Doellstedt v. State
$5 million settlement from State of California for serious injuries to Daniel Doellstedt and wrongful death of Daniel Weinstein on September 24, 2006 on westbound I-580 in Contra Costa county when a westbound vehicle struck their eastbound bikes on the shoulder of the west bound lane. Doellstedt and Weinstein had ridden on the shoulder eastbound toward Point Molate and were returning on the shoulder on the west bound lanes when debris on the shoulder forced them to turn around, re trace their steps and ride against traffic on I-580. Plaintiffs contended the State should have provided barrier protection for bicyclists allowed to travel on high speed freeway shoulder on bridge approach.
$2,250,000 for pedestrian Jose Prado
Jose Prado was hit by a vehicle operated by S. Gilbert on January 1, 2006 while crossing Mission Street in Daly City Ca, resulting in traumatic brain injuries.
Pedestrian v. Doe Bus Company and Doe Bus Driver
$2,000,000 settlement involving plaintiff, 64, retired, who was legally blind and accompanied by a service dog, who was struck in a crosswalk by a private bus in San Francisco, sustaining a comminuted left lateral tibial plateau fracture and permanent loss of taste and smell.
$1.3 million settlement for woman seriously injured when taxi cab in which she was a passenger collided with a van driven by an employee of three companies.
Henderson vs. State
$1,850,000 settlement vs. State and driver of vehicle that struck and killed 16 year old bicyclist driving her bike in a crosswalk on SR 132 in Waterford, CA. Plaintiff contended the intersection was unsafe due to lack of signal and other devices and the driver was driving improperly.
Doe confidential settlement
$1,675,000 settlement for wrongful death of 71 year old wife and personal injuries to surviving husband when their vehicle was struck by a car.
In re Horse Lessons
1 million policy limits settlement for the wrongful death of a 5 year old girl thrown from a horse during lessons on October 9, 2008. Plaintiffs established the horse was a four year old inexperienced, horse who had thrown others and none of that information was disclosed to the family who had also signed a release of liability for the facility.
Estrada vs. Property Owner
Estrada was a San Francisco Firefighter seriously injured when a parapet collapsed on him while fighting a fire at defendants' warehouse. Estrada defeated a Summary Judgment based on the firefighter's rule and the case settled for the remaining policy limits of $981,900.
Hutchinson vs. State of California
On July 18, 2011 a Solano County jury awarded a total of $29,277,391.12 in an action against the State of California for absence of a median barrier and against Nicola Bucci for negligently passing another vehicle and striking plaintiffs' oncoming vehicle head on SR 12 between Suisun and Rio Vis to on November 17, 2006. Thomas Brandi was lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
Retiree vs. State
A settlement in the amount of $8.257 million for a aerospace engineer and retired Colonel whose vehicle was struck when an uninsured motorist crossed over the unguarded median and hit his car at high speed head on in 2002 on State Route 1 in Monterey California. An action was brought against the State for the absence of a K-rail, Jersey concrete, or other median barrier and our investigation of city, county, and Federal records and our discovery of State records revealed prior accidents and that the need for a median barrier was warranted but the State had failed to act to correct this unsafe condition. Our client sustained fractures of his skull, facial bones, radius, ulna, and kneecap and a head injury which resulted in limited speech and left him wheelchair dependent for mobility. His wife, 60, suffered fractures to her left femur, right knee, and right wrist. The State contended it acted reasonably and that the sole cause of the accident was the negligence of the uninsured crossover driver.
Pierson v. Ford Motor Company
On August 4, 2011, a federal appeals court issued a decision upholding a $18.3 million jury verdict against Ford Motor Company in favor of Dax Pierson. The verdict was obtained in May 2009 by Daniel Dell'Osso of The Brandi Law Firm along with Kevin Quinn of San Diego and James Doyal of Houston, Texas following a three-week trial before the Honorable Phyllis Hamilton in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Spinal Injury, Nevada
Confidential settlement on behalf of a 33 year old male in Nevada who fractured his spine at C-6, becoming an incomplete quadriplegic, in a single vehicle rollover accident. The man, who had recently been laid off from his job as a sheet metal worker, was driving on Southbound US6 39 miles north of Tonopah, Nevada in order to apply for a new job when his 2003 Mitsubishi Galant was forced off the road by a tractor-trailer and rolled over. As a result, the driver's seat collapsed inward and down, crushing his spine and causing his quadriplegia. The other passengers in the car were uninjured. We were able to establish that the car was not crashworthy and that its defective design caused this man's injuries.
