Service Tag: premise liability

We litigate claims where clients are defamed, libeled, trespassed upon and who have had their privacy invaded. These kinds of harms can be non-physical and can result in substantial damages to reputation,
business or marriage and we can obtain substantial damage awards from juries in these cases. Just because the harm is not physical, it can be mental and can have real world consequences, for which damages should be awarded.

We have decades of experience in handling PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) cases ranging from assault and battery and rape cases to psychological trauma suffered by accident victims and by-stander victims who witness injuries and death. These injuries are unfortunately not given the proper weight that they deserve in litigation and trial by corporations and insurance companies and we make sure we retain the proper experts to evaluate, treat and testify convincingly to a jury as to the effects of PTSD and emotional injuries to support our claim for substantial damages.

We see a host of serious orthopedic injuries that ranges from a broken foot to a hip replacement to a knee replacement. We have a stable of decorated experts who served on Olympic committees and professional sports teams as consultants and team doctors to evaluate, treat and serve as expert witnesses in our cases. We are wise to the defense’s common approach and argument that such injuries while caused by the accident were pre-existing through arthritic changes that would have likely occurred even without the accident, as well as there was no such mechanism of injury in the accident. Such defense attacks are tired and ineffective when met with experienced trial lawyers and experts that are prepared to demonstrate the manner in which the accident specifically caused the injuries resulting in substantial awards.

In most of the accident cases we handle, our clients typically suffer neck or back spinal injuries ranging from complete paralysis to disk and facet injury in the spine. We utilize the best neurosurgeons, radiologists and pain management experts to evaluate, these injuries who can offer expert opinions on the severity at trial. In a world where every defense lawyer contends that any level of spinal injury is degenerative or pre-existed the accident, we aggressively litigate and offer evidence on the traumatic nature of the injuries through expert opinion, diagnostic tools, and medical illustration and animation. Our experience and knowledge of the jury instructions allows us to build a case around the defense arguments of degenerative conditions that wins every time and results in substantial monetary awards.

We represent many families whose loved ones have been lost in an accident by the negligent act of another. We have decades of experience in asking juries for damages for the loss of a loved one. Understanding how to calculate both economic loss and non-economic losses of the deceased requires special experts and trial preparation. Our time-honored methods of selecting juries and presenting evidence of the loss of a loved one and the grief of their absence has allowed us to recover millions of dollars for our clients in these cases.

Fall from height cases requires special knowledge and training because there are laws which regulate heights people can safely work at in California. OSHA requires that fall protection be provided at elevations of four feet in general industry workplaces, five feet in shipyards, six feet in the construction industry, eight feet in longshoring operations and 10 feet in scaffolding work. These cases require extensive knowledge and understanding of OSHA regulations and regulatory experts. These accidents are generally very serious and require seasoned counsel to handle. As an example, we recently obtained a $3,500,000 verdict for our client in a warehouse accident where he fell from a ladder over 20 feet and sustained spinal injuries due to the negligence of the warehouse.

We see many “slip and fall” and/or “trip and fall” accident cases at indoor and outdoor malls, restaurants, pubs, fast food chains, hotels and motels, clothing retailers, home improvement centers, city government buildings, hospitals, apartment complexes, warehouses, grocery stores, coffee shops, nursing homes, even laundromats and beauty salons, and many other public and private locations where people can fall and get seriously injured. There are special laws that govern whether or not the floor, stairs, lighting or lights, handrails (if any), drains, curbs and chairs were maintained in a safe manner. We have the experience and the experts to successfully prosecute these claims against the resources and wealth of some of these businesses and insurers, particularly retailers. We use time-tested techniques against facility managers to establish that more often than not dangerous conditions and unsafe practices at these locations are generally a function of them choosing profits over safety. And, there are special laws and jury instructions that hold these entities responsible for periodic and written inspections referred to as the Ortega rule, that strictly require companies to inspect their premises and facilities at regular intervals to prevent spills, or simply a broken drain or other defects in the floor or the building. We have the experience required to locate and preserve the surveillance camera tapes which often show the accident and/or the lack of maintenance and inspection.

We have decades of experience suing insurance companies that refuse to pay insurance claims in good faith or refuse to provide coverage to their insureds under certain claim conditions. We handle everything from homeowner’s claims from a leaky roof to coverage litigation over catastrophic accident ligation in the context of truck and vehicle accidents and, warehouse accidents, among others. We understand the philosophy of the insurance companies and beat them at their own game in representing our clients in these cases.