SOME OF MOST IMPRESSIVE RESULTS IN DIFFICULT CASES IN CALIFORNIA

Vehicle/pedestrian case where a truck struck a pedestrian and caused a fractured ankle and shoulder soft tissue injury, and the police report found the injured pedestrian at fault for causing the collision. After Mr. Tomasik grilled the truck driver at his deposition for hours regarding inconsistencies in his statements to the reporting officer, the driver’s insurance company admitted complete fault on the part of the driver. Mr. Tomasik realized that his client had developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) from her ankle fracture before her treating doctors did, and he found a CRPS expert that confirmed his suspicion. The defendants’ insurance companies still were making low-ball offers until the case settled on the eve of trial for 6 million dollars.

67 year old woman fell down the interior stairs in the condo building where she had lived for 25 years, and her blood alcohol level was alleged to be .237. She suffered severe fractures and a brain injury, but eventually returned to full time work. The condo HOA alleged that she was completely at fault for not reporting that there was only a handrail on one side of the stairway, and due to her alleged intoxication. Since his client was disabled before the incident, Mr. Tomasik conducted exhaustive research of Federal and State law regarding disability discrimination caused by the condition of the stairway and spent 3 months drafting a ground-breaking 32 page lawsuit. Disability discrimination experts did not believe the discrimination theories would survive legal challenges from Defendants’ demurrer and Motion for Summary Judgment, but not only did it survive these challenges, the judge who denied the motion stated in his decision that the lawsuit was “very detailed and informative.” After the first two defense law firms were unable to have the case dismissed, the third defense attorney stated that the most he had ever paid to settle any case was $2.4 million, and there was no way he would agree to pay anywhere close to that amount for this case. Despite that, due to Mr. Tomasik’s exhaustive efforts involving thousands of hours of work over nearly 3 years for a case that his colleagues were skeptical that he would prevail in, the case settled shortly before trial for nearly 3 million dollars.

A van rolled down a hillside and slammed into a tree, and three passengers of the passengers were injured. One of the other passengers was represented by a different attorney and settled for $765,000, but Mr. Tomasik and his client ignored much lower offers to his client and steadfastly insisted they would only settle for $2.55 million. After Mr. Tomasik took a devastating deposition of the insurance company’s private investigators who had taken clandestine sub rosa video of Mr. Tomasik’s client in an attempt to catch him doing activities contradictory to his alleged impairments, the insurance company agreed to pay Mr. Tomasik’s demand of $2.55 million to settle the case.

Alameda County

Plaintiff Linda S. was a 52 year old mother of three who was on complete medical disability and had not worked for many years before the collision.  She was walking on a sidewalk in downtown Oakland when a City of Oakland sewer truck allegedly ran a red light and struck an SUV, then proceeded through the intersection of 14th Street and Franklin Street and jumped the curb and struck Plaintiff.  Even though Linda S. was an innocent victim, the City of Oakland refused to admit fault for the collision.

Plaintiff suffered seven rib fractures and left pneumothorax (collapsed lung), and she also sustained a comminuted left femur fracture, a torn rotator cuff in her left non-dominant shoulder, a lacerated spleen, a bone lesion in her right distal femur, and numerous lacerations and contusions.  Plaintiff also claimed aggravation of the pre-existing lower back injury which caused her to be on complete disability before the collision.  Her femur fracture required reconstructive surgery and installation of metal hardware.  Plaintiff spent two weeks in the hospital, and received 23 sessions of in-home physical therapy.

Plaintiff was unemployed and on complete medical disability at the time of the collision and did not make a wage loss claim so her recoverable past medical bills of $88,021.51 were her only economic damages.  The City of Oakland’s medical expert contended that “based upon the findings on my clinical examination, orthopedically there has been no increase in her pre-existing disability which I would related to the incident in question.”  Defendant’s expert estimated future expenses related to the collision would be $50,000. The case settled shortly before trial for $2,000,000.

Alameda County

Plaintiff was a 67 year old woman who was a retired travel agent, and was shopping inside the 99 Ranch Market in Dublin when she slipped and fell on an unknown liquid on the floor.  The store claimed that it complied with the industry standards by performing visual inspections of its entire sales floor every thirty minutes on the day of the incident, and had sweep logs which indicated that the area where Plaintiff fell was inspected just 10 minutes before her fall.  Plaintiff contended that only one janitor was responsible for inspecting the entire store in the thirty minutes before the fall, that she was not the person who signed the sweep logs, and even if she had inspected the area, visual inspections were not sufficient.  Plaintiff’s store safety expert tested the flooring material with a friction testing machine, and found that the flooring material that the store selected was excessively slippery and not appropriate for a grocery store.  Mr. Tomasik was able to elicit numerous inconsistencies in the deposition testimony of Defendant’s employees.

