• Dog Bite
• Attorney Error
• Sexual Harassment
• Wrongful Dismissal
• Doctor Error

December 15, 2008: Martha A. Taylor joins the firm as an associate attorney after having passed the bar. See her profile here.

RECENT SETTLEMENTS:

1. $9,000,000 defective roadway/ personal injury settlement by Daniel E. Wilcoxen and William M. Lyons. 17 year old female driver collided with a previously damaged guardrail on I-10 in Los Angeles County. The guardrail speared the vehicle, penetrating the driver side door resulting in the traumatic amputation of both of the driver’s lower legs. The lawsuit alleged a dangerous condition of public property against Caltrans. Deposition testimony established that the Caltrans was on notice of the damaged condition of the guardrail prior to the accident and in fact inspected the scene but determined that the situation did not warrant immediate attention, despite the fact that the energy absorbing end piece had been rendered useless and dangerous by the prior accident. It was also established that the guardrail had been damaged at this location on prior occasions.

2. $2,800,000 medical malpractice settlement by Daniel E. Wilcoxen. 18 year old male initially sustained a traumatic brain injury and thoracic spine burst fractures in a single vehicle no liability accident on January 14, 2005. He was admitted to the hospital with a Glasgow Coma Scale (hereafter “GCS”) of 3. Over the next several months, he made a significant recovery. His GCS increased to 12. On July 26, 2005 the patient sustained a second traumatic brain injury when he fell from his wheelchair at the nurse’s station while anticoagulated with Coumadin. A brain scan on 07/26/05 revealed a large acute right subdural hematoma with midline shift. After a number of depositions, the hospital admitted liability. Damages were limited to the amount of care required after the fall (no wage loss) versus that which would have been required subsequent to his earlier accident.

3. $2,450,000 auto seatbelt defect/product liability settlement by Walter H. Loving and Daniel E. Wilcoxen. A 44 year old woman was rendered a paraplegic as a result of a single vehicle accident with alleged intoxication. Plaintiff was traveling on Highway 50 when she lost control of her vehicle (plaintiff indicates she swerved to avoid another vehicle). Her vehicle rolled over and she was ejected through the driver’s side window because the seatbelt failed.

4. $1,900,000 wrongful death settlement by Gary B. Callahan and Daniel E. Wilcoxen. 31 year old CHP officer was killed on a section of roadway in Riverside County when his motorcycle struck the tongue of a landscaping trailer driven by an uninsured illegal alien that turned left in front of him. He was ejected from his motorcycle, landing 75 feet from the point of impact. Plaintiffs alleged dangerous condition of roadway against the County of Riverside and numerous property owners.

5. $1,700,000 medical negligence/birth trauma settlement by Daniel E. Wilcoxen. Plaintiff mother’s pregnancy was uncomplicated until the last few months of her pregnancy. Several days before delivery she had significant cramping and bleeding. She went to labor and delivery, complaining to the triage nurse that she was bleeding, having contractions and cramping. They put her on a monitor and told told her the baby’s heart rate was fine. She was monitored for a couple hours. She was dilated 1 cm, her due date was upcoming (she was 39 ½ weeks), her water had not broken and they would not admit her unless she was dilated 3 cm. Approximately two days later the baby was born with severe handicaps.