CALIFORNIA CASES
Sexual Harassment
Verdict: $385,000
Plaintiff alleged sexual
harassment; jury awarded $165K and found plaintiff was entitled to punitive
damages; parties settled the case for $385K before punitive damages were decided
(Anguiano vs. Kim, Monterey County Superior Court, plaintiff attorneys:
Lindsey Berg-James, Michael Masuda).
Impact Disputed
Verdict: Defense
Pedestrian claimed she was
struck by defendant's vehicle; defendant disputed liability and was adamant
that there was no contact between her vehicle and plaintiff (Lesnick v.
Webster, Sacramento County Superior Court, defense attorney: Stephen A.
Mason, Lindsay S. Harrington).
Thumb Tip Amputation
Settlement: $75,000
A 12-year-old boy suffered
an amputation of the distal phalanx bone of his left thumb, not including the
nail bed, due to a dog attack; settlement with dog owner's landlord (N.A. v.
Soto, Los Angeles County Superior Court, plaintiff attorney: Atticus N.
Wegman).
Hole Cover Failed
Verdict: $2,626,750
The jury found defendant
retained control over the expansion joint cover and safety conditions of the
expansion joint cover where plaintiff construction worker fell (Strouse v.
Webcor Construction L.P., Alameda County Superior Court, plaintiff attorney: Jonathan M. Brand, Nicolis Peters).
Disability Discrimination
Settlement: $8,600,000
The EEOC alleged the
retailer engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination by unlawfully
discharging employees whose medical leave of absence exceeded its 180 day and
subsequent 240 day maximum leave policy (EEOC vs. Lowe's Companies Inc., Central
District Federal Court, plaintiff attorneys: Anna Y. Park, Sue J. Noh, Rumduol
Vuong, Jennifer L. Boulton).
Back Injuries
Settlement: $1,500,000
Plaintiff alleged that a
rear-end collision exacerbated her lumbar spine disease and caused the need for
surgery and forced her into early medical retirement (Contreras v. Domingue, Kern County Superior Court, plaintiff attorneys: David K. Cohn, Neil K.
Gehlawat).
Neck Injuries
Verdict: $898,077
Defendant contended
plaintiff had 'issues' and switched doctors every time she was making a
successful recovery, and that she over-treated her injuries; jury sided with
plaintiff (Clarke vs. Barrett, Kern County Superior Court, plaintiff attorney: Philip W. Ganong).
Incorrect Intubation
Settlement: $450,000
Plaintiffs contended that
defendant HMO was negligent and reckless for allowing a respiratory therapist
to intubate patient rather than a physician/anesthesiologist, which directly
caused patient's death (Confidential v. Confidential, Stanislaus County
Superior Court, plaintiff attorney: Carl A. McMahan).
Gov't Immunity Disputed
Settlement: $25,000,000
A child with behavior
problems suffered a brain injury subsequent to the county allegedly failing to
remove the child from home of aunt upon aunt's request (M.O. v. County of
Riverside, San Bernardino County Superior Court, plaintiff attorneys: Richard
B. Koskoff, Amy S. Niven, Carly L. Edson).
NATIONAL CASES
Truck Products Liability
Verdict: $51,448,175
Plaintiff suffered severe injuries when she was struck and pinned down by the wheel of her
husband's eighteen wheel tractor trailer that had been idling in a parking lot,
when the truck's parking brakes failed and the driverless truck began to move
forward (Marable v. Daimler Trucks North America L.L.C., Louisiana – Orleans
Parish Civil District Court, plaintiff attorneys: Caleb H. Didriksen III, Erin
Bruce Saucier, Tony Clayton).
Hip Implant Products Liability
Verdict: $502,043,908
Five plaintiffs were
awarded $502 million gross/$15 million net in a bellwether trial concerning Johnson &
Johnson’s DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip replacement devices (Aoki v.
DePuy Orthopedics, Texas – U.S.D.C., N.D.Tex., plaintiff attorneys: W.
Mark Lanier, Jayne Conroy, Ernest H. Cannon, Wayne Fisher, Richard J. Arsenault).
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.