tried to settle her case with the insurance company. Even though she had over $10,000 in medical bills, and had been rear-ended by the defendant, they refused to pay her offer of $18,000. We took the case but told her we wanted to make the same offer again, in a more formal way (under CCP §998). She agreed, and we did so. They still refused to pay so we went to trial. The jury awarded our client a total of $68,836, which included 30 years of future chiropractic care. Because we had made the §998 offer, we were also able to collect 10% interest and our costs, which resulted in a better outcome for our client.
Slip and Fall, Not Medical Malpractice
Our client went in to a hospital in San Francisco for neck surgery; this was her 8th spinal surgery for a longstanding back and neck problem. Three days after the surgery, she was taken downstairs for an MRI because she was still experiencing pain. On the way back to her room, the orderly parked her gurney in the hallway and left her side to talk to a co-worker. For reasons no one could ever explain, the gurney collapsed, catapulting our client into the air. She landed in a sitting position and felt immediate pain like a lightning bolt up her spine.
This case came to our office in mid-litigation as the client was frustrated with her attorney's insistence that she settle for a pittance. The case had been filed as a medical malpractice case, but we felt that it was an ordinary negligence case. With our client's consent, we re-filed the case, taking out the medical malpractice allegations. Still, the defendant only offered $17,000 prior to trial. The jury heard testimony from the Chief of Neurosurgery at the hospital that she had not been injured in the fall, but sided with our expert and we obtained a verdict of $185,000 for our client ($35,000 for medical bills, $150,000 for pain and suffering.)
