RECENT CASES:

DANGEROUS CONDITION, PUBLIC PROPERTY
Parents of minor child v. City of Sacramento, Wrongful death action: In a case handled by Ray Lewis, a large tree limb fell from an English Elm tree in a downtown City park onto a small infant lying in his stroller, causing his death. We investigated the history of the park, and found that two years earlier, the City had made and built the children’s playground directly underneath the two 100 year old elm trees without performing a written tree hazard evaluation during the master planning process, and that there had been numerous elm tree limb failures in the past 10 years, including four large limb failures from the same elm trees in the eight months preceding the incident. The case we filed was predicated on the City having notice of the prior limb failures, and creating a dangerous condition when they built the playground directly under the elm trees without taking adequate measures to minimize the risks of potential limb failure. The City intended to introduce evidence that the elm trees had been trimmed and pruned within a year preceding the installation of the park improvements and that there was no way to predict the limb failure. Utilizing the mediation process, we were able to resolve this tragic case for the parents of the minor child in the sum of 1.2 million dollars.

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VEHICLE ACCIDENTS
Farmworker v. Yolo County landowner, State of Calif: In a case handled by Phil Hiroshima, a farmworker sustained disabling injuries when the car in which she was riding left a levee road in Yolo County and careened into the I-5 freeway support. The car was driven by another farmworker after an end of season harvest party. Action was brought against the state and the landower for a dangerous condition of the property and for failure to warn. Rather than proceed to trial, the defendants collectively paid in excess of $1,100,000 to settle the action.

Single car rollover, Marin County: In a case handled by Ray Lewis, we obtained a total settlement of $354,000 for a passenger involved in a single car rollover on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Marin County, that included the tender of $300,000 policy limits from the defendant driver. Plaintiff was a back seat passenger in the rollover and sustained a fractured shoulder when she braced for the rollover with her arm up on the roof of the vehicle. She exhibited symptoms of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy following the incident.

Head on collision, So. River Road, Yolo County: In a case handled by Mr. Lewis, we represented the driver of a van who was traveling with his family when hit head-on by a drunk driver as they were proceeding south on SR 160 near Courtland, CA. Our client’s orthopedic surgeon testified regarding his knee injuries and that he may require knee surgery and/or replacement sometime in the future. A settlement of $240,000 was obtained for the driver’s knee injuries.

Ferrari Boxer v. Tree, State of Oregon: We represented the passenger riding in a Ferrari Boxer that was involved in a single car incident (crash into a tree) in the State of Oregon. Our client sustained disc injury to his neck that required a C5-6 fusion. The defense attorneys alleged that the incident occurred as a result of both driver and passenger being under the influence after a class reunion, who left the scene of the incident. Mr. Lewis negotiated a successful settlement of the neck injury claim for $225,000.

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WRONGFUL DEATH/PRODUCTS LIABILITY
Jeep CJ5 Rollover: Phil Hiroshima represented our client, a 40 year-old male, who was driving on a country road through an “S” curve at night. The single vehicle accident had no witnesses, and the deceased driver was later found seat belted in the rolled vehicle. Our accident reconstruction experts determined the speed of the vehicle at the time of rollover was within the speed limits of the road by using photographs, road gouges and other physical evidence. The Jeep had been modified by the owner which raised the center of gravity. Our office presented a claim to the manufacture contending defective design - and a propensity to roll, and that the manufacture failed to warn of the defect in the design of the vehicle. The case was litigated, and settled before trial for a sum in excess of $750,000.00.

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CONSTRUCTION SITE/TOXIC PRODUCT
Toxic Exposure -- Caulking Sealant. In another case handled by Mr. Hiroshima, a 55 year-old welder was working in an enclosed area welding sheet metal units in a commercial building. The sealant he was supplied with had toxic compounds that produced “off gases” when heated from welding. The welder had a preexisting heart condition. While working, he began to faint repeatedly. The defense claimed the worker had an aortic heart valve replacement, causing his condition. Our experts discovered Hexane and Toluene in the material that the manufacturer failed to warn about, particularly for a person with a heart condition. During discovery, we found that the manufacturer of the product received warnings from the supplier of the raw materials that were included in the Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDS). The manufacturer decided on their own that warnings were not necessary for the product.

