Top 10 – 2022 Southern California Super Lawyers List
As reported in today’s Daily Journal, so happy to report our first post COVID jury verdict yesterday of $60 million which will be $90 million after pre-judgment interest for a trial in Orange County in a negligence case against a hotel for failing to properly perform a room/welfare check.
59 year old wife had a devastating ACOM aneurysm rupture while alone at hotel at approx. 6pm, which incapacitated her. Her husband (back at home) couldn’t reach her so he asked hotel to check on her in the room. Hotel promises husband to send someone to the room, to check on her and to see if she’s in the room. Hotel had room/welfare check polices in place but never trained anyone on them (these policies were designed to prevent exactly what happened here.) Understaffed, the hotel sends an untrained maintenance man who didn’t fully check the room because he got nervous and said wife wasn’t in room, when she was. This resulted in a 7.5 hour delay in finding her and getting medical care.
The trial was highly polarized with Defendant vigorously contesting everything: liability, causation and damages. Defendant actually argued that we made up our medical causation theory.
I have to admit I was on fire in that courtroom (having not been in one for two years.) This trial could be a class on how to handle all aspects of a trial from voir dire to cross to closing. Co-counsel who brought me in to try the case many years ago, Matt Biren and John Roberts, made it so easy for us to try this very complex case but make it simple.
Defendant and it’s “world renowned” experts completely missed the medical reality that timely medical intervention at 10:30 pm would have prevented the communicating hydrocephalus that developed and which is known to cause anterograde memory loss, and that this happens because of increased intracranial pressure, leading to direct pressure on important structures like both hippocampi.
This jury’s verdict is a vindication of our civil justice system. No one can evade the truth. Everyone is accountable. Resumes don’t win trials. The facts and law do.
Finally, the money here will make a difference in that now this most beautiful human being’s husband can get the proper care for his wife. It is also an acknowledgment of the mind boggling horror show of what has happened to his wife.
Love love love love love what we get to do.
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