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High-Profile Cases
Sacramento County Jury Award $2.89 Million For Injuries Sustained In Contested Rear-End Impact
June 2016 – Sacramento County – $2,894,226.73
On Friday, June 3, 2016, a Sacramento County jury returned a personal injury verdict of $2,894,226.73 for injuries suffered by the plaintiff in an April 15, 2013 automobile collision.
Rear-End Collision Causes Facet Joint Injury
June 2015 – Yolo County – $231,879.85
On September 14, 2011, Steven Capaul was on his way to work on Highway 50 when he was rear-ended by Lisa Sommer. From the outset Defendant Sommer began defending her case by trying to portray it as a minor impact, no injury accident.
Lawsuit Causes Caltrans To Correct Dangerous Roadway Conditions
February 2015 – Yolo County – $9,850,000
On August 6, 2012, Rosalina Dionisio was headed home to Sacramento from her shift at the West Sacramento United States Postal Service office. She was driving a 1990 BMW when it suddenly stopped functioning and she lost electrical power.
Drunk Driver Held Accountable
February 2015 – Sacramento County – $2,474,854.94
After two years of litigation the Defendant, AMCO and Truck Insurance Exchange agreed to meet our demand and pay $2,474,854.94 to settle Brynne Arakelians personal injury case arising out of a horrific single car crash that occurred on Old Auburn Road in Placer County.
$3.9 Million Settlement For Wrongful Death Of A Wife, With No Children
January 2015 – Yolo County – $3.9 Million
This case stemmed from a heavy impact, head on, fatal collision between Defendant’s commercial truck and Decedent’s personal vehicle. Plaintiff, the surviving husband, brought a wrongful death claim against Defendant for the death of his wife of 36 years.
Cyclist Struck Suffers Traumatic Brain Injury
November 2014 – Sacramento County – $5 Million
Defendant and Insurer AIG accepted a pending $5 million policy limits demand two days before trial on a matter where a work vehicle for a local underground pipe manufacturer struck a 60-year-old professional who became a client of Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora.
Dangerous Intersection Caused Pedestrian Death
October 2014 – Merced County – $3.2 Million
The intersection had been signalized at the end of 2001 and within a year, a person was killed in the crosswalk where Delia Gonzales was ultimately struck. As was the case with the death of Gonzales, a left-turning vehicle struck John Toews and killed him. Within 14 months of his death, the city had determined that due to congestion at this location, the phasing of the lights needed to be changed to eliminate this type of left turn. Despite having determining a solution to the problem, the modification plan sat in the city engineer’s office for six years. On August 17, 2008, Winnifred Dutton was struck and killed in the same crosswalk by a left-turning vehicle.
Jury Returns Record Amador County Personal Injury Verdict
September 2014 – Amador County – $3.7 Million
The defendant, age 53 at the time of the incident, denied liability both for causing the collision and for plaintiff’s damages. Defendant has been a Type 1 insulin-dependent diabetic since the age of 14 and on the evening of the collision she blacked out from low blood sugar, crossed the centerline and struck the plaintiff’s vehicle.
Pedestrians Hit By Drunk Driver In Sacramento
September 2014 – Sacramento County – $3.2 Million
On June 1, 2012, Amy Elliott and Steven Galvan were standing on the sidewalk at the corner of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Howe Avenue when a drunk driver came onto the sidewalk and struck them as they waited to cross the street. After the initial collision, the drunk driver did not stop, but continued to drive several hundred feet before colliding with another vehicle that was stopped at a stop sign. A blood test of the drunk driver would later reveal a blood alcohol content of .28.
Agricultural Aviator’s Death Due To Unmarked Meteorological Evaluation Tower
September 2014 – Contra Costa County – $6.7 Million
On January 10, 2011, a 60-meter meteorological evaluation tower (MET) that had been erected in April 2009 took the life of well-known and respected Northern California agricultural aviator Steve Allen. Mr. Allen had been hired by Bouldin Farming Company to spread winter wheat on one of the fields in Webb Tract Island, located in Contra Costa County.
On the day of the subject incident, Mr. Allen was never made aware of the existence of the tower by Bouldin Farming Company, and from eyewitness accounts, it was clear that he never saw it before he struck it and fell to his death. Mr. Allen’s death was not the first where agricultural aviators struck unmarked and unlit METs during daytime operations.
Sacramento Jury Awards A 2014 State Record Verdict $34.9 Million For Injury
December 2013 – Sacramento County – $34.9 Million
On October 11, 2010, Mrs. Hackett was driving her bus on Highway 12 when the defendant’s semi-truck/trailer combination crossed over into the oncoming lane, colliding with Mrs. Hackett’s bus and rendering her paralyzed from the waist down, also resulting in her suffering a major closed-head injury.
