Verdicts
Georgia Lawsuit: Injured Motorist Receives $1.29M from Insurer
A recent article from The Daily Report, "Injured motorist wins $1.29M after judge OKs suit against insurer" summarizes a case in which the judge rules against the insurance company of a trucking company.
Tommie L. Johnson's (plaintiff) Attorney, Lloyd W. Hoffspiegel
Johnson's accident occurred in 2007 when he had been driving on Interstate 285 in DeKalb County and was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer switching lanes. The accident left Johnson with a torn rotator cuff and two surgeries, both of which were unsuccessful. As a result of the injury, Johnson is unable to left his left arm; he also cannot return to his work as school safety officer.
The victim Tommie L. Johnson was awarded $1.29Million from Aequicap Insurance Company. Johnson was represented by Atlanta workers compensation lawyer Lloyd W. Hoffspiegel of Hoffspiegel & Associates; the plaintiffs included Aequicap, the truck driver and GWT Trucking.
Walkup Lawyers: $12,200,000 Settlement Awarded
Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger - Brain Injury Lawyers
In Liou v. State of California, CIV 460659, Douglas S. Saeltzer and Richard H. Schoenberger successfully argued that Caltrans needs to do a better job of paying attention to pedestrian safety.
On July 1, 2010 a San Mateo County awarded $12,200,000 verdict in favor of Emily Liou, a pedestrian injured in a crosswalk at an uncontrolled intersection on State Route 82 (El Camino Real).
Caltrans has known for years that marked crosswalks at intersections without any stop lights or stop signs give pedestrians a false sense of security. Studies dating back to the 1970s have shown that placing a marked crosswalk at uncontrolled intersections often increases the pedestrian accident rate. This is especially true on wide and busy roads such as State Route 82. Discovery revealed that a marked crosswalk was placed at the subject intersection in 1960s. As time passed, and traffic on the road increased, Caltrans never once reevaluated if the subject crosswalk should be removed.
Caltrans defended the case by arguing that 90 million cars had passed through this intersection over the past ten years with very few pedestrians being injured. It argued to the jury that under its TASAS system the accident rate at the subject intersection was below acceptable thresholds. Plaintiff, however, countered that Caltrans' accident monitoriing system ignores pedestrians.
In truth, Caltrans never counted the number of pedestrians that used this crosswalk and, consequently, never determined if the pedestrian accident rate was too high. Had it done so it would have discovered that the pedestrian accident rate exceeded recommended levels by a factor of twenty. In short, Caltrans defense proved plaintiff's point. Caltrans focuses on cars, not pedestrians. The jury agreed.
Further details of the verdict can be found at www.walkupblog.com
Austin Officer Sues Police Department
A suit was brought up against the City of Austin, TX on behalf of a police captain who was retaliated against when he requested a federal investigation into the police department. The plaintiff was indefinitely and wrongfully suspended by the police department which caused him to seek Austin auto accident attorneys and personal injury lawyers to help defend his case.
$1 million in actual damages and $2 million in punitive damages were sought for the plaintiff's humiliation, embarrassment, emotional distress, and major depressive disorder which were brought on by the police department's actions, and for the harm to his reputation and employability. This police abuse case ended with awarding the former police captain with the amount to compensate for all damages.
High Profile Criminal Cases in Los Angeles
No matter how much publicity a case receives, every defendant deserves a fair trial and reliable Los Angeles criminal lawyers defending him or her.
For example, the Chris Brown criminal assault case
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office charged popular singer Chris Brown with assaulting his girlfriend Rihanna. He pled guilty to a felony assault charge on June 22, 2009.
The plea terms Brown agreed to include the following penalties:
•   Six months community service in his home state of Virginia
•   Return to California every three months
•   Attend domestic violence counseling
•   Stay 50 yards away from the victim, except at industry events when the order requires the two stay 10 yards apart
•   Five years probation
A spokesperson from the District Attorney’s office stated that these terms represent the penalties another person with no criminal record might receive if he or she faced similar charges. Brown received no special consideration and his lawyers provided a strong criminal defense on his behalf. Make sure to reach out to a good criminal defense law firm in Los Angeles if you have been accused of a criminal case in the area.
