Vehicle Accidents
Bicycle v. Automobile $17,000,000 Verdict
We represented a 53-year-old software engineer who was injured in an automobile versus bicycle collision in the Silicon Valley. A left-turning vehicle struck our client and propelled him onto the hood and roof of the vehicle. He sustained a fracture of the temporal bone with resulting subdural hemorrhage and brain stem compression. The vehicle driver claimed that her vision of the cyclist was obscured by the sun. Our attorneys produced visibility experts at trial. Prior to trial, the defense had offered only $150,000 in settlement
Head-On Collision - $8,875,000 Jury Verdict
Our automobile accident trial specialists obtained a jury verdict in Sacramento County in the amount of $8,875,000 on behalf of a young woman injured in a high-speed head-on collision. Our client’s car was struck by another automobile which was speeding and making an illegal left-hand turn. We sued the driver of the other car as well as the rental agency that had provided the car to the negligent operator. Our client sustained a brain injury and was in a coma following the accident. She also had multiple fractures of her arms and legs. Her claim included compensation for both pain and suffering as well as out-of-pocket damages including wage loss. Her residual complaints at trial included difficulty with memory, speech, gait and cognition. Before the trial, the insurance companies for the defendants had offered only $150,000 in settlement.
Death of husband and father - mismatched car and trailer - $5,250,000 settlement
Our product liability lawyers negotiated a cash and annuity settlement having a present value of $5,250,000 on behalf of the surviving widow and two minor children of a 42-year-old fire captain who was killed when his SUV rolled over on Highway 50 while pulling an "Ultralight" travel trailer. Plaintiffs claimed that the defendant motor home retailer inappropriately sold the family a trailer which was too large to be safely pulled by their small SUV. Plaintiffs also claimed that the retailer failed to advise them that if the travel trailer were loaded to its maximum capacity (as specified by the trailer manufacturer) the trailer would weight 1,400 pounds more than the maximum weight recommended by the SUV manufacturer. While traveling on Highway 50, passing a semi-truck, the trailer was hit by a gust of wind causing it to fishtail, go out of control, and roll over, pulling the towing SUV with it. Defendants claimed that had the decedent read the owner's manual for his vehicle and the trailer he would have observed warnings in both manuals regarding overloading, and, by weighing the vehicles he could have avoided the situation which produced his death. The settlement was reached after three mediations.
Automobile Accident – $4,500,000 Brain Damage Settlement
Our team represented a 14-year-old boy riding as a rear seat passenger in a car that was involved in a head-on collision in Bakersfield, California. As the car encountered a rural intersection, the driver found the roadway flooded. No warning signs had been erected. Although it had been raining earlier, it was not raining at the time of the collision. The flooded roadway caused the car to hydroplane and rotate, crossing into oncoming traffic, and colliding head-on with a car traveling in the opposite direction. Our young client sustained a major head injury, including coma. He also sustained fractures of his left leg and right arm. His medical bills exceeded $500,000. Because of his brain damage, experts forecasted that he would be unable to be self-sufficient in the work place. His future wage loss was estimated at over $800,000. Our attorneys achieved a settlement of $4,500,000 against defendants including the local county water district, the county road department, and the opposing driver.
Vehicle Collision - $ 3,049,000 Settlement - Leg Amputation
Our automobile collision lawyers obtained a settlement of $3,049,000 on behalf of a 53-year-old financial planner, injured while she was riding as a passenger in a car that hydroplaned off State Route 101, crashing into a large portable message signboard owned by highway contractor. During the collision, the frame of the signboard knifed through the passenger door striking our injured client in her right hip, causing massive injuries, including an open and unstable pelvic fracture and a below-the-knee amputation. The contractors crews placed the CMS board on the dirt shoulder of the roadway, just outside an enclosed storage area, as part of a construction project to upgrade the 101. At the time of the incident the CMS board was turned off, and had not been used for several days. Walkup's auto injury team proved that the construction company was negligent for failing to place the CMS board in an off-site designated storage area. The contractor allegeged that it was both safe and customary to leave such signboards on the side of the roadway for the duration of a project. It further defended the action on the basis that the location of the signboard did not violate the approved contract plans. A portion of the settlement was devoted to an annuity. The case settled two weeks before trial.