SUV Roll Over, Brain Injury
Confidential settlement on behalf of an 18 year old mother of one who received serious injuries in a single car rollover accident. The young woman was driving her 1999 Chevrolet Blazer, 4 x4 northbound on Highway 5 just south of the Oregon border on her way to visit her mother. For an unknown reason, her car drifted toward the paved shoulder and when she attempted to re-enter the traveled portion of the roadway, the Blazer rolled 4-5 times before coming to rest. She sustained a fracture of C3 and C4 which required surgery and resulted in spastic left hemiparesis, as well as fractures of her femur, humerus, and heel. She also had significant brain swelling and a traumatic brain injury (TBI) which have left her with permanent cognitive deficits and an inability to fully care for herself and her child or maintain employment. We established that the Blazer, which has one of the lowest possible ratings in terms of stability and rollover resistance,
Eureka, California SUV Rollover
Confidential settlement for wife and adult children of Tony DelGrande, an over 30 year high school teacher in the Eureka school system who was killed when his SUV drifted off southbound 101 onto the shoulder. When he turned to the left back onto the road, the SUV rolled over several times resulting in his death and his wife's serious fractures. At the time, Mr. DelGrande was wearing a seat belt extender that was installed by the dealer which failed to provide adequate restraint. Judy DelGrande, the surviving widow, was a medical office manager prior to her injuries. She had fractures of her tibia, fibula, arm, and faces future knee replacement surgery.
In re Alaska Airlines Flight 261
(San Francisco) The elderly parents of an adult daughter who was killed when a defective bolt failed on a commercial flight, causing it to crash, received a $3,000,000 settlement.
Hutchinson vs. State of California, Department of Transportation
On July 18, 2011 a Solano County jury awarded a total of $29,277,391.12 in an action against the State of California for absence of a median barrier and against Nicola Bucci for negligently passing another vehicle and striking plaintiffs' oncoming vehicle head on on SR 12 between Suisun and Rio Vista on November 17, 2006. Thomas Brandi was lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
Pierson v. Ford Motor Company
On August 4, 2011, a federal appeals court issued a decision upholding a $18.3 million jury verdict against Ford Motor Company in favor of Dax Pierson. The verdict was obtained in May 2009 by Daniel Dell'Osso of The Brandi Law Firm along with Kevin Quinn of San Diego and James Doyal of Houston, Texas following a three-week trial before the Honorable Phyllis Hamilton in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Plaintiff Dax Pierson, a 34 year old musician with the band SUBTLE, was rendered a quadriplegic in a rollover accident when the 15-passenger Ford E 350 van rolled over on an icy road. The band was traveling in the Midwest from its show in Denver to its next show in Chicago when the accident occurred on I 80 in rural Iowa. Pierson, who was wearing his seat belt and seated in a rear passenger seat, was injured when his seat came loose from the floor of the van due to a defective locking mechanism, and his head was thrown into the roof, causing severe spinal cord injuries. Pierson was the only one of the seven people in the vehicle who was injured. Finding the seat latch system of the rear seat defective in the Ford 350 Econo van, the jury held Ford 100% responsible.
Ford appealed the verdict, arguing that there was not enough information for the jury to hold it responsible for Dax's injuries. In post-verdict motions, Judge Hamilton disagreed with Ford, and the Court of Appeal affirmed her decision upholding the verdict against Ford.
DOE Employees v. DOE Defendant
Plaintiffs, employees of Defendant, brought a national wage and hour action under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and a California wage and hour action under state law. Defendant denied the claims, claiming the employees were exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the FLSA and California law. The court certified the FLSA as a collective action under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), denied the California claims to proceed as a class action under Rule 23 on the basis that a Rule 23 class action was not superior, but allowed Californians who opted-in to the FLSA collective action to assert their California claims. The court thereafter granted Plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment, holding that the employees were not exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the FLSA and California law. The case settled for a confidential amount, which was approved by the Court on May 4, 2011.
