Category: Settlements

Is my case worth $1 million? $10 million? We’ve all heard the stories. “My friend broke her fingernail and got $150,000.” “My brother-in-law’s friend’s cousin’s son’s wife got $4 million when she fell at the A & P and broke her wrist.” “Bob Hartman got $2.7 million because he was rear-ended by a drunk driver and the drunk’s insurance company was afraid to go to court.”  How are these crash-to-riches cases possible?  Well, in a word, they’re not! Are there multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements? Of course there are but they are based on major injuries, good liability and deep pockets. Click here for… Read More

Note: This story has been fictionalized and all persons appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, places or events is entirely coincidental. What If I Want to Change Lawyers? Dan P. called my office and asked to speak with a lawyer – he got me. We chatted for a few minutes during which time he scratched the surface of his difficult, painful and frustrating story. Mr. P. is a South American immigrant who, along with his wife and other family members, came to this country to raise his family of four. For many… Read More

Just when you think you have no case, you may have a case. I was asked to take a case where Billy, a motorcycle rider who on first impression was thought to be partially, if not all, to blame for an accident from which he suffered catastrophic injuries. Billy was a vibrant, young 20 something motorcycle rider who was not expected to live. Turns out a lady turned left in front of him in a road construction zone. Upon further investigation, I discovered that there were potentially many reasons why this accident happened – not all of which could be… Read More

Eli Lilly has settled once again for improperly marketing the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa. I blogged on this subject earlier this year. See Eli Lilly Settles Claims Over Zyprexa. Then, later in the year, drug giant Merck settled cases over deceptive television advertisements. See $58 Million Merck Settlement To Change Deceptive TV Drug Advertisements. Are the drug companies an evil empire? Well, maybe so, but they are not beyond the reach of those that have our best interests in mind — i.e., Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr. Here’s the latest: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 7, 2008 Contact: Christine Gasparac: (916) 324-5500 Attorney General… Read More

Wow, it’s amazing! Airborne, the “cold remedy” du jour, has settled a false advertising lawsuit for $23.2 Million. What galls me is that I take Airborne. Maybe it’s the placebo effect, but I truly believe that it works. In the last 4 months, I started to come down with a cold twice and the symptoms literally disappeared after taking 2 doses of Airborne. This is pretty fascinating stuff, though, and I encourage you to click on the links below for some great reading and viewing. United Press International published the following: CARMEL, Calif., March 4 (UPI) — A California herbal supplement firm… Read More

Miss May T., a then 17 year old girl, slipped on black ice outside of a convenience store and suffered an excruciatingly painful bimalleolar fracture of her right ankle. Her injuries were so severe that massive swelling ensued and the doctors were unable to operate on her ankle for over a week! While May writhed in unspeakable pain and doctors were unable to do anything more than give her pain pills (which she was reluctant to take), the insurance carrier for the convenience store denied liability! A massive liability dispute arose. I hired a meteorologist, a slip and fall expert and a private investigator to get… Read More

How horrific it was for my client, Mrs. F., an innocent woman legally slowing down for a stop to be suddenly, and without warning, be rear-ended by a drunk driver. Otherwise in great health, this lovely lady’s life was turned asunder by the flagrant disregard of a guy who was more concerned with his afternoon cocktails than the safety of other people on the road on which he drove. The physical impact to Mrs. F’s car was so severe that it was deemed a total loss. In particular, the insurance company felt that it would cost more to repair her car… Read More

A fascinating product liability case involved a wine conossieur who, while attempting to uncork a bottle of wine, was using a cork extractor which operates as follows: A needle is inserted through the cork, the user pumps the spring-loaded handle and air pressure then forces the cork out. The result is shown in the picture to your left. Mr. A. had owned the cork extracting unit for several years and, up to the date of his injury, had used it to uncork at least 200 bottles of wine. Although he reports that the cork is usually extracted on the fifth to seventh pump, the… Read More