Personal Injury – Settlement – $8,500,000
Mother and daughter hit head on by Cal Trans truck in Mendocino County. Major injuries with lengthy hospitalizations, surgeries, home care, needing attendant care in the future. Settled in April, 2016.
Wrongful Death from Motorcycle Collision – $2,500,000
A tragic motorcycle versus truck collision occurred in Sonoma, California, causing the death of the motorcyclist. He was survived by his wife and three children. The collision was caused when a truck, driven by the defendant, started out from a private drive and across a two lane highway directly into the motorcyclist’s path. Not only was the defendant truck driver’s maneuver reckless, but his truck was in a defective condition with broken side lights which might have given the decedent advance notice of the movement of the truck into the highway. The family settlement provided compensation for the loss of financial support from the decedent and loss of companionship, society and comfort.
Mobile Fire – $3,100,000 – One year old infant suffering numerous amputations – injuries
A fire to a mobile home, started by faulty wiring, caused catastrophic injury to a one year old who was rescued from the fire. The infant suffered extensive fire burn injuries, ultimately suffering numerous amputations, loss of her nose, ears, and hands. The case was fought by the manufacturer of the mobile home, blaming the fire on candles left burning in the residence. This case settled for 3.1 million dollars. The money recovered was put into annuities to protect the plaintiff.
Product Liability – Settlement – $2,500,000
Plaintiff was a 25 year old woman who took a supplement that was advertised as a health aid. The product, manufactured by a Japanese company, ultimately was found to be contaminated. The plaintiff suffered from a condition known as EMS, suffering significant disability.
Bad Faith Denial of Disability Insurance Payments – $1,800,000
Defendant insurance carrier, a nationwide provider of longterm disability insurance, refused to pay a disability claim brought by our client. The client was disabled due to severe emotional problems which began in childhood, but became debilitating later in life. The client was a self-employed professional who purchased the policy specifically to protect against the loss of income in the event of disability. The policy covered mental and emotional disabilities, but the insurance company refused to pay the claim, arguing that the emotional and mental problems of the client were not severe enough to be disabling. Settlement was reached at private mediation which avoided the trauma the client would have experienced in going through a protracted trial. The insurance company agreed to pay $1,000,000 more than the total of the disability benefits through the balance of the client’s work life expectancy.
Wrongful Death Caused in Motorcycle vs. Truck Collision – $1,750,000
The father of four adult children was killed on Old Redwood Highway, just north of Santa Rosa, when a semi-truck, driven by the defendant, pulled out unexpectedly from a stop sign and into the path of the father’s motorcycle. The children brought a wrongful death action against the truck driver and his employer. The truck driver claimed he looked carefully before pulling out, but never saw the motorcycle approaching. Defendants also produced a witness who claimed to have seen the motorcycle speeding and weaving recklessly through traffic just prior to the collision. Building on the investigation by the California Highway Patrol, plaintiffs were able to substantially impeach the defendant’s witness, and show that the truck driver failed to properly scan the road before pulling out. Plaintiffs sought damages for loss of the companionship, society, comfort, and emotional support of their father.
Medical Malpractice – $1,500,000 – Settlement – Misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer
Plaintiff was a 47 year old woman, who suffered from advanced stage breast cancer. Mammograms taken at least 2.5 years before her diagnosis were misread, which showed early stages of breast cancer. Earlier treatment would have led to the plaintiff’s cure from such cancer.
Kaiser Medical Malpractice – $1,426,000
Kaiser failed to diagnose and treat our client’s high blood pressure, leading to the client suffering a stroke. The client was left with significant physical and mental dysfunctions, including speech and language disabilities and decreased use of the left arm and leg. There was no lost income, as the client was not working at the time of the incident. Settlement was reached at private mediation, reflecting the future medical bills and compensation for loss of function.
Jury Verdict – $1,050,000 – Medical Malpractice
Plaintiff was an ex-pro football player who underwent shoulder surgery. While under general anesthesia, the positioning device used during the surgery became detached from the operating room table, so that the plaintiff’s upper body hyperextended with his lower torso held fast to the operating room table by straps. He suffered head, neck and back injuries. The hospital blamed the incident on the positioning device, claiming that it was defective. The jury came back with a unanimous verdict against the hospital.
