Our Case Results

Complex wrongful death motorcycle accident involving product liability claims against both helmet and motorcycle luggage manufacturers. The case was litigated to a successful conclusion, which provided a permanent stream of income to the minor children represented as a result of the wrongful death of their mother. The case also caused the manufacturer of the luggage bag to stop and/or modify production of the type motorcycle bag that was attached to the decedent's motorcycle.

Motorcycle vs. automobile collision resulting in below knee amputation. Client was riding motorcycle and defendant pulled out in front of him, resulting in a severe injury to client's leg, which ultimately led to the amputation of his leg, just below the knee.

Case involving serious injuries to a motorcycle rider who was involved in an accident with a shuttle bus on the freeway in San Francisco. The police report concluded our client was the cause of the crash and the shuttle bus driver claimed the motorcycle rider ran into the back of the shuttle bus. The only witness to the event also claimed the motorcycle rider was at fault. Detailed investigation and tireless efforts on the part of our firm showed the shuttle bus was operating at an unreasonably slowed speed on the freeway and changed lanes when it was not safe to do so. We were also able to show that the only witness to event, who blamed our client, was mistaken in many factual assumptions and therefore his account of the event was unreliable. Finally, we showed that the conclusions reached by the CHP were misguided and mistaken. The net result was a substantial recovery for our client who at first, told he caused the accident.

34-year-old software sales associate out with friends drinking at a bar in San Francisco. After a few hours, he leaves the bar to go home and gets in an argument outside of the club with a security guard. The security guard alleges the patron threatened and pushed him. In response, the security guard punches the patron in the face. The patron falls back and hits his head on the concrete. The patron loses consciousness and has snoring respirations (suggestive of TBI). The bar’s designated medical lead is not EMT certified and arrives to find the patron mumbling and lying face-up. The bar’s medical lead does not call for medical services and concludes the patron is drunk. He escorts the patron to a nearby bus stop, and while attending to the patron, takes the patron’s cell phone. The patron was later observed vomiting blood by bar employees and security personnel. A passerby discovered the patron unconscious an hour later just down the street from the entrance to the bar. The passerby calls for an ambulance and the patron was taken to the hospital. The patron dies 9 days thereafter as a result of a traumatic brain bleed. During the course of the wrongful death action, we established the bar did not have a City approved security plan; did not have an on-site EMT; did not have an established medical response plan; failed to call for medical care; failed to have a minimally competent medical evaluation of the decedent and lacked a chain of command for implementation of policies to address injuries to patrons of the bar. The security guard and security company that employed him were sued along with the bar. Although they claimed self-defense, pointed depositions revealed the security guard could have retreated without punching the patron. It was also shown that the security guard violated company policy by not calling for medical assistance for the patron and failed to call for available back-up to assist him in dealing with the patron before he punched the patron. The bar and security company tendered their respective policy limits of $1,000,000 each, for a combined settlement of $2,000,000.00.

A policy limit settlement involving a head-on collision on a notoriously dangerous stretch of highway between State Highway 99 in Sacramento and Marysville, commonly known as "blood alley". The case settled prior to trial.

Rob Piering of Piering Law Firm secured a $1,250,000 wrongful death settlement for the five siblings of a 67-year-old pedestrian hit by a vehicle making a right hand turn on a rainy night in Sacramento. The decedent was never married, had no children and was not working at the time of the incident. Oftentimes, the decedent was homeless. He did, however, stay in contact with his siblings and would generally make family gatherings and holiday celebrations. There were no witnesses to the event. During a winter downpour, the defendant was stopped at a red light a few cars back from the intersection where she intended to make a right-hand turn. From there, she had a view of the intersection, pedestrian crosswalk and sidewalk. She said the decedent was not standing at the corner and did not see him at any time prior to hitting him as he was crossing the street. The defendant said as she was making her right hand turn she had a green light and the pedestrian signal facing the decedent read "don't walk". The defendant claimed the decedent "darted out" in front of her, against a "don't walk" signal and was wearing dark clothing. The decedent was in and out of consciousness at the scene and unable to give any information about what happened. While en route to the hospital, he lost consciousness. He passed away a few weeks later as a result of head trauma. The traffic collision report was inconclusive. However, traffic signal phase diagrams were secured from the City and showed that if the defendant had a green light, it was likely that the decedent had a "walk" signal at the time the defendant entered the intersection. The defendant's primary limits of $250,000 were tendered in response to a conditional limits demand that required disclosure of all other coverages. The defendant had an excess policy of $1,000,000.00 which was tendered along with the primary limits.