Vehicle Collision – $3,000,000 Settlement
Our automobile accident wrongful death attorneys obtained a settlement comprised of both cash and future annuity payments, having a present cash value of over $3,000,0000, on behalf of the survivors of a 42-year-old man who was fatally injured when his truck struck a guardrail at a rural bridge crossing. On the morning of his death, the decedent’s pickup truck drifted across the center lane of a two lane road. After correcting back into his own lane, he struck and slid along a metal guardrail, which led to a bridge abutment. As he approached the bridge, there was a gap between the guardrail and the bridge rail. At the point of the gap, the front of the truck struck the abutment, which impaled the vehicle and its driver. Our wrongful death team demonstrated that the guardrail and bridge were not built in accordance with the original plans or specifications. The recovery included the future value of the decedent’s wages, benefits and household services, as well as a sum to compensate his heirs for the loss of his care, comfort and society.
SUV Rollover -- $2,900,000 Settlement
Our vehicle stability team negotiated a settlement in the amount of $2,900,000 against the makers of the Chevrolet Blazer for the surviving husband of a woman who was killed when her Blazer overturned in a single car Northern California accident. Our client’s wife was driving to work when she inadvertently left the road surface, and in the process of correcting back onto the roadway, she overcorrected and her vehicle overturned. During the three rolls which followed, the roof collapsed and she sustained fatal head injuries. Our attorneys demonstrated that the vehicle, as designed, was not sufficiently stable to protect drivers who found themselves in foreseeable and expected emergency driving maneuvers. The settlement was paid both in cash and in annuities. Under the terms of the court approved annuities, the woman’s surviving son will be provided periodic payments to cover the cost of high school and college, and to provide security to him as a young adult.
Cross-Median Accident - $2,750,000 Settlement
Our automobile accident attorneys obtained a settlement in the amount of $2,750,000 on behalf of the surviving wife and children of a 39-year-old San Francisco businessman who died when his car was struck head-on by another vehicle that had catapulted over the center divider of northbound Highway 101. The accident occurred when a Jeep, traveling in the opposite direction, lost control and climbed up and over the median, striking our client’s husband. The settlement was contributed to both by the offending driver and the State of California. Our lawyers proved that the other driver was negligent, and that the median divider, as designed and built, was in violation of State of California design requirements.
Boating Accident – $2,500,000 Settlement
Our attorneys obtained a cash and annuity settlement having a present value of more than $2,500,000 on behalf of a 25-year-old woman who suffered major neurologic injury in a boating collision on the waters of Lake Tahoe. While riding in a boat owned and operated by her boyfriend, without running lights, the craft was struck by another boat broadside. Significant dispute existed regarding the relative fault of the two vessel operators. Before the injury, our client had been an excellent athlete, engaging in competitive snow skiing, high school softball, and other sports. Following the collision, she was comatose for over three weeks. Thereafter, she was impaired in her activities of daily living. Our team utilized specialists in rehabilitation medicine and life care planning to forecast the cost of her future care. Under the negotiated settlement, our client received a 7-figure lump sum payment, and a schedule of payments over the next 20 years to provide for her ongoing attendant care and rehabilitative needs.
Big Rig Head-On - $2,000,000 Settlement
Our truck accident team negotiated a settlement in the amount of $2,000,000 on behalf of the surviving wife and two children of a 42-year-old man who died when his automobile was struck head-on by a semi-truck on State Route 65 outside of Lincoln, California. Our clients sought recovery for future and lost earnings as well as for the loss of love, comfort and society of their husband and father. As part of the settlement, our attorneys also worked with the worker’s compensation carrier for the decedent. The case was settled after being filed in Sacramento County Superior Court.
Motorcycle Accident - $1,600,000 Settlement
Our attorneys represented a 26-year-old Marine who was injured in a motorcycle accident in Southern California. He sustained significant head and spinal injuries when he was struck by a vehicle. The opposing driver claimed that the motorcyclist was speeding, and not positioned in the correct place on the roadway. We were able to reconstruct the accident in such a way as to demonstrate that the motorcyclist was fault-free.
Pedestrian v. Taxicab -- $735,000 Settlement
Our team achieved a $735,000 recovery on behalf of a 42-year-old woman struck by a DeSoto taxi cab while she was crossing The Embarcadero in a marked crosswalk in downtown San Francisco. Our attorneys hired accident reconstruction engineers who were able to prove that the cab was exceeding 50 miles per hour when it struck our client. The cab driver originally claimed that a “phantom” car ahead of it actually struck our client first, thereafter knocking her into the cab. The cab driver also claimed that the injured plaintiff was crossing against a red light. Our attorneys proved otherwise.