Plaintiff sustained a right femoral head fracture in her right hip, and underwent reconstructive surgery with metal hardware implantation.  Plaintiff initially had a good recovery from that surgery, but later developed necrosis in her right hip.  Defendant disputed that the necrosis was related to Plaintiff’s injuries from the incident. Plaintiff underwent a total right hip replacement surgery, and while the surgery improved her symptoms, at the time of trial she was still recovering.  Plaintiff’s major passion was dancing and she enjoyed tap dancing, Chinese Folk dancing, Hawaiian hula dancing, belly dancing, jazz and line dancing at least 4-5 times per week immediately before her fall.  The surgeon who performed the hip replacement surgery testified that he hoped that Plaintiff would be able to return to her previous level of dancing, but it was unclear if she would, and she might need another hip replacement surgery.  Plaintiff also had extensive scarring on her right thigh from both surgeries.

Following an 11 day trial, the jury found that Welcome Market. Inc. was negligent in the maintenance or use of the property, that their negligence was a substantial factor in causing harm to Plaintiff, and that Plaintiff was not at fault for her fall.  The jury awarded Plaintiff $227,063 for her past medical bills, $450,000 for her past non-economic loss, $150,000 for her future medical bills, and $250,000 for her future non-economic loss, for a total verdict of $1,077,063.

Several jurors indicated to counsel after trial that they wanted to award “more – far more” to that plaintiff. The mother of a juror died just as deliberations were commencing, but she refused to be replaced by an alternate juror and she participated in deliberations.  The Court indicated that this was the first verdict in favor of a plaintiff in their department in the first six months of that year. (July, 2011)

Alameda County

K.W., an Underinsured Motorist Claimant, was a 45 year old handyman raising two young daughters as a single father who was struck by a van while walking as a pedestrian, and initially had soft tissue injuries and worsening of a pre-existing lumbar disc injury.  He eventually developed cubital tunnel syndrome in his left (non-dominant) elbow, and underwent nerve transposition surgery.  After the elbow surgery, he developed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in his left elbow, causing him constant elbow pain, swelling, temperature changes (ice cold sensation), skin mottling and other symptoms.  Claimant also sustained a 3-4 mm L5-S1 disc protrusion, and this caused lumbar pain, which was also constant.

After CSAA took Claimant’s deposition, the in-house attorney for CSAA stated that he was informed by CSAA that “there may be no coverage for this claim,” since Claimant allegedly “cancelled his policy.”  After Mr. Tomasik sent a detailed letter explaining how Claimant had not cancelled his policy and demanding that CSAA acknowledge coverage and allow the UIM claim to proceed, CSAA agreed that their policy was in effect and that it provided UIM coverage for the claim.

Claimant was unable to work due to his severe pain and disability, and was suffering severe financial distress as a result of his injuries.  Claimant settled with the adverse driver for his $15,000 policy limits, and Mr. Tomasik then demanded Claimant’s million dollar UIM limits from his insurance company (CSAA), minus the $15,000 set-off for the third party settlement.

While CSAA did eventually pay the million dollar limits, they repeatedly delayed the handling of the claim, and they litigated the UIM claim for over a year without making a settlement offer.  CSAA then initially made a settlement offer of only $210,000, but after Mr. Tomasik stated that Claimant would proceed to binding arbitration if CSAA did not pay the entire million dollars of UIM coverage, CSAA eventually agreed to pay the entire million dollars. With payment of an additional $25,000 in Med Pay benefits, the total recovery to Claimant was $1,025,000.

Claimant filed a subsequent bad faith lawsuit against CSAA for improper claims handling of the UIM claim, and he obtained a multiple six figure recovery for that claim.

