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.