A 75-year-old woman was crossing the street at an unmarked crosswalk at night. She was hit by a motorist who claimed it was too dark to see her. He also claimed she was jaywalking in violation of the California Vehicle Code. Through discovery, investigation, and depositions of the driver and a witness, we established that the driver of the car should have seen the decedent and was not paying attention at the time of the collision. We also defeated the allegation that the decedent was jaywalking.

Low-speed automobile collision with low back injury tried to a verdict. The insurance company initially offered $40,000, then increased the offer to $90,000 and $300,000, 10 days before trial. The jury returned its verdict after six days of trial.

A boating accident case. Client was fishing with friends on the Sacramento River and hit by another boat traveling at unsafe and dangerous speeds.

An action where the plaintiff, a passenger in a car driven by her husband, was hit by a police officer driving a patrol car to investigate an alleged burglary. Plaintiff sustained a low back injury, which ultimately required surgery.

Settlement secured as a result of excessive force used by police.

A case where our client was rear-ended while traveling to San Francisco with her daughter. The client had surgery to her neck as a result of her injuries.

A case where the client was driving a school bus and hit by a concrete truck making an illegal turning maneuver. The client sustained various injuries, including injuries to her neck and back.

Client was asked to help remove a cherry picker from the rafters of a tire shop. The ladder that plaintiff was provided collapsed, causing plaintiff to sustain an impaling injury.

Case where client was hit by an uninsured motorist, which led to a claim against her insurance carrier. The action was resolved just prior to arbitration.

Client went to the movies and the chair she sat in collapsed, causing compression injuries to her spine. Investigation disclosed the theater chairs were not properly maintained, causing the seat of the chairs to separate.

Client was a patient in nursing home and during the course of his stay the staff at the nursing home failed to adequately monitor his foley catheter, which ultimately led to an infection and required medical services to address the same.

Client was walking her bike across the street and hit by vehicle that rolled through a stop sign, causing injuries to client’s knee and back.

Train failed to stop and collided with train stop, causing client, a passenger in the train, to be thrown from her seat in the train.

Client was returning from movies with family on a rural stretch of highway. A cow escaped from its pasture and ran in front of the car, causing client to sustain serious neck injury. Our investigation revealed that the property and cow owner failed to properly maintain fencing and measures to keep his cattle from entering the roadways.

An action against an equipment rental company and manufacturer of a scissor lift that tipped over while being used by client to paint the facade of a building in downtown Sacramento. Confidential settlement reached as the case approached trial.

Disputed motorcycle accident where insurance company disputed liability and damages. The case was resolved to the maximum insurance limits carried by the defendant.

A vehicle roll-over action that resulted in a confidential settlement. Client had recently retired and was on his way to see his granddaughter when he was hit in the rear by a party exiting the freeway, causing his vehicle to lose control and roll over. Significant injuries to brain, neck and internal organs.

Case where client was hit by a train while crossing common bridge thoroughfare. Through our persistence and investigation we were able to establish that the train operator actually increased throttle pressure when he first saw our client thereby depriving him of the ability to bring the train to a safe stop prior to impacting client. The collision resulted in a below knee amputation.

Client lost vision in one eye when thermos stopper projected into his eye as he attempted to open the thermos. Complex reconstruction exposed that the thermos was designed with defective venting capacities causing unusually high pressure to exist within the walls of the thermos.