Personal Injury / Wrongful Death

$10.1 million
Case Details: This judgment for 12 year-old Rasheed Hilson was entered in July, 2009 after 15 days of trial before Hon. Leslie Nichols, Santa Clara County Superior Court after the defendant's insurance company, Amica Mutual Insurance, refused to pay its $50,000 policy to put to rest this youngster's severe injury claims, including brain damage, hemiplegia, and multiple fractures. On November 14, 2007, Rasheed left the Morrill Middle School on Cropley Avenue, San Jose, and raced down the driveway, intent on catching a bus. A typical 12 year-old, he thoughtlessly ran into the street and into the path of a car traveling at 35 mph. The San Jose Police Department concluded the speed limit was 35 mph because the crash occurred at 4:30 pm and the school had closed at 2:30 pm. The police department failed to inquire why six witnesses to the event were 11 and 12 year-olds. Had they asked the police would have learned that an interschool basketball game was underway in the school's gym and according to the testimony of the school principal, the Morrill Middle School was in operation at 4:30 pm. Rasheed suffered profoundly severe injuries, which are permanent and which will require lifelong care. Tried by Richard Alexander and Jeff Rickard. As a result of this case both were named Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers of the Year 2008.
In-depth details. Hilson v. Tran, Santa Clara County Superior Court.

$15.5 million
Case Details: 37 year old apprentice technician, employed by Fluor Corporation, contracted by IBM to service its high voltage electrical equipment, suffered severe electrical burn injuries when he was sent to find a replacement part from a power station that was "locked off" and marked "out of service", within the presence of an IBM engineer and his supervisor. When the apprentice applied his wrench, 12,400 volts exploded causing burns to 60% of his body.
McNabb v. IBM, Santa Clara County Superior Court

$5,200,000
Case Details: Insurance bad faith and injury recovery collected for a wonderful San Jose couple who suffered a severe head injury and facial and orthopedic fractures, including the loss of an eye, in a head-on collision at the Cats intersection on Route 17, Los Gatos, California. When a southbound and under-insured Jeep [$100,000/$300,000 GEICO policy], slowed to make an illegal u-turn, which the investigating Highway Patrol officer described as "suicidal," a Housing Authority police officer driving 15 mph hour over the speed limit punched the Jeep forward and across three lanes of northbound traffic into the plaintiffs car. Focus groups concluded that 90% of the cause of the crash was the Jeep. When we described the Jeep as being "cocked" and the police car "pulling the trigger," the Housing Authority was found 90% at fault.

$1.2 million
Case Details: Record recovery in Butte County, CA for the wrongful death of a 65 year old man who was struck by a delivery truck when after he was stopped in heavy smog caused by fog and vapor from underground fires at Pacific Oroville's wood chip pile.
Perkins v. Pacific Oroville Power, et al, Butte County Superior

$1.0 million
Case Details: Leader of the Palo Alto Police Department's SWAT Team sustained injuries caused by an ambulance making an illegal u-turn in front of his motorcycle on Embarcadero Road, causing a broadside crash. Despite multiple fractures, a miraculous recovery allowed this veteran police officer to return to his job in one year.
Herrera v. American Medical Response, Santa Clara County Superior Court

$1.3 million
Case Details: Wrongful death of a 19 year old man caused by a driver violating a stop sign and crashing into his vehicle. Driver's insurance carrier refused to settle this claim for policy limits before suit was filed and paid. Recovered $1.2 million in addition to the $100,000 insurance policy to put to rest all claims as a result of the insurance company's mismanagement.
Stewart v. Edgmon, Santa Clara County Superior Court

$1.0 million
Case Details: Bill Johansen, a 50 year old carpenter for 30 years, was working as a foreman on a construction project at the City of Santa Clara's Silicon Valley electrical power project when an uncontrolled crane struck 115,000-volt lines. Bill was 20 feet from the tower crane's grounding rod when the blast and a ball of fire exploded that aggravated previous on-the-job back injuries and left him with vertigo that ended his construction career, but still allowed him to drive, shop, perform chores at home and return to other employment. The defendants hired investigators to videotape Bill shopping, but the top Northern California Ear, Nose and Throat doctor specializing in balance from University of California, San Francisco, confirmed Bill's injury.
Johansen v. Marelich Mechanical. Santa Clara County Superior Court

$4.0 million
Case Details: Donald Coca, a passenger in a car stopped for a vehicle code violation, suffered severe injuries to his face from a shotgun that went off after it had been placed on his shoulder by a San Jose Police Officer who was riding along with the California Highway Patrol.
Coca v. California Highway Patrol and City of San Jose

$7.5 million
Case Details: Represented five families in wrongful death actions against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) arising from a defectively designed scaffolding system in a 500' vertical shaft which failed at PG&E's Helm's Creek hydroelectric facility in Fresno. The surviving families received over $25 million in settlement and benefits over their lifetimes.

