Verdicts & Settlements
Tree trimmer fall/not provided proper safety equipment
$5.65 million-dollar resolution for a tree trimmer who was provided with inadequate safety equipment and fell 30 feet to the ground. He suffered a compression fracture of the spine and is an incomplete quadriplegic requiring on-going nursing care.
Amputation
$5.5 million for a landscaper who was struck by a vehicle and suffered an above the knee amputation of his right leg, a femur fracture to his left leg and numerous other injuries.
Wrongful death/motorcycle
$5 million for married father of two who suffered fatal injuries in a disputed liability case involving a big
rig.
Tibia/Fibia Fractures, Ankle Fracture, Bi-Lateral Wrist Fractures
$3 million policy limits settlement for a 40-year-old client involved in a significant auto collision with a
commercial truck. She suffered multiple orthopedic fractures requiring rod and pin placement.
Wrongful Death
$2.95 million-dollar verdict obtained in the wrongful death of a small child struck by a truck.
Fall from Power Line
$2.4 million for a lineman who fell 18 ft. off a utility line that snapped resulting in a collapsed lung,
fractured clavicle, separated shoulder, lacerated spleen, and a mild traumatic brain injury.
Negligent tree maintenance/paraplegia
$2.1 million-dollar award for an arborist who fell from a palm tree at a hotel while retrieving a drone that was lodged in the upper canopy. Our client fell because his trunk foothold broke away as a result of improper watering, care and maintenance.
Wrongful Death
$2 million-dollar settlement for the wrongful death of a teenager caused by the employment of an improper restraint hold by a nursing staffer at a psychiatric care facility.
Elder Abuse/Negligent hiring and retention/Assault & Battery/loss of eye
$1.95 million-dollar settlement at a second Mediation for our 79-year-old client who was assaulted by a janitorial worker with a rake handle at a senior living apartment complex. We asserted that the janitorial worker had previously exhibited his excessive temper in front of management and that he had prior aggressive run-ins with residents and that he should have been terminated as a result. Our client lost her right eye as a result of the assault.
Premises Liability/Unsecured Window/Hotel
$1,850,000 for a 2-year-old child who fell from a second story window while staying at a major hotel
chain. She sustained permanent vision loss in one eye. The hotel blamed the parents for leaving their
child unattended and for tampering with the window guard.
Fall From Ladder
$1.688 million for a painter who fell from a ladder that was not properly adhered to an uneven work site surface. No lanyards or protections provided. He suffered permanent life changing injuries including a left femur fracture, T4-T6 thoracic compression fractures and bladder, bowel and sexual impairment.
Products Liability – Facial And Dental Trauma
$1.5 Million for a truck transport driver who suffered a broken jaw, crushed larynx, pharynx and hyoid bone when an improperly welded handle broke free of the shipping container he was loading. All his teeth had to be removed and replaced with veneers and he suffered permanent voice impairment.
Bus Accident-Severe Leg injury
$1.39 million-dollar settlement at mediation for a degloving injury to a woman’s left leg caused
when she was struck by a bus that did not allow her adequate time to clear after she was dropped off.
Laborer injured/ Spinal fusion/ Urinary incontinence and Chronic pain $1.3 Million for a 30-year-old construction laborer/material handler who injured his back breaking down a wall with a sledgehammer. The wall collapsed on to him and he underwent two lumbar spine fusion surgeries and suffered from chronic pain syndrome, urinary incontinence, and anxiety/depression.
Spinal Cord Injury / Cauda Equina Syndrome
$1.3 million-dollar settlement for a 31-year-old who suffered herniated discs of the lumbar spine requiring a laminectomy and a lumbar spinal fusion. She eventually underwent surgery for implantation of a spinal cord stimulator and developed cauda equina syndrome affecting her bladder and bowels as a direct result of her spine injuries.
Motorcycle Accident-Fractured Femur/Internal Injuries
$1.25 million-dollar policy limits settlement for a 21-year-old student who suffered a femur fracture, a pneumothorax, a right radius and ulna fracture, broken fingers and lacerations to his liver, pancreas and stomach when he was struck by a vehicle on a back-country road.
Products Liability – Seatbelt/Airbag Defect
$1.05 Million for a 23-year-old navy corpsman who suffered internal injuries due to a product defect in his vehicle.
Construction worker/ Fall from scaffold/ Improper safety restraints
$1.025 Million for a construction worker injured when he fell 15 ft. from a scaffold. The scaffold was not properly equipped with safety lanyards. He endured a lumbar laminectomy, discectomy, and fusion surgeries and was implanted with a spinal cord stimulator. As part of his settlement, the worker received a structured annuity to provide for medical care for the rest of his life.
