The following is a brief list of verdicts and settlements which the law office of SS&F has obtained on behalf of their clients.
$5 million settlement
Settlement for an 18 year old who was rendered a quadriplegic as a result of the negligence of a teenage driver who had been served alcohol at a restaurant. A national chain restaurant served a group of teenagers alcohol without carding any of them.
$4.75 million settlement
46-year-old machinist was rendered a T-5 paraplegic when another motorist pulled out in front of him from a private driveway. The case was complicated by a number of factors, including that the various defendants contended that the motorist was not in the course and scope of employment, that the intersection was not defectively designed, and that the motorcyclist was speeding and inattentive, since had he been traveling at the speed limit, he had sufficient time to avoid the collision. Nevertheless, we prevailed in obtaining sufficient resources for our client to satisfy his lifetime needs.
$4.5 million settlement
A 56-year-old man was killed in the Metro-Link disaster in Los Angeles, where the train crashed due to the inattention of a conductor while “texting”.
$4,000,000 settlement
Middle-aged woman was killed on her bicycle when a truck driver violated her right-of- way, leaving her two adult daughters.
$2 MILLION SETTLEMENT
A female employee sued a Bay Area hospital and her cardiologist for sexual assault and harrassment, when her employer (the hospital) failed to adequately protect her after her doctor groped her while under anesthesia during a procedure at the hospital where they both worked.
$1.5 million settlement
Settlement for a school teacher who suffered a brain injury while walking with her four year old son when a parent dropping off her child accidentally pressed the accelerator in her car rather than the brake. The car then struck a fence post which in turn struck the client causing her head injury.
$1.65 MILLION SETTLEMENT
Client sustained knee, ankle and shoulder injury requiring 7 surgeries when she slipped on an upside down utility cover.
$925,000 settlement
A child was severely burned at a day care center. Because of the trauma of the accident the child refused to go back to day care and the mother was forced to quit her job, which led to economic hardship. Part of the settlement was used to help the family buy a house and get back on their feet. The rest was put into a trust for the child.
$850,000 settlement
A middle-aged woman suffered a fractured shoulder in an automobile accident. Because her uninsured motorist insurance carrier failed to make a prompt and fair offer to settle her case, she was awarded $850,000 for not only her personal injuries, but for the insurance company’s “bad faith”.
$800,000 settlement
A father and his minor son each received $400,000 for their loss of consortium and negligent infliction of emotional distress based on severe injuries suffered by their wife/mother. The young boy suffered minor personal injuries as a pedestrian when the driver of an automobile lost control of her vehicle, striking a fence and knocking him down. Unfortunately, his mother suffered severe injuries, which the young boy witnessed, entitling him to recovery on a theory of “negligent infliction of emotion distress.” The woman’s husband also recovered damages even though he suffered no bodily injuries, on a theory of loss of consortium of the care and comfort of his wife because of her injuries.
$700,000 settlement
Settlement for a man injured when he slipped and fell in a Long’s Drug Store. The injury occurred when the victim was making a delivery to the store and slipped on a Christmas ornament that was on the floor.
$700,000 settlement
Settlement for a woman who was injured while shopping at the Ford’s Department store in downtown Santa Cruz in the 1989 earthquake. The back of the Ford’s Department store collapsed during the earthquake burying the woman under a pile of ruble. She was extricated alive but had a severe leg injury. The settlement was paid by Ford’s Department store for failing to retrofit the store in anticipation of a major earthquake in the area.
$500k SETTLEMENT
Settlement for client who lost his left eye in a bar fight instigated by bar employee.
$500,000 settlement
Settlement for a Capitola man when his mother-in-law hired a hit man to kill him over a child custody dispute. The would-be hit man unknowingly hired an undercover officer to be his accomplice.