Alameda County

Claimant was a 30 year old woman who was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a collision in Arkansas.  Claimant retained one of the most prominent attorneys in Arkansas, but she was not pleased with his case handling or lack of communication, so she retained Mr. Tomasik after she moved to California for graduate school.  Claimant sustained a fracture to her left (non-dominant) wrist which was surgically repaired.  She did not make a complete recovery from that surgery and had another surgery to remove metal hardware, but continued to suffer pain, weakness, and limitation of range of motion.  Claimant eventually developed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy(RSD)/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

After obtaining a $25,000 settlement from the insurance company for the driver who rear-ended Claimant, Mr. Tomasik initiated an Underinsured Motorist (UIM) claim with Farmers, who was the insurance carrier for Claimant’s father.  Farmers repeatedly tried to deny that the claim was covered under Claimant’s father’s insurance policy, but Mr. Tomasik was eventually was able to convince Farmers that Claimant was covered.

Claimant had over $100,000 in past medical bills and alleged that she would need an additional $100,000 in future medical treatment.  Claimant had hoped to become an editor for a prominent magazine, and thus contended that she would have over $750,000 in wage loss due to her inability to type for long periods of time.  Farmers argued that Claimant could use voice recognition software, and consequently her wage loss was minimal.  Arkansas juries tend to be extremely conservative in their awards, so Mr. Tomasik had the UIM claim transferred to California as permitted under the terms of the policy.  After litigating with Farmers for over a year, Farmers eventually offered $400,000 to settle the UIM claim, but on Mr. Tomasik’s advice, Claimant rejected that $400,000 settlement offer.  Farmers filed a motion to prevent the arbitration hearing from proceeding in California and attempted to transfer venue back to Arkansas, but Mr. Tomasik was able to convince them to settle the UIM claim for an additional $787,500, resulting in a total recovery to Claimant of $812,500.

Alameda County

Plaintiff was a furniture installer who stepped out of his truck and slipped and fell on ice in a parking lot of a corporate complex in Foster City.  The corporate owner did not have an on-site manager as required by the maintenance contract, and an employee stated that ice had been allowed to exist in parking stalls for at least two days. Plaintiff eventually underwent two back surgeries and a shoulder surgery.  Defense counsel brought a motion to transfer the case to a less favorable county, and Mr. Tomasik’s opposition was so persuasive that the judge not only denied the motion, but also awarded sanctions against defense counsel.  In addition to the $750,000 settlement, Defendant also paid Plaintiff’s Workers Comp lien of approximately $200,000, thus making the settlement worth nearly one million dollars to Plaintiff.

Alameda County

Plaintiff, a 63 year old self-employed business broker, ordered food to go from Taqueria Los Pericos restaurant in San Leandro.  The restaurant had an unsafe policy of wet-mopping the floor during the evening rush hour, and had no guidelines for removing the moisture that they created from the floor.  Plaintiff had ordered take-out food at the restaurant at about 6:30 p.m., and Defendant’s employee mopped the floor behind Plaintiff.  Plaintiff slipped and fell on the wet area created by the restaurant’s employees, severely fracturing his ankle.  The restaurant employees all testified that yellow “Caution – Wet Floor” signs had been placed on the floor in the area prior to the incident, but two independent witnesses testified that those signs were not brought out until after the incident.

The next day, Plaintiff underwent surgery to repair his fractured right ankle, but because of the severity of his injury, he developed post-traumatic arthritis.  Plaintiff initially had a different attorney, but Plaintiff did not believe he was properly prosecuting the case.  That previous attorney was only able to obtain a settlement offer of $70,000, and he attempted to convince Plaintiff to settle the case for $100,000.  Plaintiff then found and retained Mr. Tomasik to take over the case, and Mr. Tomasik then did a great deal of detailed legal work on the case that had not been done by previous counsel, including hiring a safety expert engineer who did testing on the floor material and found it was dangerously slippery.  Plaintiff told Mr. Tomasik that his legal work on the case was “in a different universe” than what was done by his original attorney, and that he wished he had found Mr. Tomasik at the beginning of his case.  Shortly before trial, the case settled for $750,000, more than 10 times the settlement offer to Plaintiff’s original attorney.

Marin County

Plaintiff (a 53 year old woman) and her daughter (13 years old) were traveling Westbound with the flow of traffic on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Ross.  Defendant (who was 16 at the time) was operating the BMW purchased for him by his mother, which had been parked in the driveway of one of the family homes.  Defendant accelerated very quickly out of the driveway onto Sir Francis Drake Boulevard directly in front of plaintiffs’ vehicle, striking the front of plaintiffs’ vehicle with such force that both frontal air bags deployed in plaintiffs’ vehicle.