Truck Accident
$1 million to a truck driver who was injured when the hooks attached to the engine hood in the vehicle he was operating malfunctioned, blocking his vision and causing him to crash. He suffered serious spine injuries, including thoracic compression fractures and a neck injury resulting in the need for a C3-4 decompression and fusion surgery.
Femur Fracture/Closed Head Injury
$883,757 verdict in a contested liability case for a pedestrian who was struck by a truck and suffered serious injuries when crossing a street.
Auto Accident-Femur Fracture
$850,000 settlement for a 38-year-old man who fractured his femur when his vehicle was hit head on by another vehicle. The settlement utilized a structured settlement annuity that resulted in a lifetime income for the injured man that could result in a $4.5 million total payout.
TIB-FIB Fracture/Bicyclist
$750,000 for an active climber and cyclist who was t-boned by a van while riding his bike in Point Loma.
He suffered a tibia-fibula fracture with hardware placement and a broken wrist.
Pedestrian struck by vehicle/disputed liability/texting while driving
$750,000 Settlement for a 23-year-old construction laborer who was struck crossing against traffic trying to catch a bus and suffered a depressed skull fracture. The police report was against our client and we argued that the driver was inattentive and was on his phone texting just prior to impact. The defense claimed that the driver was not texting and that our client darted in front of his vehicle while jaywalking.
Falling Tree Branch/Dangerous condition
$700,000 for a paralegal who was struck in the right leg by a large eucalyptus branch while taking her break. The eucalyptus trees were not maintained and trimmed per industry standards and previous branches from that same set of trees had fallen damaging cars in the adjacent parking lot. As a result of being hit by the falling branch our client suffered a ruptured quadriceps muscle, severe tendon damage and extensive scarring.
Business Injury
$675,000 trial verdict against a real estate developer who defrauded an elderly widow by grossly misrepresenting the value of 2nd trust deeds he used as collateral to obtain a loan. The jury awarded $300,000 in punitive damages in addition to our client’s actual monetary damages.
Auto Accident-Back and Knee Injuries
$675,000 settlement for a female truck driver who had lumbar disc surgery and arthroscopic knee surgery as a result of a truck vs. vehicle collision
Dental Fractures
$650,000 for a mother of two who suffered extensive dental trauma including several revision
procedures when her vehicle was struck from behind at a stoplight by a van just as she was taking a drink
from a metal coffee mug.
Injured Pedestrian/ Skull Fracture/ Fractured Ulna
$535,000 mediation settlement for a minor who was walking near an intersection and was struck by an out of control vehicle. She suffered a depressed skull fracture, a fractured jaw and a fractured ulna of her right arm.
Scooter vs. Truck
$525,000 for a 22-year-old student suffered a fractured Tibia/Fibula and ruptured his spleen when he was hit by a truck in a disputed liability case.
Shoulder Surgery/Re-aggravation of Neck and Back Injuries
$500,000 for a 64-year-old registered nurse involved in a low-speed auto accident. She required an
acromioplasty shoulder surgery and physical therapy and injections in her neck and back.
Fall Through Unprotected Skylight
$500,000 for a 52-year-old laborer who suffered head, neck and back injuries when he fell through an unprotected skylight on a new home construction site.
Construction site accident-Back and Hip injuries
$500,000 settlement for a 48-year-old fork lift operator who fell from an elevated construction surface and injured his back requiring a lumbar fusion surgery at L3-4.
Truck vs. Auto Accident-Neck and Shoulder injury
$500,000 policy limits settlement for a 52-year-old truck driver who was involved in a head on collision and required a cervical disc surgery at C5-7 and arthroscopic surgery to his left shoulder.
Premises Liability / Dangerous Stairway Construction / Shoulder and Neck Surgery $500,000 for an insurance agent who injured her neck and shoulder when she fell down an interior commercial stairwell that was improperly constructed. The stairs as constructed contained multiple building code violations and as a result of her fall she was forced to have cervical disc surgery and a shoulder decompression surgery.
Trial Verdict – Ankle Injury
$490,000 for a 57-year-old who suffered an ankle fracture requiring internal fixation with plates and screws. The ankle injury resulted in a drop foot condition that required our client to wear a special orthotic in her shoe for life.
Child Bicycle Injury
$450,000 settlement for a 12-year-old who suffered a femur fracture when he was struck by a sports utility vehicle. The police report indicated that the child was at fault for driving on the wrong side of the street.
Auto Accident – Low Offer with Prior Attorney
$450,000 settlement for an auto collision resulting in lumbar disc herniations. Prior counsel in Los
Angeles was recommending settlement at $30,000 before we got involved.
AC Joint Separation
$425,000 for a client that was involved in a rear-end auto accident and suffered an AC joint separation
requiring surgical intervention.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD)
$416,670 trial verdict for a man who suffered a bilateral inguinal injury and as a consequence of that initial injury he developed a debilitating condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
Partial Finger Amputation
$400,000 for a client that lost the tip of two fingers when a wall collapsed and he tried to stop the falling
stone, resulting in a serious crush injury. Defendants denied liability and claimed that our client was the
sole cause of the injury.