Heavenly Ski Resort Settlement Changed Safety Procedures
The retrieval rope broke under high wind conditions, which were consistently in excess of the ZipRider’s operational parameters in the hours before Mark Dickson’s death. Heavenly’s poor maintenance of the rope also contributed to its failure. In the months prior to the accident, Heavenly abandoned the inspection practices mandated by the ZipRider’s manufacturer. On the day Mark Dickson died, the ZipRider was understaffed and no supervisor trained in the ride’s operation was present to ensure safety procedures were being followed.
United States Sanctioned For Destroying Evidence
United States deemed to be negligent in the death of Tommy Botell by court order. During the course of discovery in this case, it became apparent that relevant evidence had not been preserved and/or had been destroyed. Steve Campora and Catia Saraiva filed a motion against the United States seeking sanctions based on spoliation of evidence.
San Bruno PG&E Gas Explosion – Finalized Settlement
October 2012 – San Mateo County – Settlement Confidential
On April 15, 2011, James and Gabriela Greig filed an action against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) following the tragic deaths of loving wife, Jacqueline Greig, and daughter, Janessa Greig, which occurred during the San Bruno pipeline explosion of September 9, 2010.
Regional Transit Liable For Wrongful Death And Jury Awards Millions In Damages
November 2012 – Sacramento County – $2.4 Million
A Sacramento County jury found Sacramento Regional Transit District liable for the wrongful death of Joyce Jacobs and awarded her husband, John Jacobs, and son, Anthony Jacobs, more than $2.4 million in damages. The verdict came nearly five years after Mrs. Jacobs was killed by a left-turning RT bus at the intersection of 8th Street and Q Street in downtown Sacramento.
Record Punitive Damage Verdict Against Ford – Over $70 Million
November 2011 – Sacramento County – $70+ Million
A Sacramento jury determined that Ford Motor Company’s conduct was despicable in the handling of a tire replacement program conducted by Goodyear in 2002. The jury determined that Ford, which had information relative to the defective tire from the tire manufacturer, Goodyear, failed to provide information to its customer base and owners of E-350 Econoline 15 Passenger Vans. The jury determined that Ford’s conduct was such a breach of its responsibility and duty as a manufacturer that the plaintiffs were subject to an award of punitive damages in the amount of $50 million.
MasterCraft Boat Found Defective By A Butte County Jury
June 2011 – Butte County – $31 Million
Although MasterCraft’s X-45 wakeboard boat was billed as a “the most spacious 24-footer on the inboard market,” the jury concluded that was one of the design features that led to the injuries sustained by Niki Bell and Bethany Wallenburg, passengers on the boat. The jury deliberated for two and a half days before determining that the design of the X-45 was defective.
Wrongful Death Verdict Changes Tire Training And Repair At Dealership
January 2011 – San Diego County – $22.8 Million
In August 2005, defendant Mossy Ford performed a faulty tire repair. Plaintiffs’ counsel proved at trial that Mossy Ford negligently failed to take the tire out of service and that this conduct caused the tire tread separation and led to the fatal rollover accident.
As a condition of the post-verdict settlement, Mossy Ford agreed to implement a comprehensive training program to better train its technicians about safe tire repair practices for purposes of consumer safety.
Trucking Company Responsible For Damages
March 2010 – Sacramento County – $24.3 Million
On the afternoon of March 5, 2010, a Sacramento jury returned a $24.3 million verdict for Diana Jimenez, an Oregon resident, who will turn 15 next month. $20 million of the verdict was for Diana’s past and future pain and suffering. At age 9, Diana was run over by the semi-tires of a truck and suffered pelvic degloving injuries, as well as orthopedic injuries. “Although she now ‘appears’ normal and returned to school five months after her accident, she will live a life of musculoskeletal weakening that will be progressive in nature, and will endure a lifetime of surgeries and limitations,” says attorney Robert Buccola.
Product Liability Action Filed By Sacramento Kings
December 2010 – Sacramento County
Garcia broke his arm after an exercise ball — known as the Gymnic Burst Resistant Plus Stability Ball — burst open while he was doing a bench press exercise on the ball and lifting weights. At the time of the incident, the projected starting guard-forward was being supervised by a team trainer in the fashion directed by the distributor of the “burst resistant” ball.
Wheelchair Lift — Paratransit Bus Accident
April 2008 – Placer County – $6.4 Million
Thomas Avery, a 38-year-old C4-quadriplegic, was dropped off a wheelchair lift while being loaded by MV Transportation who operates the Paratransit System for the City of Roseville. Thomas Avery was rendered an incomplete quadriplegic in 1989 when he was involved in a motor vehicle collision. Despite his disability, he returned to college and continued his education.