Plaintiffs did not report any injuries at the collision scene, but after the shock of the collision had worn off later that evening, both plaintiffs began feeling pain from the collision.  Plaintiff received treatment over several months, and was eventually diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD/CRPS).  Defendants contended that Plaintiff did not have RSD/CRPS, and that her symptoms were caused by menopause.  Plaintiff initially hired an prominent Los Angeles attorney to represent her, but Plaintiff was not pleased with the way that attorney was handling the case and the low amount that he was recommending she accept for settlement, so she retained Mr. Tomasik to take over the case.

Mr. Tomasik demanded that Defendants’ insurance company pay the $500,000 policy limits, but the insurance company refused to tender those limits.  Plaintiff’s past medical bills were $38,841, and she was claiming a past wage loss of $55,421.  A month before trial, the insurance company eventually realized its mistake and tendered the remaining $400,000 limits (Plaintiff’s daughter had settled for $100,000), but Plaintiff refused to accept that offer since the policy limits had arguably been “opened up.”  A Marin County jury awarded a verdict of $700,000 (which was $300,000 in excess of the remaining $400,000 policy limits), and Defendants did not appeal that verdict.

Alameda County

Plaintiff was a 21 year old UC-Berkeley student who was riding his motorcycle into the Berkeley hills when a driver of a van made a left turn directly in front of him, causing Plaintiff’s motorcycle to collide with the van.  Plaintiff’s mother interviewed more than a dozen attorneys, and Plaintiff eventually chose Mr. Tomasik to represent him.  The Traffic Collision Report stated that the van driver was completely at fault for the collision, but the insurance company for the van driver argued that Plaintiff was partially at fault.  Plaintiff’s only injury was a ruptured left testicle, and he had 2/3 to 3/4 of the testicle surgically removed.  His fertility and testosterone levels were not affected by his injury, but he sustained residuals of scrotal disfigurement and testicular discomfort after sexual intercourse.  Plaintiff’s medical expert testified that it was more likely than not that Plaintiff would always have some degree of discomfort after intercourse, but Defendant’s medical expert stated that the discomfort would resolve within one to two years.

Plaintiff’s only economic damages were medical bills of approximately $40,000.00, although Defendant argued only $6,217.35 were recoverable from the van driver under Hanif.  The initial settlement offer by Defendant’s insurance company was only $15,000.  The previous highest recorded jury verdict found by both counsel was $325,000, and Defendant’s insurance company stated that they would never offer more than that amount in this case.  After many months of negotiations, the case settled shortly before trial for $625,000, which appears to have been the largest recorded recovery for a testicular injury in California at that time.

Sonoma County

Plaintiff, a 57 year old heavy equipment operator and construction worker, was involved in a three vehicle collision in Unincorporated Ukiah.  Plaintiff and another driver had been stopped at a red light for a significant time.  Defendant rear-ended the vehicle behind Plaintiff which was then pushed into Plaintiff’s vehicle, and Plaintiff vehicle only sustained $3,061 in property damage.  Plaintiff did not believe that he was seriously injured at the scene, but went to his doctor the next day and he was treated for a sprained neck for several months.

Approximately one year after the collision, Plaintiff underwent an anterior cervical microdiscectomy and interbody fusion surgery at C5-6 and C6-7.  Unfortunately he still continued to suffer residual symptoms, including blue discoloration in his fingertips caused by activities such as driving, using the mouse on his computer, or holding his grandchildren for more than a few minutes.  Mr. Tomasik suspected that Plaintiff had a fairly rare condition called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS), and Plaintiff was subsequently diagnosed with cervical Thoracic Outlet Syndrome from the motor vehicle collision.  Plaintiff’s past medical bills totaled $78,454.16, and the case settled shortly before trial for $600,000.

Santa Clara County

Plaintiff, who was a 29 year-old wife and mother of a young son, was involved in a moderate motor vehicle collision in Palo Alto in which her head struck the steering wheel.  Plaintiff was nauseous and vomited, and her doctor diagnosed a concussion on the day of the collision.  Extensive neuropsychological testing and evaluation by Plaintiff’s treating physicians at San Francisco General Hospital later revealed that she had cognitive disorder secondary to traumatic brain injury, major depressive disorder, chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, post-concussive syndrome, and anosmia (loss of smell) as a result of the subject motor vehicle collision.

