This summer, our cases and trial schedule have spiked more than Seattle’s record-setting heat wave. Since May, David Beninger and myself have completed two jury trials and a private arbitration, resulting in more than $58 million for our deserving clients. Here’s an overview:
- $40 million settlement after five weeks of trial for two local men severely injured when a KOMO news helicopter crashed onto their vehicles and exploded in downtown Seattle. We were fortunate to work alongside the talented Alisa Brodkowitz of Friedman Rubin, who represented the other ground victim, to show that institutional safety failures created this disaster-waiting-to-happen. The defendants settled after previously hidden evidence and testimony emerged during the trial. You can learn more about the case in our recent settlement and trial blog posts.
- $8 million jury verdict for a 50-year-old man who was hit in a crosswalk by a negligent driver, fracturing both knees and his ankle. Just before the trial began, and again on the eve of closing after a two-week trial, the driver’s insurance company offered a take-it-or-leave-it $4 million settlement, but our client deserved more. Although the insurance limits were initially only $100,000, David leveraged his expertise in insurance bad faith to motivate the insurer to open up limits. After the jury returned a verdict of $8 million, the insurer paid every penny, plus interest.
- $10.6 million private arbitration award for a 27-year-old man who suffered a mild-moderate brain injury and multiple broken bones after a semi-truck traveling 40 mph hit him in a crosswalk. After the truck driver denied responsibility and blamed the collision on our client, we used forensic experts and a nearby security video to prove the driver failed to slow for a yellow light – and in fact, entered the intersection two seconds after the light turned red – causing the horrific collision.
If you have a legal or advocacy issue that you would like to discuss, we are here to help. You can reach us by phone: (206) 467-6090 or through our contact page.
