CALIFORNIA CASES
Talc Asbestos
Verdict: $13,000,000
Plaintiff alleged
defendant's Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder was responsible for causing her to
contract mesothelioma (Winkel v. Calaveras Asbestos Ltd., Los Angeles
County Superior Court, plaintiff attorneys: John M. Caron, David Greenstone,
Christopher J. Panatier).
Heart Valve Re-Replacement
Verdict: Defense
Plaintiff contended that it
was below the standard of care to insert a mechanical heart valve when a tissue
valve should have been placed; that the suturing was defective; and that a
perivalvular leak should have prompted urgent valve re-operation (Bradley v.
West, Santa Barbara County Superior Court, defense attorneys: Kent T.
Brandmeyer, Bradley C. Clark).
Wrongful Death
Settlement: $8,300,000
Defendants, Corizon Health
Inc. and Alameda County, agreed to pay $4.25 million and $4.05 million respectively; plus the
settlement also included an agreement by defendant Corizon to stop assigning
unqualified LVNs to do the work of RNs and included new training requirements
for deputies who work with jail inmates (Harrison v. County of Alameda,
Northern District Federal Court, plaintiff attorneys: Michael Haddad, Julia
Sherwin).
Wage Theft
Decision: $297,723
Restaurant workers brought
PAGA (Private Attorneys General Act of 2004) wage and hour claims on behalf of 70
employees; court ruled that defendants' records were not trustworthy (Atempa
v. Pama Inc., San Diego County Superior Court, plaintiff attorneys: Rodolfo
Ruiz-Velasco, Thomas M. Diachenko).
Testamentary Capacity
Settlement: $950,486
Former trust beneficiary,
originally a befriended busboy who testator regarded as his stepson, disputed
subsequent trust amendments (Alvarez v. Woo, San Francisco County
Superior Court, plaintiff attorney: Amanda L. Ebey).
Hip Implant Defect
Verdict: $9,153,318
Plaintiff, a CEO, alleged
he was forced to undergo a second hip replacement surgery because of a
defective metal-on-metal hip implant (Kline v. Zimmer Inc., Los Angeles County
Superior Court, plaintiff attorneys: David Bricker, Gibbs Henderson, Erin Wood).
Brain Injuries
Verdict: Defense
Emergency room patient
claimed improper care caused brain injuries; defense verdict for both
defendants; other defendants had settled for $8 million (Sharma v. Mirhadi, Sacramento
County Superior Court, defense attorneys: Patrick A. Lanius, Andrew C. Efaw).
Attempted Murder
Verdict: $6,577,000
Plaintiff contended the
defendants were involved in a conspiracy with members of the Mexican Mafia to
kill the plaintiff; defendants denied liability (Epps v. Barajas, San
Bernardino County Superior Court, plaintiff attorneys: Daniel J. Callahan,
Javier van Oordt).
Medical Whistleblower
Verdict: $1,750,000
Plaintiff, a surgical
oncologist, alleged that defendant defamed and ultimately terminated him in
retaliation for his raising patient care concerns (Wascher v. Kaiser
Permanente, Orange County Superior Court, plaintiff attorneys: Jeffrey A.
Rager, Charles T. Mathews).
Process Server Attacked
Settlement: $1,250,000
Process server allegedly
attacked, struck by vehicle (Nigro v. Sofranko, Santa Barbara County Superior
Court, plaintiff attorney: Robert R. Clayton).
NATIONAL CASES
Ear Infection Death
Verdict: $11,604,000
An adult male medical
patient died due to an ear infection that spread to his brain as a result of allegedly
negligent medical treatment by family practitioner defendant (Plummer v.
Torres, Florida – Volusia County Circuit Court, plaintiff attorneys: Maria
Tejedor, Carlos R. Diez-Arguelles, Jack T. Cook).
Patent Infringement
Verdict: $16,779,864
Camshaft phaser inventor
awarded $16.8 million as reasonable royalties against defendant auto parts
manufacturer for patent infringement for sales to non-parties Chrysler and GM (Melchior
v. Hilite International Inc., Texas – U.S.D.C., N.D.Tex., plaintiff attorneys: Thomas C. Wright, Nicolas E. Seckel).
Editor’s Note: California Bar Journal publishes this abbreviated summary of important trials provided by Trials Digest. To report your case results, go to west.thomson.com/trialsdigest/form.aspx or call 415-344-3952.