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Welcome to your VerdictSearch California weekly newsletter! Read it on the go, share it with colleagues and clients, save or print your favorite cases, and submit your own verdicts and settlements. Send us feedback. |
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Your Weekly VerdictSearch Newsletter |
Hello Calitigators!
With the autumn equinox in our rearview, we’re just about done with the month of remembrance and can get back to the business of trying to forget.
One thing no attorney can forget is the first jury award they managed to rack up in their career, and just how that number compares to the skyrocketing awards of recent years. Of course, awards for certain types of injuries are on a much steeper trajectory than others. Which injuries have the most eye-popping return-rate increases (“eye-popping” isn’t a bad guess)? Skip ahead to our trend study, “You’ve Grown Soooo Much!” for the answer.
And don’t forget to check out this issue’s Call to Order which lists the top reported verdicts in cases involving an allegation of a vehicular malfunction.
Speaking of malfunctions, if you’ve noticed any issues with our website or newsletter, don’t forget that you can reach our talented support team at CustomerCare@alm.com. They may not be grease monkeys but they are inexplicably oily and covered in body hair.
– Lex non scripta est donec scribas James Johnson
Managing Editor, VerdictSearch |
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This Week's Featured Verdict |
Construction
Man awarded $7M after being run over at worksite
Verdict: $7,411,000 Whitmire v. Hildebrand Superior Court of Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Prevailing Attorneys: Charles E Soechting and Albert Oganesyan; Simon Greenstone Panatier; Long Beach, Calif. |
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FEATURED VERDICT DEEP DIVE |
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While there are many inherent risks faced by construction workers like Stephen Whitmire, 33, and Robert Gill Sr., 50, it is difficult to imagine either of them had anticipated the life-threatening incident that helped end one's career and the other's life in 2017.
While working with Granite Rock Construction, Whitmire and Gill Sr. had been assisting with a California Department of Transportation effort to clear debris following a mudslide along Highway 17. The work that day had reportedly been hindered by poor visibility and hazardous conditions due to heavy rain. Both men were struck by a work truck belonging to Hildebrand and Sons Trucking, with the truck’s driver later claiming that he’d not seen the two men due to the aforementioned weather conditions.
Gill Sr. died due to his injuries, while Whitmire had survived, but suffered multiple injuries including a shattered ankle and multiple fractures.
Whitmire sued Hildebrand and Sons Trucking alleging negligence, as well as Caltrans which he alleged was liable due to it having control of the premises in which the incident took place.
The jury found both Hildebrand and Caltrans liable for the incident, and awarded $7,411,000 to Whitmire, which included a $1 million award for Stephen Whitmire's wife Torrey Whitmire, to address her claim of loss of consortium.
Go to VerdictSearch.com to view similar cases involving construction site accidents within the past 10 years. |
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It’s no secret that jury verdicts have been rising in dollar value at a sharp rate. According to our data, jury-trial recoveries have fattened by about 160 percent during the past 10 years. Interestingly, the inflation rate is not the same across the board: While some injuries of the greatest severity have had their recoveries grow by much more than 160 percent, other injuries have a growth rate closer to that percent baseline. Let’s use this issue’s essay to put some numbers on this trend. The accompanying chart, based on cases reported to VerdictSearch, shows the percentage by which jury verdicts have increased during the past 10 years, broken out across eight different types of injuries. Remember we’re talking about the most severe injuries: a very small sample of the much larger universe of injuries and a sample so small it hardly skews the results. That disclaimer out of the way, the chart shows that hip replacement is the injury that has enjoyed the biggest ride on the social-inflation train. Jury verdicts for that injury are a stunning 362 percent larger than they were 10 years ago. Next in line are burns, at 311 percent, and cancer, at 142 percent. Surprisingly, awards for paralysis have changed the least during the same period. You can check the rest for yourselves, but the takeaway is a recurring one for this space: Don’t assume that a rule or trend applies evenly in all circumstances. Awards are not growing at the same rate for all injuries, so it’s imperative to do your research before valuing your case..
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Largest California Jury Verdicts |
(2023 only; based on cases reported to VerdictSearch) |
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VERDICT |
CASE |
VENUE |
DATE |
$2,280,000,000 |
Doe v. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints |
Riverside Co. |
April 25 |
$46,475,112.33 |
Greener v. M.Phelps Inc. |
San Diego Co. |
March. 28 |
$30,912,802 |
Rios Jr. v. Daisy Holdings LLC |
Sacramento Co. |
Jan. 24 |
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Top reported verdicts in cases involving an allegation of a vehicular malfunction. |
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An elderly couple was killed when their Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup truck blew a front tire and rolled over. Their estates alleged the truck had a design defect and was not crashworthy in that the pickup’s roof was not strong enough. | | |
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Motorist, 47, suffered a paralyzing spinal injury when her sport utility vehicle rolled while she was trying to avoid an object on the roadway. She claimed that the vehicle’s design created a susceptibility to rollovers. |
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| Two teens were killed in a head-on motor-vehicle collision that was blamed on a rupture of their vehicle’s steering wheel. |
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Children, 5 and 3, riding in the back of their family’s sport utility vehicle, suffered brain injuries during an accident. The lawsuit alleged that the injuries were a result of the front seats having snapped backward, propelling the front-seat occupants onto the children. |
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Sport utility vehicle’s passenger, 20, suffered a paralyzing fracture of his neck in a rollover that occurred when the SUV’s driver attempted to avoid an animal. The lawsuit alleged that the vehicle had not been properly tested. |
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| Boy, 4, perished in a vehicular fire caused by a rupture of the gas tank when the vehicle was struck from behind. The lawsuit alleged that the gas tank was located too close to the rear of the vehicle. |
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Sport utility vehicle’s driver, 22, was ejected from the vehicle during a rollover and suffered a fatal injury. His estate alleged that the vehicle’s maker had known of a propensity for rollovers but did not address the problem. |
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| Car’s passenger, 7, suffered an injury of his brain in a rear-end collision. The lawsuit alleged that the injury was a result of him having been struck by a front-seat passenger who was propelled backward when the front seat collapsed. |
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Car’s passenger, 12, suffered an injury of his brain as a result of the vehicle’s roof having collapsed during an accident. The lawsuit alleged that the vehicle’s maker prioritized cost savings rather than safety. |
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| Collision between tour buses on a bridge resulted in dozens of passengers being injured. The lawsuit alleged that one of the vehicles, a converted amphibious military vehicle, had not been properly modified and inspected. |
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