Case Results

Our specialists in medical liability obtained a cash and annuity settlement with a present cash value of $5.5 million on behalf of a 56-year-old physician who suffered paralysis after his HMO health care providers failed to timely recognize and treat an evolving spinal infection. The plaintiff called the defendants’ office with complaints of back pain and fever. A nurse suggested he not go to the ER, but come and see his physician instead. The client suffered irreversible paralysis from the chest down as a result of the delay.

In Kim v. Zarour, et. al. (San Mateo Sup Ct. #CIV-527935) Michael Kelly, Richard Schoenberger and Conor Kelly obtained a $5.4 million jury verdict on behalf of the spouse and children of John Kim, a retired restaurant owner who died following a multi-vehicle collision on Interstate 101. The Kims’ car was rear-ended while in the slow lane by a tourist exiting SFO. Their car then travelled across three lanes of traffic where it was T-boned by a SuperShuttle van. Mr. Kim was fatally injured. Mrs. Kim was in the car with her husband and suffered serious injuries. At trial, the tourist conceded fault for the initial collision, but argued that she was not liable for the death because the violence of the second collision caused all of the injuries. The SuperShuttle driver argued that there was no time for him to avoid the collision. Our team established through lay and expert witnesses that both defendants were negligent causes of the accident. Using the “blackbox” data from the SuperShuttle, they showed that the SuperShuttle driver was driving in excess of the posted speed limit and that he failed to respond in a timely manner to slowing traffic conditions. After a three week trial, the jury returned a verdict of $5.4 million in favor of the plaintiffs. The verdict was more than three times the defendants’ final pre-trial settlement offer.

In Survivors v. Transportation Provider ( Northern California Sup.Ct.)  Khaldoun Baghdadi and Doris Cheng negotiated a wrongful death settlement of $5,100,000 on behalf of the surviving family members of a 70 year-old woman who died after being stuck in a crossway by a tour bus.  The defendant tour company attempted to prove that the decedent was partially at fault in failing to try to avoid the collision. However, the reconstruction experts retained by Khaldoun and Doris were able to locate and utilize security video footage from adjacent businesses which captured the events leading up to and through the incident to prove that all false rested with the bus operator. The case settled following mediation, where our team of attorneys produced and showed a narrated video which illustrated the life of this family before their loss.  The settlement documentary successfully showed the horrific nature of this tragedy, while at the same time affording the dignity to the decedent which the family deserved.

In Cyclist v. Caltrans Contractor (Bay Area Sup. Ct., confidential court and case number) Michael A. Kelly and Conor M. Kelly negotiated a cash and annuity package having a present value of $5,000,000 on behalf of a 30-year-old school janitor who was injured while riding his motorcycle home from work on northbound Skyline Boulevard. The roadway was under construction and the plaintiff’s direction of traffic had been tapered from two lanes into one.  As the plaintiff entered the construction zone, he collided with a commercial street sweeper. Mike and Conor alleged that the street-sweeper was performing an illegal turn at the time of the collision. Defendants argued that the plaintiff was speeding and driving recklessly. Mike and Conor retained experts in accident reconstruction, human factors and traffic engineering, and created an animation showing that the plaintiff was driving below the speed limit. The plaintiff suffered fractures to his left hip, ankle, foot and arm. He underwent four surgeries and was left with permanent activity limitations which prevented him from returning to work as a janitor. Prior to settlement the parties attended a full day unsuccessful mediation and multiple failed judicially supervised settlement conferences. Ultimately, the case settled following motions in limine.

In Disabled Citizen v. City and County of San Francisco (S.F. Sup. Ct.), Matthew D. Davis and Douglas S. Saeltzer obtained a $2,875,000 settlement on behalf of the surviving parents of a 37-year-old unmarried woman who was killed while crossing Market Street within a marked crosswalk. Due to a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta the decedent used a motorized wheelchair. Despite her medical condition, she was successful in her career and lived independently. At the time of her death she was commuting from her home in the East Bay to her job in San Francisco. A left turning vehicle being driven by an employee of the City and County of San Francisco struck her as she legally crossed at 7th and Market Streets. With only limited exception, left turns from 7^th Street onto Market Street are prohibited. Doug and Matt alleged that the defendant did not fall into any of the exceptions to this rule. Defendant claimed that based on plaintiff’s statements at the scene she entered with only three seconds remaining on the pedestrian flashing red hand countdown, and the City’s driver actually entered the intersection prior to the decedent. The victim and her family fled Vietnam when she was an infant. The family was extremely close and the deceased spoke to her parents every day.

In Jogger v. United States of America, (USDC No. Dist.) Douglas Saeltzer and Justin Chou obtained a $1,000,000 cash settlement on behalf of a 39 year old woman who was injured while on her morning pre-dawn jog when she was struck by a left turning vehicle being driven by an employee of The Presidio Trust. The accident occurred at an intersection controlled by a 4-way stop in a residential area of San Francisco. Our client was struck in a marked crosswalk as she jogged across the intersection. She testified that she was well into the intersection and did not see defendant making his left turn until the moment before impact. The defense argued that plaintiff darted out from the curb without checking for traffic. Plaintiff suffered a fractured wrist and fractured ankle, both requiring surgery. Doug and Justin retained  experts in accident reconstruction, biomechanics, human factors and forensic animation to create a computer animation depicting the visibility of plaintiff as she left the curb and jogged into the crosswalk. The case settled following expert depositions.

In Motorist v. Local Taxi (S.F. Sup. Ct.), Matthew Davis and Spencer Pahlke obtained a seven-figure settlement on behalf of a young woman injured when she was struck by a San Francisco cab. On the evening of the collision our client was riding her scooter from the Mission to Potrero Hill. As she proceeded through the intersection where the collision occurred, a taxi approached from the opposite direction and made a left-hand turn in front of her. She struck the front-left side of the cab, flew through the air, striking the ground, suffering serious injuries. Matt and Spencer retained and used both liability and damage experts to demonstrate the driver’s inattention, and the extent and nature of plaintiff’s future disability. Given our client’s young age (mid 20s) particular attention was paid to how her injuries would affect her in the future. A $1 million dollar policy limit settlement was reached prior to the mandatory settlement conference.