The defense attorney hired by Defendant’s insurance company claimed that it was impossible for Plaintiff’s head to have struck the steering wheel.  Defense counsel hired a psychiatrist and a neuropsychologist who had notorious reputations for alleging that most people that they examined for brain injuries did not suffer brain injuries from their collisions.

Plaintiff had a previous attorney who had only demanded $65,000 to settle the case, and who told Plaintiff she should accept $35,000 to settle if it was offered.  Plaintiff then retained Mr. Tomasik to take over the case, and Mr. Tomasik then battled defense counsel over a long, contentious discovery phase of litigation.  A few days before trial, Plaintiff settled her case for $580,000.

Santa Clara County

Plaintiff was viciously attacked by a dog owned by a married couple who owned a home in Gilroy.  Plaintiff originally hired another attorney who was told by the dog owners that they had homeowner’s liability insurance with Farmers that would cover the claim.  When Farmers told Plaintiff that they did not insurer the dog owners, that attorney dropped the case, and plaintiff could not find another attorney to take the case until Mr. Tomasik agreed to represent him.

Since the dog owners divorced and sold their home, Mr. Tomasik went through the lengthy and laborious process of obtaining a default judgement against the homeowner, and then spent nearly four years trying to find the homeowners.  Mr. Tomasik (with the assistance of private investigators) was able to track down the homeowner, and the homeowner told Mr. Tomasik that he did have homeowners insurance with Farmers.  When confronted with this allegation, Farmers finally admitted that the homeowners really did have homeowners liability coverage with their company.  Plaintiff, who had lost his left thumb in the dog attack and had to quit his job as a chef because of that, was able to start his own business with the settlement proceeds.

Santa Clara County

This Uninsured Motorist (UM) claim arose from a motor vehicle collision that occurred in Los Altos. Claimant, who at the time was a very athletic, healthy 49 year-old woman, was rear-ended by uninsured motorist, and her vehicle sustained $7,629.05 in property damage.  Claimant went to the Emergency Room shortly after the collision, where she was given a cervical collar and prescription pain medications.  Claimant’s symptoms did not improve as expected, and she was eventually diagnosed with thoracic facet syndrome, which caused her to experienced daily pain and physical limitations.

CSAA repeatedly told Claimant that it would make her a settlement offer, and just days before the two year statute of limitations for filing a claim was set to expire, CSAA informed claimant that it would not be offering her any benefits under her insurance coverage with CSAA.  The parties stipulated that Claimant’s paid past recoverable medical bills were $30,889.40, and CSAA made a final settlement offer of $125,000, which Claimant turned down.  After a long and contentious three day arbitration where CSAA brought in two highly-paid doctors to serve as their expert witnesses, Mr. Tomasik obtained a binding arbitration award of $390,987.57, which was more than three times CSAA’s final offer.

Alameda County

Claimant was a 49 year-old woman who had been a curator at the Oakland Museum for 18 years.  She was in the process of recovering from hip replacement surgery three months before when an SUV ran a stop sign and slammed into the driver’s side door of her vehicle.  She went to the Emergency Room that evening, but no fractures were detected.  After continuing to receive treatment for her pain and other symptoms, subsequent X-rays revealed a femur fracture which had to be surgically repaired.  She was also diagnosed with a permanent twisting of the prosthesis in her left leg from her hip replacement before the collision.

Mr. Tomasik obtained a $100,000 settlement for Claimant with the adverse driver’s insurance company.  Mr. Tomasik then proceeded with an Underinsured Motorist (UIM) claim to Claimant’s own insurance company under her $300,000 UIM policy.  Mr. Tomasik demanded the remaining $200,000 policy limits, but USAA refused to offering anything for more than a year, and finally offered only $50,000 shortly before arbitration.  USAA’s medical expert wrote a report initially stating he believed that Claimant “did sustain a rotation of the femoral component from the motor vehicle accident in question.”  However, at the arbitration hearing, he completely changed his opinion and claimed the collision did not cause this obvious deformity.  Despite this testimony, Claimant obtained a binding arbitration award of $355,110.97, which was seven times the amount of USAA’s offer.  Claimant filed a bad faith case against USAA for their improper handling of her claim, and she settled that case for an additional $375,000.  The defense attorney who decided to fight that UIM claim rather than pay Claimant the insurance benefits she deserved is no longer with their in-house law firm.