$750,000
Case Details: 47 year old mother and her 10 year old son suffered serious personal injuries when the brakes on a heavy dump truck failed on a steep down grade. The truck, operated by Premier Pools, Inc. of Rancho Cordova, crashed through a red light and knocked unconscious both mother and son.
Sandoval v. Premier Pools, Inc. Sacramento County Superior Court

$350,000
Case Details: Tao Cheung Wong, grandmother of Michelle Chow, age 3, and Thomas Chow, age 6, was holding each child by the hand as she departed Walgreens in Alameda and was crossing the sidewalk at the Taco Bell on Webster Street. A departing Taco Bell customer struck Michelle, causing a serious head injury. Our lawsuit alleged that the placement of the Taco Bell building and driveway and the city's street trees forced drivers to advance across the sidewalk while looking to the left to gauge traffic and ignoring pedestrians on the right.
Chow v. Taco Bell, City of Alameda and Sergio Baez, Alameda County Superior Court.

$450,000
Case Details: 50 year old operating engineer employed as a tower crane operator, member of the National Ski Patrol and motorcyclist, suffered personal injuries when he encountered unswept gravel left on a freeway entrance by a county contractor and lost control of his motorcycle, a Yamaha FZ1. His loss of consciousness, a sprained thumb and shoulder blow were "shaken off" by the defendants. The loss of consciousness was not reported on his first medical visit later that afternoon and no police report was requested of the officer who came by the scene. Cell phone photographs confirmed the gravel and the officer, who had moved to Hawaii, was flown back for deposition. First lawyer recommended $35,000 settlement.
Barker v. County of Santa Clara and Graham Contractors

$2.3 million
Case Details: Wrongful death of a husband and father caused by a drunk driver.
Sollfrank v. Mid-Cal Farms

$2,250,000
Case Details: As co-counsel for plaintiff in Cunningham v. Shortstop, quadrupled offer to plaintiff's attorney resulting in recovery of $1.5 million in cash, plus an annuity of $40,000 for a brain-damaged teenager injured by a teenage driver who was intoxicated on illegally sold beer. First contacted six days before trial. At the initial pre-trial conference, the defendant insurance company lawyers disclosed a pathologist would be testifying who had died nine months earlier, along with two other experts. Obviously the defendant insurance company's lawyers were lying. Those experts were retained that evening and that action forced a settlement on the third day of jury selection.
Cunningham v. Shortstop, Marin County Superior Court

$1.75 million
Case Details: Plaintiffs suffered multiple fractures and head injuries when an escapee from the California Youth Authority, driving a stolen car, violated a red light fleeing from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and collided with the plaintiffs' car. Issue disputed was whether the CHP had activated its siren to warn the general public that it was an emergency vehicle.
Whiteley and Cox v. The State of California

$1.7 million
Case Details: Two wrongful deaths resulting from the crash of PSA Flight 1771 when the flight crew was shot by a deranged suicidal killer.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Action No. C671784

$1,953,731
Case Details: In Barger v. Morrison Homes, plaintiff, an employee of a framing contractor suffered a brain injury when he fell from a second story of a single family home after the frame structure was struck by his employer's fork lift. In another Restatement 416 peculiar risk of harm case, the general contractor was sued for failing to take special precautions to prevent such an injury from occurring and settled prior to trial with a waiver of the worker's comp lien of $158,877.
Barger v. Morrison Homes

$2.75 million
Case Details: In Singh v. National Real Estate, two year old Ciera Singh suffered a brain injury when she and her father crossed a dark street and were struck by an oncoming vehicle operated by a real estate salesman working for a franchisee of a national real estate firm. The franchisor routinely avoided liability in similar cases throughout the United States, claiming that it was not responsible for its franchisee's torts, that it had no control over day-to-day operations and merely provided a trademark, logo, and national advertising program. Fourteen expert witnesses and completed discovery of an additional 29 parties, witnesses and defense experts, for a total of 43 pre-trial depositions paved the way for this recovery against the franchisor.
Singh v. National Real Estate, Santa Clara County Superior Court No. 693716

Recovery Amount: Confidential
Case Details: The details of the case and settlement terms are held confidential, per the Court's orders. However, the San Jose Mercury News reported that a nine year old boy was burned by a model rocket engine that shot up his sleeve during a demonstration by a Stanford professor while attending a science fair at school. Under the gag order by the Court, the victim and attorneys are only permitted to say: "The matter is concluded."
Vagshenian v. Palo Alto Unified School District, Santa Clara County Action No. 687672

