Sara M. Peters

Sara, a shareholder at Walkup, prosecutes and serves as lead trial lawyer for severely injured individuals in cases involving defective products, transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft, aviation crashes, dangerous conditions of property, medical negligence, vehicular negligence, sexual assault, nursing home abuse, and other wrongdoing.

When she isn’t representing clients, Sara is a lecturer at Stanford Law School, co-directing the Trial Advocacy course. She serves on the SFTLA Board of Directors and is a contributing editor of the Rutter Group “Claims and Defenses” Guide, which is a leading practice guide for lawyers in California. She also coaches mock trial at Stanford and serves as Co-Director of ABC (Attorneys Bettering the Community) a local nonprofit composed of attorneys who want to volunteer in a hands-on way. She teaches CLE (continuing legal education courses) on litigation-related topics. She is an active member of CAOC (Consumer Attorneys of California), AAJ (American Association for Justice), and the Bar Association of San Francisco. Sara has been peer nominated as a Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Star— a distinction given to fewer than 2.5 percent of the state’s lawyers.

Sara received her undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Middle Eastern Studies at UCLA, and attended Stanford Law School, obtaining her J.D. in 2008. She joined Walkup the same year.

Sample Verdicts and Settlements:

• $29,000,000 complex multi-party settlement just prior to trial

(Construction site case for telecommunication worker injured by contact with power line)

• $8,000,000 mediated settlement

(Medical malpractice case for failure to diagnose kidney infection, resulting in amputations)

• $7,500,000 mediated settlement

(Medical malpractice case for failure to diagnose brain tumor in man complaining of headaches, with resulting TBI)

• $7,500,000 mediated settlement

(Medical malpractice case for birth defects resulting from failure to perform pregnancy test before implanting IUD)

• $5,100,000 mediated settlement

(Negligence case against tour bus operator, on behalf of family of woman struck and killed by bus)

• $4,750,000 mediated settlement after defeating summary judgment

(Vicarious liability case against winery for negligence of its employee during commute)

• $4,500,000 mediated settlement shortly before trial

(Prop 51 case for passengers of speeding driver v. delivery truck)

• $4,250,000 mediated settlement shortly before trial

(Dangerous condition case against government entities for failure to protect crosswalk, resulting in injuries to disabled man)

• $3,300,000 settlement after defeating summary judgment motion

(Joint venture analysis applied to homeowners’ construction company, after house fire burned young man)

• $2,250,000 settlement immediately pre-trial

(Premises liability case for defective hotel staircase, on behalf of woman who tripped and fell down stairs)

• $2,190,000 complex settlement

(Product liability case for high school student v. helmet manufacturer)

• $2,000,000 settlement

(Medical negligence case on behalf of a respected psychiatrist, for failure to diagnose her ovarian cancer, allowing it to progress to an incurable stage)

• $1,750,000 complex settlement

(Represented family of suicide victim for health plan’s fraudulent prescribing of drug that carried known suicide risk, and little benefit)

• $1,400,000 settlement after defeating summary judgment and extensive motion practice

(Represented survivors of a young mother in a medical negligence case for failure to recognize sepsis in emergency room)

• $1,375,000 settlement

(Medical malpractice case for delayed diagnosis of malignant melanoma in young woman)

• $1,250,000 mediated settlement

(Vicarious liability case against ATM service company for its employee’s road rage attack against grad student)

• $1,250,000 settlement after defeating summary judgment

(Vehicular negligence case by brain damaged man against negligent driver)

• $1,248,000 complex mediated settlement

(Multi-party settlement against bicyclist and bike club for striking and injuring jogger)

• $1,000,000 settlement after defeating summary judgment on vicarious liability

(Suit against taxi company, alleging it was liable for taxi driver’s vicious attack against passenger)

• $985,000 verdict

(Sauer v. Farmers Insurance coverage dispute)

• $421,000 arbitration award against Mercury Insurance UIM policy

(Represented an oncologist who experienced a herniated disc in a minor impact rear-end collision caused herniated disc. The award was nearly double the insurance policy limits)

Areas of Practice

• Personal Injury
• Defective Products
• Dangerous Conditions of Property
• Medical Negligence
• Vehicular Negligence
• Nursing Home Abuse
• Rideshare and transportation network carrier disputes (Uber, Lyft, etc.)
• Sexual assault
• Civil rights, 1983 actions
• Construction Defect
• Aviation

Education

• Stanford Law School, Stanford, California
  • J.D. – 2008
  • Honors: Mock Trial and Moot Court
  • Law Review: Stanford Journal of International Law, Lead Articles Editor
• UCLA, Los Angeles, California
  • Honors: summa cum laude
  • Honors: With High Honors

Professional Associations and Memberships

• CAOC (Consumer Attorneys of California), Member
• SFTLA (San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Directors & Chair of Education Committee), Member
• AAJ (American Association for Justice), Member
• San Francisco Bar Association, Member