Medical Malpractice for Injury to Child During Birth – $1,400,000
Defendant hospital and physician’s failure to properly monitor or detect fetal distress during labor and delivery caused hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, a condition characterized by brain damage due to lack of oxygen. During the lawsuit, we discovered that the defendant hospital employees had changed the key medical entries of the child’s distress, attempting to avoid legal responsibility. This case settled for $1,400,000.
Fen-Phen Diet Drug Settlement – $1,000,000
We represented an individual claimant in a case for injuries arising out of the use of the diet drug popularly referred to as “Fen-Phen,” a combination of Phentermine and Pondimin. The client took this diet drug for approximately 11 months on a daily basis. Subsequently, she suffered significant adverse effects and complications, including significant fatigue, chest pain, and depression. This case was settled outside of the nationwide class action settlement, resulting in substantially higher compensation to the client.
Medical Malpractice for Cerebral Palsy – Fetal Injury Failure to Perform Cesarean Section – $1,000,000
Defendant hospital and physician’s failure to properly monitor or detect fetal distress during labor and delivery caused hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, a condition characterized by brain damage due to lack of oxygen. This case settled for the defendants’ insurance policy limits of $1,000,000.
Medical Malpractice – $900,000 – Failure to Diagnose Impending Stroke
Plaintiff suffered post-partem complications after giving birth. Her doctor failed to notice the signs and symptoms of an impending stroke. Plaintiff suffered strokes resulting in brain damage and disability.
Medical Malpractice for Failure to Diagnose and Treat Breast Cancer – $900,000
We brought a medical negligence action against Kaiser for its failure to appropriately biopsy, diagnose, and timely treat the client’s breast cancer, resulting in a substantial decrease in the chance of survival. The case settled at private mediation.
ERISA Claim for Denial of Longterm Disability Benefits – $761,500
The client, a Parkinson’s sufferer, was denied longterm disability benefits under his employer-sponsored disability plan. Such plans are governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), a federal law which significantly restricts the rights of claimants and the damages that can be recovered. The insurance carrier refused to pay benefits, arguing that the client’s Parkinson’s Disease was not severe enough to prevent him from performing his job as a computer programmer, a sedentary occupation which did not require significant physical activities. Through the creative use of videotaped interviews with the client and others, as well as a careful analysis of the medical records, we were able to secure this substantial settlement for the client.
Motor Vehicle Collision – $604,012
The client suffered a debilitating Achilles tendon injury when he struck the vehicle in front of him while it was attempting to make an illegal U-turn in the middle of the road. The case was complicated by the fact that the Achilles tendon injury did not become apparent until nearly three months after the collision. The insurance company refused to acknowledge the injury, claiming that it had nothing to do with the motor vehicle collision. A verdict was obtained in favor of the client at binding arbitration.
Medical Malpractice Arising from Negligently Performed Back Surgery – $600,000
The client suffered nerve damage when the orthopedic surgeon negligently performed a thoracoscopic discectomy, causing pain, loss of strength, and decreased function in the client’s legs. The case was complicated by the lack of direct medical evidence as to how the injury occurred. The surgeon made several mistakes during the course of the surgery, including the incorrect placement of a screw and the commencement of the procedure at the wrong vertebral level. However, the precise mechanism of injury to plaintiff’s nerves could not be identified, and the defense argued that the surgery was free of negligence. The matter settled at private mediation.
Motor Vehicle Collision – $600,000
The client suffered rib fractures and a left hip fracture when he was struck from behind by a large semi-tractor trailer in Mendocino County.
Motor Vehicle Collision – $550,000
The client was struck in a multi-vehicle collision, suffering cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder, neck and back pain, and a closed head injury (internal brain trauma), resulting in memory deficits and cognitive problems.
Medical Malpractice Resulting in a Wrongful Death – $500,000
The family of the decedent brought an action against Kaiser for a wrongful death arising out of Kaiser’s failure to timely treat the decedent who complained of chest pain and suffered a cardiac arrest approximately 76 minutes after arriving at the Kaiser Santa Rosa emergency room. Due to state law limiting the amount of damages that can be recovered in a medical malpractice action, recovery was limited to $500,000.