CALIFORNIA CASES

Eye/Face Injuries

Settlement: $1,900,000

Under the direction and supervision of school janitors, the football field was painted by placing screwdrivers into the ground with string tied to each of the handles and pulled tightly, so as to make a straight line; a screwdriver became dislodged, flew through the air 30 feet and struck a student's face (Ornellas v. Kerman Unified School District; Fresno County Superior Court, plaintiff attorney:  Jason S. Bell).

Crushed Foot

Settlement:  $2,000,000

A 400-pound structural steel beam fell approximately 10 feet off of a flatbed truck  and crushed and pulverized plaintiff's foot, requiring a partial amputation (Cruz v. FCP Inc., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney:  Brian J. Panish).

Failure To Inform

Settlement:  $699,000

Plaintiff argued that her ob/gyn failed to inform her of a positive breast biopsy result and that during the period of delay her cancer progressed from curable to incurable (Confidential v. Confidential, Orange County Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney:  Daniel M. Hodes).

Wrongful Death

Settlement:  $1,000,000

Two tractor-trailers traveling the same direction collided, causing both to be engulfed in flames, killing plaintiffs' decedent; decedent was semi-retired and earning only about $8,000 per year, so the bulk of plaintiffs' damages were non-economic (Perez v. Mateut, Kern County Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney:  Roger E. Booth).

Medical Elder Abuse

Verdict:  $1,250,000

Veteran claimed that elder abuse, negligence and negligent hiring and supervision by one or more of defendant's care facility employees caused falls, resulting in his paralysis (Tully v. State of California Department of Veteran's Affairs, Los Angeles County Superior Court, plaintiff attorney:  Stephen M. Garcia).

False Claims

Settlement:  $105,000,000

Plaintiffs alleged defendant GlaxoSmithKline unlawfully promoted its asthma drug, Advair, and antidepressant drugs, Paxil and Wellbutrin; $105,000,000 to Multistate Working Group, which included 44 states and the District of Columbia; California's share of the settlement reportedly was $7,087,898 (People of the State of California, et al.  v. GlaxoSmithKline LLC, San Diego County Superior Court, plaintiff attorney:  Kamala D. Harris).

Disability Discrimination

Verdict:  $1,624,320

Terminated staff psychiatrist who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and major depressive disorder alleged that California Department of Corrections failed to accommodate and wrongfully terminated her (Becraft v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, San Diego County Superior Court, Plaintiff Attorney:  Melissa L. Bustarde).

Chiropractic Claim

Verdict:  Defense

Patient claimed that defendant chiropractor injured her during adjustment, allegedly causing her Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (Boether v. Nguyen, San Joaquin County Superior Court, defense attorney:  Barry Vogel).

Financial Elder Abuse

Verdict/Decision:  $1,800,000

Court held that evidence of defendant's poor financial condition was admissible, given that the plaintiff claimed that defendant exerted undue influence over decedent to obtain decedent's estate because defendant needed money; after jury found for plaintiff on liability, the court returned the estate valued at approximately $1.8 million to $2 million to plaintiff's family (Shook v. LaFarre, San Mateo County Superior Court, plaintiff attorney:  Niall P. McCarthy).

Sexual Assault

Settlement:  $3,000,000

School district paid $3 million settlement to student who was sexually assaulted by teacher (Confidential v. Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Santa Cruz County Superior Court, plaintiff attorney:  David M. Ring).

Alleged Brain Damage

Verdict:  $3,842

Plaintiff demanded $1 million before trial for alleged brain damage; defendant #1 offered $15,000; jury found 100% fault against defendant #1 but awarded only $3,842 (B.O. v. Hawkins, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, defense attorney:  Sandra K. Brislin).

NATIONAL CASES

Actos/Bladder Cancer

Verdict:  $9,001,475,000

Drug manufacturers allegedly concealed risks of patients developing bladder cancer associated with taking drug to treat Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and failed to adequately warn prescribing physicians and their patients of such risks (Allen v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals International Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., et al., Louisiana  – United States District Court, W.D.La., plaintiff attorneys:  W. Mark Lanier/Paul J. Pennock).

Paralysis

Verdict:  $12,147,077
Plaintiff, an employee of a temporary staffing agency, was paralyzed in a warehouse accident when a pallet of dog food fell 20 feet from a shelving system onto his head; defendants contended they were immune from suit due to the exclusive remedy provisions of the Texas Workers' Compensation Act (McGowan v. Tractor Supply Co. of Texas, L.P., et al., Texas – McLennan County District Court, plaintiff attorneys:  Rod Squires/Ryan C. Johnson).