Alameda County

This personal injury case arose from an incident that occurred in the bathroom of Defendants’ rental apartment building in Oakland.  Plaintiff, who was 15 years old at the time, resided in the subject one bedroom apartment with his mother, two sisters, and step-brother.  Defendant Carmen S. managed the apartment building on behalf of other Defendants.  Plaintiff was taking a shower in the sole bathroom located in the rental apartment and when he attempted to open the shower door after taking a shower, the metal frame of the shower door which was inadequately secured to the wall, collapsed causing the untempered glass shower door to shatter, nearly completely severing Plaintiff’s left wrist.  Plaintiff’s nerves, arteries and tendons were severed, blood sprayed all over the walls and ceiling of the bathroom, and he feared that he was going to die.  Plaintiff was taken by ambulance to Highland Hospital, where he underwent emergency reconstructive surgery.  Fortunately, Plaintiff made an amazing recovering and was able to use his wrist and hand, but did have residual pain and disfigurement.  Plaintiff’s past medical bills totaled $37,887.92.  Defendants denied that they were at fault for the incident, but Mr. Tomasik ultimately settled this case for the Defendants’ $300,000 insurance policy limits.

Santa Clara County

Claimant, a healthy 17 year old and an avid athlete who had practiced with his high school baseball team the day before the collision, was traveling Northbound on South Mary Avenue towards the intersection with Cambridge Avenue.  Defendant was traveling Southbound on South Mary Avenue towards the intersection with Cambridge Avenue.  Suddenly and without warning, Defendant violated Claimant’s right-of-way by making an abrupt left turn directly in front of him, causing the frontal collision. The force of the collision was so severe that both air bags deployed in Claimant’s vehicle, and it had to be towed from the collision scene and was declared a total loss.

Claimant was taken away from the scene of the collision by ambulance on a stretcher to the Emergency Room. Claimant suffered numerous serious injuries, including a concussion, an avulsion fracture to his right knee, neck injury (including disc protrusion at C3-4 with indentation of thecal sac), back injury, and a labral tear in his right (dominant) shoulder which required surgery under general anesthesia approximately three months following the collision.  Claimant had expected to receive a college scholarship to play baseball, but did not receive any scholarships because his injuries prevented him from playing baseball in his senior year of high school, and Claimant argued that this was more likely than not because of the collision.

Claimant’s compensable medical bills totaled $54,745.99.  Mr. Tomasik was able to settle the underlying third-party claim with the driver’s insurer for the $50,000 policy limits. Claimant had Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage with CSAA, and Mr. Tomasik then resolved Claimant’s UIM claim with CSAA for an additional $225,000 in UIM benefits and $5,000 in Med Pay benefits for a total recovery of $280,000.

Yolo County

Claimant’s vehicle spun out on a rain-slicked freeway in West Sacramento and was stuck in mud off the roadway.  While waiting for a tow truck, another vehicle spun out and collided with claimant’s vehicle.  Claimant sustained a fractured right calcaneus (heel), but did not require surgery.  He incurred approximately $10,000 in medical bills, and was deemed to have a $37,000 wage loss.  Mr. Tomasik obtained a settlement with the adverse driver for her $100,000 policy limits.  Mr. Tomasik then represented claimants in an Underinsured Motorist arbitration against their own insurance company, obtaining a binding arbitration award of $262,400, minus offsets.

San Mateo County

Claimant had walked to her parked vehicle and she was standing at the driver’s side door of her vehicle with her hand on the door handle when she noticed that a driver of a vehicle approaching had driven too closely to right side of her traffic lane.  Claimant had no time to move, and the driver’s vehicle struck Claimant and Claimant’s vehicle.  As a result of the impact, Claimant’s body was propelled forward and the right side of her forehead and scalp were violently degloved as she was knocked to the ground.  The driver’s vehicle sustained moderate damage, and it was towed to Redwood City Police Department.  The reporting officer found the driver completely liable for this collision, and he did not find Claimant to have any comparative fault for causing the collision.

Claimant was dazed and disoriented from striking her head, and she may have lost consciousness.  Claimant suffered a large right temporal scalp flap avulsion laceration, facial hematoma with air extending to the superior extraconal space of the right orbit, as well as injuries to her right hand and fingers, right hip and pelvis, back and both elbows.  Due to the trauma to Claimant’s head and face, she experienced cognitive deficits, including headaches and short-term memory loss, following the collision.