Slip and Fall at a Senior Living Center
$400,000 for a woman who suffered a serious hip injury following a fall caused by unreasonably dangerous and slippery tile in a living center for the elderly. The injury to her hip was initially diagnosed as a labral tear. However, post-surgery she was diagnosed with lateral femoral cutaneous neuropathy with heterotopic ossification, a debilitating and painful condition.
Neck Injury
$375,000 trial verdict for a retail clerk who suffered back and neck injuries, including a cervical fusion. The Defendants denied liability throughout the case and claimed that our client’s injuries were pre-existing.
Premises Liability/Stairs/Closed Head Injury
$375,000 settlement with two Defendants at Mediation for a 32-year-old saleswoman who suffered a closed head injury when she fell down a poorly maintained stairwell with no guardrail and an inadequate landing area.
Premises Liability/Poorly Maintained Concrete
$350,000 settlement in a hotly contested liability case for a fall at work resulting in two level disc
replacement surgery.
Product Liability – Vacuum Cleaner
$350,000 settlement for a 2-year-old child burns from contact with a vacuum that was negligently designed and manufactured.
Ankle Injury – Dangerous Flooring
$350,000 for a severe ankle injury suffered when a home health care nurse fell on a slippery, wet tile.
Products Liability-Neck Injury
$345,000 settlement for a man injured when the seat in the vehicle he was driving in collapsed, resulting in two back surgeries and substantial earnings loss.
Dog Bite-Pit Bull
$337,000 trial verdict for a 9-year-old girl who suffered scars to her forehead, left arm and left leg as a result of being bitten and dragged by a pit bull terrier. The insurance carrier for the Defendant offered $60,000 in response to a $200,000 insurance policy limits demand and ultimately ended up paying the verdict plus interest and litigation costs.
Bus Accident-Internal Injuries
$325,000 settlement for a parks and recreation worker who was involved in a severe motor vehicle collision while he was a passenger on a bus. He suffered serious injuries including a collapsed lung, a pulmonary contusion, and a fractured fibula.
Bad Faith Against Insurance Company
$300,000 settlement against an insurance company who denied coverage to a defendant in a personal injury claim brought by an injured child.
Dog Bite-Child
$275,000 settlement at Mediation for a 3-year-old child who was knocked down and bitten by a large dog, resulting in facial scarring and mental trauma.
Back and Psychological Injuries
$257,000 trial verdict for a construction laborer who suffered back and psychological injuries after a fall from a scaffold.
Premises Liability/ Amusement Park / Thoracic Compression Fractures
$275,000 settlement at mediation for a paralegal that fell over an unfenced wall at an amusement park. As a result of the fall she suffered thoracic compression fractures and a broken right wrist
Boat Collision
$255,000 settlement for a deckhand who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and a fractured heel when two boats collided during a sailing regatta and his left leg was caught up in the lifelines of the other boat.
Dog Bite
$250,000 settlement for a 50-year-old woman who incurred back injuries and facial scarring after being attacked by a pit bull.
Auto Accident-Eye Injury
$250,000 policy limits settlement for a woman who suffered an eye injury that required surgery after a severe motor vehicle collision.
Auto Accident-Fractured Fibula
$250,000 policy limits settlement for a man who fractured his fibula in a motor vehicle collision.
Motorcycle Accident-Multiple Injuries
$250,000 arbitration award for a 20-year-old man who suffered multiple injuries when he was struck by a vehicle and thrown from his motorcycle.
Construction Site-Compression Fractures
$245,000 settlement for a construction worker who fell through an unprotected skylight and suffered thoracic compression fractures.
Premises Liability-Trampoline
$225,000 settlement for a 12-year-old boy who broke his leg on a trampoline. The owners removed and/or did not supply necessary safety equipment to the trampoline and allowed multiple unsupervised children to jump at one time despite the fact that they were provided clear warnings that serious injury could result in such circumstances.
Tibia-Fibula Fracture
$225,000 settlement for a delivery driver who suffered a tibia-fibula fracture when a loading dock he was standing on collapsed.
Auto Accident-Back Injury
$210,000 settlement at mediation in a disputed liability case for a man who required back surgery at L5-S1 after being involved in an auto accident.
Negligent Delivery Driver
$200,000 settlement due to negligent delivery driver causing car accident, resulting in multiple herniated
discs to lumbar spine.
Loading Dock Injury
$200,000 settlement for a loading dock worker who was injured when an unsecured ramp collapsed, causing him to suffer bulging discs in his back and a knee injury requiring arthroscopic surgery.
Workers’ Compensation
The attorneys at BKHC Law have recovered in excess of $500 million on behalf of injured workers.