Personal Injury
If you or someone you love has been injured due to the negligence or intentional act of another, or as a result of a dangerous and defective product, deciding whom to trust to represent you can be a difficult decision. The personal injury attorneys at Hiroshima, Jacobs, Roth & Lewis, A Law Corporation, have the experience, skill and resources to successfully represent victims of serious personal injuries. Our areas of expertise include:
- Vehicle Accidents
- Claims Involving Uninsured Motorists
- Wrongful Death Claims
- Construction Site Accidents
- Defective Products Liability
- Premises Liability/Slip and Fall
- Recent Cases
Vehicle Accidents
Our personal injury lawyers have obtained favorable verdicts and settlements for clients who have been injured in auto, motorcycle, truck, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents. Vehicle accidents require dealing extensively with insurance companies, including claims adjusters, accident investigators and lawyers. It is important to remember that insurance companies tend to value claims with the plaintiff's choice of counsel in mind; our attorneys have an established reputation for successfully representing the interests of our clients, and have the requisite negotiation and trial skills to ensure that our clients receive the recovery they are entitled to.
Claims Involving Uninsured Motorists
It is conservatively estimated that 20 percent of California's drivers do not maintain auto insurance. Claims against uninsured motorists present a unique challenge, because a claim cannot be presented to the other party's insurance carrier for payment. A lawsuit seeking compensation from the uninsured party may be initiated, but if the uninsured driver has limited assets, the lawsuit is likely to result in an uncollectable judgment.
Another option for the injury victim is to file a claim with his or her own insurance company, provided the injury victim has uninsured motorist coverage as part of their insurance policy. However, California does not require drivers to purchase uninsured motorist coverage, and many people waive this coverage because they do not understand the purpose of it, or because they want to reduce the amount of their insurance premium. It is highly advisable for every driver to acquire and maintain uninsured motorist coverage.
Wrongful Death Claims
When a negligent or intentional act results in the death of the victim, his or her family may bring an action for wrongful death. According to California's wrongful death statute, persons who may bring a lawsuit are, in priority order, the surviving spouse or domestic partner, children or offspring of deceased children, or another surviving family member according to the order of intestate succession (a long list of who inherits when a person dies without a will).
Since the plaintiff in a wrongful death action is a family member of the deceased and not the actual decedent, California law limits the damages that can be recovered in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Construction Site Accidents
Construction sites are inherently dangerous places and accidents occurring at construction sites often involve serious injuries, including fractures, burns, traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. California's workers compensation laws generally preclude lawsuits against employers for accidents or injuries occurring to employees at construction sites; however, claims may still be brought against third parties who caused or contributed to the injury. For example, in a case brought by Mr. Hiroshima, we recovered a $1 million settlement from the manufacturer of a sealant that exposed our client to toxic gases, requiring our client to undergo a heart valve replacement.
Defective Products Liability
Products may be dangerous and defective as a result of a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or failure to warn of a reasonably foreseeable hazard. Products liability cases are often complex and require a detailed investigation and analysis. Our attorneys have significant experience in this area, particularly in the area of auto part defects, including cases involving Ford transmissions in "Park to Reverse" cases, where the transmission suddenly shifted from "park" to "reverse", resulting in serious injuries or death.
Premises Liability/Slip and Fall
In a premises liability or slip and fall claim, property owners owe a general duty of care to anyone coming onto their property. Owners must warn against unsafe conditions or make them safe, and may be required to inspect for dangerous conditions. Failure to do so may make the property owner liable for any injuries sustained while on their property. The precise nature of premises liability depends upon several factors, including the relationship of the injured person to the property owner, and the activities or negligence of the owner which contributed to the accident.
Recent Cases
GOVERNMENT TORT LIABILITY, DANGEROUS CONDITION OF 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 designed and built a children’s playground directly underneath 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 prior to 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 build the playground directly under the elm trees without trimming potentially dangerous limbs, and 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, the City of Sacramento agreed to pay the parents of the minor child the sum of $1,200,000.00, in order to avoid going to trial.
AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS: Farmworker v. Yolo County Landowner and the State of California In this personal injury claim arising from a car accident, handled by Phil Hiroshima, our client 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 a farmworker after an end of season harvest party. A personal injury action was brought against the state and the landowner for a dangerous condition of public property and for failure to warn. The defendants collectively paid in excess of $1,100,000.00 to settle the action and to avoid trial.
Single car automobile accident (rollover) shoulder injury, Marin County: In this personal injury claim handled by Ray Lewis, we obtained a total settlement of $354,000.00 for a passenger involved in a single car rollover on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Marin County that included the tender of $300,000.00 policy limits from the defendant driver. Our client 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, South River Road, Yolo County: In this personal injury action arising out of an automobile accident, Ray Lewis 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 $240,000.00 was obtained for the driver based on the physician’s testimony.
Automobile accident, personal injury claim, Ferrari Boxer v. Tree, State of Oregon: We represented the passenger riding in a Ferrari Boxer that was involved in a single car auto accident (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 of alcohol after a class reunion, who then left the scene of the incident. Mr. Lewis negotiated a successful settlement of the neck injury claim at mediation for $285,000.00.
WRONGFUL DEATH / PRODUCTS LIABILITY - Jeep CJ5 Rollover: Phil Hiroshima represented 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 gauges 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.
CONSTRUCTION SITE INJURY / TOXIC PRODUCTS - 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 using had toxic compounds that produced “off gases” when heated from welding. The welder had a pre-existing 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 the same 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 $1,000,000.00.
PRODUCT LIABILITY/DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS Ford transmission “Park to Reverse” cases: Mr. Hiroshima represented two individuals involved in “park to reverse” actions.
Case One – Personal Injury claim: Our client, a 50 year old male driver of a Ford pickup truck had put his vehicle in “park” with engine idling and walked behind the vehicle. The transmission “jumped” from park to reverse causing severe and disabling injuries. We filed an action against Ford for design defect and 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, the manufacturer agreed to settle the case provided the terms of the settlement were confidential. Case settled for a substantial amount to the complete satisfaction of the driver.
Case Two: Wrongful Death Action. 35 year old male driver of a Ford pickup truck had been drinking 4-5 hours at a local country bar. Driving home, he pulled off the side of the road and opened the door. The vehicle jumped from park to reverse, the driver grabbed the 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. with the motor still running, gear shift lever in “park”. An autopsy revealed an empty bladder at the time of death and the cause of death was drowning. His blood alcohol level was over the legal limit.
The heirs of the driver contacted four other law firms who declined representation due to 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 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 their heirs. The court approved the confidential settlement and remarked to Mr. Hiroshima “…your good work in the prosecution of the case has compensated these personal injury plaintiffs for their loss.”
Defective Winch, Ryder Car Carrying Trailer, Neck Injury, 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 $150,000.00 for the neck injury she sustained when the car pushed her off the trailer.
PREMISES LIABILITY / TRIP AND FALL - Dog owner liability: In this unfortunate incident, an elderly homeowner was knocked to the ground by her neighbor’s dog. This “Pocket” area resident of Sacramento walked out her front door one 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. Her 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 $300,000.00.
Minor child v. Six Flags Marine World: Mr. Lewis filed this personal injury 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. The 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 claim was resolved in the sum of $150,000.00 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 caused her own injuries which included a fractured humerus. We successfully concluded the case for $100,000.00.
Seek Experienced Representation
The attorneys at Hiroshima, Jacobs, Roth & Lewis have the skills and experience to achieve results and obtain a fair recovery for clients in a range of personal injury and wrongful death situations. If you have been seriously injured or lost a loved one due to the negligence or wrongful acts of another party, contact Hiroshima, Jacobs, Roth & Lewis, A Law Corporation, for a free initial consultation.