Mr. Tomasik was able to settle the underlying third-party claim with the driver’s insurer for the $30,000 policy limits.  Claimant had Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist policy limits of $250,000 with Progressive, and Mr. Tomasik then resolved Claimant’s UIM claim with Progressive for the remaining policy limits of $220,000, for a total recovery of $250,000.

Inyo County

Claimant and three friends hired a driver to transport them to Onion Valley Campground in Unincorporated Inyo County.  After arriving at the campground, the driver, Claimant and his three friends exited the truck, and they began unloading their personal belongings from the truck.  The driver had stopped the truck on an uphill slope and he had not turned off the engine, and after he excited the vehicle, he then reached inside the truck and turned the engine off.  Suddenly and without warning, the truck began to roll downhill backwards, since the driver had also failed to apply his emergency brake.  In an attempt to stop the truck from rolling backward downhill, the driver tried to enter the truck to apply the brakes, but he was unable to do so, and fell to the ground.  As Claimant and his friends attempted to escape the path of the rolling truck, the driver’s side door of the truck (which the driver had left open) caused a massive open wound to Claimant’s right arm.  Claimant was forced to perform emergency first aid on himself, and then had to wait an agonizing 35 minutes for the first emergency responders to arrive while he lost a substantial amount of blood, and he feared that he would bleed to death.  Claimant’s wound initially required 350 stitches, and this surgical procedure took three and a half hours.  Claimant subsequently required another surgery to remove a massive hematoma that had developed in his right arm from his massive wound.  Claimant then developed a dangerous Staph infection for which he had to take powerful antibiotics.  Shortly after the collision, Claimant began noticing significant numbness in the fourth and fifth fingers on both hands when sleeping that extends up his arms, and this awakens him nightly and greatly interfered with his sleep.  An MRI revealed Claimant suffered significant objective cervical disc damage.

Mr. Tomasik was able to settle the underlying third-party claim with the driver’s insurer for the $100,000 policy limits.  Claimant had Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist policy limits of $250,000 with Progressive, and Mr. Tomasik then resolved Claimant’s UIM claim with Progressive for the remaining policy limits of $150,000, for a total recovery of $250,000.

Alameda County

Plaintiff, a healthy 20 year old student, stopped for her stop sign at a 4-way stop intersection in Oakland, and then entered the intersection.  Defendant (who was wearing an eye patch over his left eye) apparently did not see Plaintiff to his left, entered the intersection after Plaintiff and proceeded to broadside Plaintiff’s vehicle.  Plaintiff’s compact sedan sustained $7,281.58 in property damage.  Plaintiff was diagnosed Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, a commonly overlooked and very serious medical condition.  Prior to the collision, Plaintiff was an active, recent college graduate with plans of becoming a police officer.  Plaintiff’s past medical bills totaled $66,586.73, and case settled shortly before trial for $235,000.

Alameda County

Plaintiff Linda S. was a 52 year old mother of three who was on complete medical disability and had not worked for many years before the collision.  She was walking on a sidewalk in downtown Oakland when a City of Oakland sewer truck allegedly ran a red light and struck an SUV, then proceeded through the intersection of 14th Street and Franklin Street and jumped the curb and struck Plaintiff.  Even though Linda S. was an innocent victim, the City of Oakland refused to admit fault for the collision.

Plaintiff suffered seven rib fractures and left pneumothorax (collapsed lung), and she also sustained a comminuted left femur fracture, a torn rotator cuff in her left non-dominant shoulder, a lacerated spleen, a bone lesion in her right distal femur, and numerous lacerations and contusions.  Plaintiff also claimed aggravation of the pre-existing lower back injury which caused her to be on complete disability before the collision.  Her femur fracture required reconstructive surgery and installation of metal hardware.  Plaintiff spent two weeks in the hospital, and received 23 sessions of in-home physical therapy.

Plaintiff was unemployed and on complete medical disability at the time of the collision and did not make a wage loss claim so her recoverable past medical bills of $88,021.51 were her only economic damages.  The City of Oakland’s medical expert contended that “based upon the findings on my clinical examination, orthopedically there has been no increase in her pre-existing disability which I would related to the incident in question.”  Defendant’s expert estimated future expenses related to the collision would be $50,000. The case settled shortly before trial for $2,000,000.