Due to the toxic exposure, the welder began to show symptoms of narrowing (stenosis) of the aortic valve. His doctors performed a heart valve replacement, which caused a clot and stroke on the eve of trial. His doctors testified that had they known that the sealant caused same the symptoms as an aortic stenosis, they would not have performed the valve replacement, which posed a risk of a clot. On the eve of trial, defendants settled the case in excess of $1,000.000.

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PRODUCTS LIABILITY/DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS
Ford Transmission “Park to Reverse” cases: Mr. Hiroshima represented two individuals involved in “park to reverse” actions.

Case One: 50 year old male driver of Ford pickup truck put his vehicle in “Park” with engine idling, walked behind vehicle. The transmission “jumped” from park to reverse causing severe and disabling injuries. We filed an action against Ford for a design defect for failure to warn. Ford claimed the driver failed to put the emergency brake on, failed to stop the engine before leaving the vehicle, and failed to put the vehicle in park properly. After discovery, manufacture agreed to settle the case provided that the terms of the settlement were confidential. Case settled for substantial amount to satisfaction of the Driver.

Case Two: 35 year old male driver of a Ford pickup truck had been drinking 4-5 hours local country bar. Driving home, he pulled off to side of road opened the door. The vehicle jumped from park to reverse, the driver grabbed steering wheel, and the vehicle backed up into a ditch behind him. The open door of the truck pinned him in the water, where he drowned. The vehicle was found by duck hunters at 5 a.m., motor still running, gear shift lever in “Park”. Autopsy revealed empty bladder at the time of death, cause of death - drowning. Blood alcohol level over the legal limit.

The heirs of the driver contacted 4 other law firms, who declined representation due to the lack of evidence. Mr. Hiroshima accepted the case, began investigation, and contended that the driver left the bar, drove a mile, stopped to relieve himself, put the truck in “Park”, and that the transmission “jumped” from Park to Reverse. Ford’s experts disputed the cause of death. On the eve of trial, Ford settled the case for a substantial sum acceptable to the heirs. The court approved the confidential settlement and remarked to Mr. Hiroshima: “...your good work in the prosecution of the case has compensated the plaintiffs for their loss.”

Defective Winch, Ryder Car Carrying Trailer, Lassen County: Mr. Lewis represented a woman who was reaching inside the driver’s door of the family car, to steer it up and onto a Ryder Car Carrying Trailer, while her husband operated the winch on the front of the trailer. The winch failed, and the open driver’s side door knocked the wife off the side of the trailer where she was standing when the vehicle rolled back. The defense claimed that she was negligent for not being properly seated inside the vehicle as she was steering. We proved that the winch failed and released the car while in the locked position, and obtained a mediated settlement from three manufacturers in the chain of commerce of $150,000 for the neck injury she sustained when the car pushed her off the trailer.

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PREMISES LIABILITY/TRIP AND FALL
Dog owner liability: In this unfortunate incident, an elderly homeowner was knocked to ground by her neighbor’s dog. This Pocket Area resident of Sacramento walked out her front door one spring morning, and was charged and knocked to the ground by a neighbor’s dog. She sustained a broken hip, causing her to be admitted to a nursing home. The neighbor had returned from a shopping trip, opened the garage door, and failed to control the dog. Mr. Lewis obtained a policy limit settlement of $300,000.

Minor child v. Six Flags Marine World: Mr. Lewis filed this action in Solano County, and represented a nine year old boy against Six Flags Marine World of Vallejo, CA, when he was thrown from a ride, sustaining a laceration on the back of his knee which left residual scarring, as well as multiple soft-tissue injuries. We alleged that the ride operator was negligent and the ride was defectively designed. Defendants claimed the boy climbed out of the ride carriage, was comparatively negligent, and caused his own injuries. In a court approved settlement for the minor child, the action was resolved in the sum of $150,000 for the plaintiffs.

Tourist v. Office Products Supplier, San Francisco: Mr. Lewis also filed and handled this action arising out of a trip and fall incident, against a national office supply retailer. Our client was visiting San Francisco, and was tripped by a delivery person on the Market Street sidewalk in the financial district of the City. The delivery person was loading a sidewalk elevator with paper products on a dolly. The office supplier claimed our client was not watching where she was going and that her negligence in causing her own injuries, which included a fractured humerus. We successfully concluded the case for $100,000.00.

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TOPICS FEATURED:

Dangerous Condition, Public Property

Vehicle Accidents

Wrongful Death/Products Liability

Construction Site/Toxic Product

Products Liability/Defective Products

Premises Liability/Trip and Fall