Representative Cases

The following are examples of the kind of cases that our firm has handled with resolution in the millions of dollars (seven figures) and hundreds of thousands of dollars (six figures).

AUTO ACCIDENTS:

Injuries:

1. A 29 year old man, a passenger in a van, hit by a left turning 18-wheel truck, sustained brain damage, totally disabled. The result: seven figures
2. A 71 year old woman, who was driving home, was hit by a bus that ran a red light. Sustained serious back injuries, including a ruptured disc. Had prior back problems but needed surgery. Result: six figures
3. 45 year old man struck by a left turning automobile, fractured his left knee and left arm, requiring multiple surgeries. He was disabled for two years. Result: six figures

Wrongful Death:

1. Other driver went over center line and hit client's car head-on. Driver and two passengers were killed. Family filed suit for wrongful death and personal injuries. Result: seven figures
2. Family of four - mother, father, and two children-crossed street in front of school on to "Back to School" night. Car struck 6 year old daughter, who was killed, and father, who was seriously injured. Our investigation determined that prior accidents had occurred at this intersection. Neighbors and school officials had asked on many occasions to have a signal installed to protect pedestrians. Wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit filed against county road department for dangerous public road condition. After we won an appeal against the county, the case settled one week before trial was scheduled to begin. Result: seven figures

TRUCK ACCIDENTS:

Injuries:

1. 35 year old man spotting the tractor of an 18-wheeler as it was backing up was crushed as a result of the negligent operation of the tractor by the truck driver. Client sustained serious crush injuries to a leg. Totally disabled. Trucking expert determined that the company failed to properly train its drivers. Result: seven figures
2. 30 year old man, a passenger in a van struck by a left turning truck of a delivery company. Large impact, causing passenger to strike his head on the back of the seat in front, causing brain hemorrhage and severe brain damage. Partial paralysis, alteration of speech, thinking abilities, permanently disabled from working. Result: seven figures
3. 39 year old woman driving her car, stopped at a stop sign at an intersection, intending to turn right, when an 18-wheeler ran over her car. Sustained serious low back injuries, underwent disc surgery, large medical bills. Disabled for three years. Result: six figures

Wrongful Death:

1. 42 year old husband and father killed when a truck driver fell asleep at the wheel of his truck, which struck husband, causing father injuries. Through our investigation we were able to establish liability against employer of the driver as they worked him excessive hours and falsified DOT logs. Wife and children sued the trucking company and showed a pattern of falsification of logs and excessive hours worked, causing drivers to be fatigued. Result: seven figures
2. An 18-wheeler truck struck new motor home being driven by a 66 year old grandfather/father/husband, accompanied by passengers, including his 6 year old granddaughter. As the motor home overturned, the left door came off of its frame. Grandfather was ejected and killed and granddaughter lost her leg. Result: seven figures

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

Injuries:

1. A 6 year old boy had meat lodged in his lung. Surgeon performing a procedure called bronchoscopy attempted to remove it. When it got stuck in the windpipe, the surgeon panicked and allowed it to remain there so long as to cause the boy to be deprived of oxygen. The child sustained major brain damage and became vegetative, needing 24 hour care. Result: seven figures
2. 50 year old man underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder. Anesthesiologist intubated his windpipe instead of his air pipe by mistake and failed to recognize the signs that the oxygen tube was in the wrong place. The patient was deprived of oxygen for a long period of time, causing profound brain damage. He is now blind, unable to talk, is partially paralyzed, and totally disabled. Result: seven figures
3. 55 year old woman had an arthritic bone growth in her neck, threatening to interfere with the spinal cord. She went in for neck surgery performed by an HMO neurosurgeon who had not performed many of these surgeries. As a result of his negligent surgical approach, the patient became total quadriplegic, ventilator dependent, and totally disabled. Result: seven figures
4. During childbirth, OB used a surgical suction device to deliver baby and fractured his skill, causing profound brain damage. Baby/child is developmentally disabled, cannot walk, talks with great difficulty. Result: seven figures

Wrongful Death:

1. 40 year old hospital nurse underwent surgery to remove gall bladder and after surgery, for pain, was put on a morphine pump. As a result of nursing lack of monitoring and misadjustment of the morphine pump, the patient overdosed and died. She was survived by husband and three children, whose wrongful death action was filed against the hospital that employed the nurses. Result: seven figures
2. A 58 year old president of a foreign bank came to the United States for open heart surgery. During the course of the surgery, the anesthesiologist intubated the food pipe instead of the windpipe, thus depriving the patient of oxygen and he died on the table, leaving adult children and a wife in the foreign county. A wrongful death case was brought. Result: seven figures
3. 50 year old man had a swelling in his neck, left side, diagnosed as an infection of one of his neck glands. The ears, nose, and throat specialist doctor put him on antibiotics and failed to recognize that he needed a work up for more serious disease. At the end of ten months, it was discovered that the patient suffered from undiagnosed and progressing non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which went on to kill him as a result of his doctor's negligence. His wife and adult children asserted a claim for wrongful death. Result: seven figures

PRODUCTS LIABILITY

1. 25 year old machine operator caught his hand on a conveyor belt. As he was trying to fix the machine, because it did not have a safety turn off valve, got his hand caught in the machine which took a good part of his hand off. Large medical bills, total disability. Result: seven figures
2. 29 year old man working for a newspaper on a calendar stack machine with in-rolling pinch rollers, walking on a catwalk, slipped and because of the absence of a guard, got his foot caught, resulting in an above-knee amputation of his left leg. Result: seven figures

AVIATION

1. Major airline passenger plane taking off from an Asian airport on a wrong runway containing construction equipment which the pilot hit, causing it to crash and burn. Clients' 30 year old son/brother was killed. Wrongful death claim versus the airline and the airport. Result: seven figures
2. Pilot took client's 23 year old daughter, among other passengers, up for a joy ride over the Santa Monica bay in his 6-passenger Cessna airplane. Pilot was not instrument rated, flew into clouds, became disoriented, crashed. Daughter killed, for which her parents asserted a wrongful death claim. Result: seven figures

SLIP AND FALL CASES

1. 32 year old woman on the porch of a business that was wet and had not been swept, slipped and sustained an injury to her chest, ribs, and went on to develop reflex sympathetic dystrophy which is a major neurologic injury that is lifelong and disabling. Result: six figures
2. 60 year old lady coming out of a movie theater fell after walking over soapy water on a tile floor that had leaked from a floor cleaning machine. She sustained a fractured hip which had to be surgically repaired and may need total hip reconstruction. Failure of theater to maintain inspection and cleanse floors. Result: six figures

DOG BITE CASES:

1. A 7 year old boy, playing with neighbor's child in front of his home, was attacked by two German Shepherds that bit off his scalp. Many reconstruction surgeries required. Suffered extensive pain and suffering. Result: seven figures
2. Attractive 17 year old high school girl attacked by a Pit Bull that left a disfiguring scar on her lower leg, requiring several reconstruction surgeries and leaving permanent scarring. Result: six figures

ELDER ABUSE

1. 82 year old woman with dementia was placed at a skilled nursing facility (formerly called convalescent hospitals) near Long Beach, California, after surgery. Nursing staff failed to respond to her when she rang the alarm for assistance. She slipped and fell in her bathroom, fracturing a hip. Result: six figures
2. 77 year old woman was a patient in a well-known hospital. Despite her agitation, medical providers failed to utilize any type of restraint. She fell out of bed and sustained a femoral fracture. In addition, during recovery she developed decubitus sores as the nursing staff failed to turn her every few hours. The claim was tried in arbitration as the client had signed an arbitration agreement. Result: six figures