$1.45 million
Case Details: Largest known recovery in the United States in an adoption fraud case on behalf of a 16 year old and his parents. The boy had been the victim of years of abuse as an infant when he was placed for adoption at age four. The adopting parents were told there had been one instance of abuse, but the actual extent of the abuse and the youngster's complete psychiatric history were concealed from both the adopting parents and the child's pediatrician. Years later, a severe personality disorder erupted which required hospitalization from age 13 to 17. Referred by a family attorney who had the case pending for three years with no progress. After securing psychiatric, social work, economic, and life placement expert testimony, completing 20 depositions, and defeating multiple motions to dismiss, this extremely difficult legal liability case settled on the second day of trial. Under California law, the county was immune from liability for negligent misrepresentation and could only be held liable for willful acts for which the insurance carriers would not be responsible. In addition, under Prop 51, the Anti-Deep Pocket Law, the county was not responsible for the harm caused by the minor's family prior to the adoption and a jury could have found his natural parents and relatives substantially at fault for his current psychiatric condition. County had also raised a statute of limitations defense that the adopting parents were on notice of the child's severe problems within one year of the adoption and clearly within three years after he was adopted.

$1 million
Case Details: Kurt Clifford v. S. S. Jeremiah O'Brien settled at the beginning of trial for a 51 year old computer technology executive who fainted due to orthostatic hypotension while climbing onto a hatch cover on a WWII Liberty Ship. He had been invited onboard with his family, and approximately 600 other guests for a day-long fundraising cruise. The ship provided only 100 chairs and guests were expected to climb onto hatch covers for "seats" during the cruise. Mr. Clifford climbed upon the forward hatch cover shown in this helicopter photo taken of a similar cruise, fainted and fell backwards onto a steel deck, struck his head, and suffered severe brain injuries. The ship called as an expert the captain of an identical Liberty Ship moored on the East Coast. Aerial photos were ordered of the East Coast vessel while underway with 700 passengers. None were allowed to climb onto the hatch covers. The defense expert was forced to admit that it was unsafe for visitors to climb onto hatch covers and that all visitors were required to keep their feet on the deck.
San Francisco Superior Court, No. 301570, May, 2001.

Recovery Amount: Confidential
Case Details: 21 year old accepted a ride home from a concert in an Agency Rent-A-Car van that was driven by an unlicensed teenage driver. Agency Rent-A-Car held responsible for negligent entrustment of a vehicle.
Blair v. Agency Rent-A-Car, Inc., Santa Clara County Superior Court Consolidated Action Nos. 735492 and 736954

Recovery Amount: Confidential
Case Details: Involved sexual harassment and molestation by a prostheticist, who inappropriately touched his stepdaughters at night while they slept and installed a false heating vent for peeping into the children's bathroom.
Guerrant v. Forbricht, Santa Clara County Superior Court action number 729175

$1.2 million
Case Details: Wrongful death of a 35 year old construction foreman employed by the City of San Jose who was installing curbing in a residential neighborhood when he was struck by the defendant's car, causing amputation of both legs and terminal injuries to his brain and spinal cord.
Mullan v. Lloyd, Santa Clara County Superior Court Action Number CV-759615

Recovery Amount: Confidential
Case Details: Four nursery school children were molested at a public school. The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District operated the Los Altos Parent Preschool (LAPP) as part of its adult education program. District employees provided defendant with access to pre-school children and allowed him to serve as a "worker parent," despite complaints to the LAPP school administrator that he had been inappropriately touching children. The LAPP school administrator advised a few parents, but not all parents, and not the parents of the four children.

$2.4 million
Case Details: Wrongful death of a 65 year old engineer against a trucking company for negligent hiring, supervision and operation.
Mediated recovery by Hon. Peter Stone. Santa Clara County Superior Court

Recovery Amount: Confidential
Case Details: A visiting Californian suffered an electrical burn that resulted in amputation of the right forearm after coming in contact with 12,000 volt power line at a mountain church camp near Idaho City.
Finn v. Idaho Power Company, Idacorp, Inc., Fourth Judicial District, County Of Ada, Boise, Idaho

$2,550,000
Case Details: Metabolife, a "natural" diet supplement to promote weight loss, was produced and sold, without FDA approval, inspection or testing. It was manufactured by a former felon who had been convicted of manufacturing illegal drugs. Under the "natural" food laws of the United States he was free to sell this mixture of ephedra and caffeine, which caused heart attacks and strokes. Following a bankruptcy, Jeff Rickard served on the national committee to evaluate all claims against the company and to determine the allocation of scarce resources to claimants. This total recovery is on behalf of seven of our Metabolife clients.

Recovery Amount: Confidential.
Case Details: 56 year old Los Altos mother of three boys consumed one bottle of the contaminated L-tryptophan, an essential amino acid and food supplement. She began experiencing symptoms and was diagnosed with EMS, a painful and progressive, multi-system disease which causes permanent scarring and fibrosis to nerve and muscle tissues, continuing inflammation, and provokes a permanent change in the body's immune system.
Ingvardsen v. Lucky Stores, Santa Clara County No. 705350