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Car Accident / Wrongful Death Attorneys - Los Angeles - Booth & Koskoff
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Each and every day, terrible suffering is brought about by car accidents on Los Angeles highways. For a person who has been seriously injured in a car accident, or has experienced the wrongful death of a loved one, in a car accident, it is important to seek out an experienced and highly competent car accident or wrongful death attorney because car accident cases are not as simple as they might first appear. In any car accident case, there are at least three different factors our car accident attorneys in Los Angeles consider in determining what caused the accident and whether a wrongful death or car accident lawsuit is viable.
The most obvious factor our Los Angeles lawyers consider in car accident cases is driver error. Where a car accident has been caused by the negligence of another driver, the main issue is determining whether the driver or his employer has sufficient insurance coverage or other resources available to fully compensate the injured person. Our car accident lawyers have been successful in such cases (as shown by the car accident and wrongful death settlements and verdicts listed below) by locating all available sources of recovery, including multiple insurance policies and employers.
Another factor our car accident attorneys consider in automobile accident cases is whether there were any design or manufacturing defects in the cars themselves, which caused the car accident or made the injuries worse than they should have been. It is an unfortunate fact that some auto manufacturers have failed to take proper steps to make the vehicles they sell as safe as possible. For many years, we have brought lawsuits against manufacturers for gross safety violations such as airbags that kill children or fail to deploy at all, seat belts that malfunction, tires that fall apart during normal driving conditions, SUV's that roll over, etc. As a result of lawsuits like these, manufacturers have gradually made safety improvements in their vehicles, but there is much more work to be done and still countless car accident injuries and wrongful death case s that could be avoided. Auto defect litigation requires a tremendous commitment of time and money and the experience necessary to know "where the bodies are buried." Our wrongful death and car accident attorneys in Los Angeles have such experience, as a result of years in the trenches, as well as close working relationships with leading automotive and car accident experts across the country.
Recently, in the summer of 2000, the nation was shocked to learn about the hundreds of SUV and car accidents caused by defective Firestone tires mounted on Ford Explorers and the failure of both companies to have confronted this problem, even as the accident statistics were piling up and staring them in the face. Because our wrongful death attorneys had handled cases like these in Los Angeles for years, Booth & Koskoff was immediately sought out, by victims and by lawyers, to investigate numerous accidents that had taken place across the country and across the world. We ended up handling a select number of cases involving serious accident injuries and wrongful deaths and our car accident lawyers were able to reach prompt, substantial settlements in every one of those cases, to the great satisfaction of our clients.
The final factor to consider in car accident cases, which is probably the least understood by most lawyers, is the issue of road design. Governmental entities can be held liable, under limited circumstances, if they have designed or maintained a roadway in such a way as to cause an accident. Road design cases are difficult because governmental entities have been granted immunity from liability for various types of decisions related to the designs of roadways. In order to successfully pursue a road design case, it is necessary to show that these immunities do not apply in the particular case. Also, the plaintiff's attorney must prove that it was the design or maintenance of the road, and not driver error, that was the primary cause of the accident. Our wrongful death and car accident attorneys have become recognized experts in the litigation of road design cases, having obtained many excellent results, including five million-dollar and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements against the City of Los Angeles and other government entities.
If you or a loved one has sustained an injury in a car accident, please contact our car accident attorneys in Los Angeles at Booth & Koskoff.
Featured Car Accidents / Wrongful Death Cases - Los Angeles
In 1997, Los Angeles car accident attorney Richard Koskoff went to trial in the road design case of Mota vs. City of Los Angeles, representing two young women who were left paralyzed after a head-on collision with a drunk driver. Mr. Koskoff demonstrated that, for years, the City of Los Angeles had failed to properly maintain a stretch of roadway in a low income area of the City where the car accident had occurred, and that the primary cause of the car accident was not the fact that the other driver was drunk, but rather the fact that the center line dividing the two lanes of traffic had been worn to the point where it was nearly impossible to see. At trial, Mr. Koskoff arranged for the other driver to testify via satellite hookup from prison, and the driver stated that he had been confused about the location of his car on the roadway due to his inability to see the center line. The jury returned a verdict of over $28 million (reduced to $16,500,000 on account of the partial responsibility of the drunk driver). This case was featured by the Daily Journal (the leading legal newspaper in California) as one of the 10 largest verdicts of 1997.
- Case Results
- > Mota vs. City of L.A.
- > Lee vs. Fujita
- > Gonzalez vs. Diana's Mexican Food
- > Zitz-Evanich vs. City of L.A.
- > Confidential
- > Confidential vs. Laidlaw
- > Baney case
- > Wilson vs. C. H. Heist
- > Gardner case
- > Liang vs. UPS
Mota vs. City of L.A.
RESULT/YEAR:
VERDICT in 1997 for $16,500,000.
KEY FACTS:
This was a case against the City of Los Angeles, alleging that a street in a relatively poor part of the city was inadequately maintained. Car accident lawyer, Richard Koskoff argued that the material used to create the dividing lines between traffic on each side of the highway had deteriorated to the point where it was nearly impossible for a driver to know when he was on his side of the road. There had been a previous near-miss crossover accident, which was known to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The City contended that the car accident was due to the fact that the driver who had crossed over onto the wrong side of the street and struck the plaintiffs' car was drunk. He, in fact, had been sentenced to prison for causing these injuries. The City of Los Angeles also claimed that the plaintiffs were partially at fault because they were not wearing seat belts.
However, Koskoff arranged for an elaborate satellite hookup from prison to obtain the testimony of the other driver to establish that, in fact, he was confused about the location of his vehicle on the roadway due to his inability to see the center line. Koskoff also established that the plaintiffs' vehicle originally did not come equipped with seat belts in the rear of the van, and, consequently, there was no partial fault on the part of the plaintiffs.
INJURIES:
The plaintiffs represented by car accident attorney Richard Koskoff, were two young women, one of whom was rendered a partial quadriplegic and the other of whom was rendered a paraplegic.
COMMENTS:
This case was settled while on appeal for $9 million, which set a new RECORD for the settlement of a personal injury case against the City of L.A., after judgment. The verdict was featured by the Daily Journal (the leading legal newspaper in California) as one of the ten largest verdicts in California in 1997 and by Verdictum Juris as its "centerfold." The subsequent settlement was featured on the front page of the Daily Journal.
Lee vs. Fujita
RESULT/YEAR:
SETTLEMENT in 1995 for $12,000,000.
KEY FACTS:
This case involved an car accident, in which a car, owned by a Japanese corporation, crossed over to the wrong side of the road and struck a van in which the plaintiff, a small child, was riding. The biggest hurdle in the case was that the defendant had limited assets in the United States, and there was a question as to how much insurance coverage applied to this accident. Car accident attorneys Larry Booth and Richard Koskoff, who jointly handled the Los Angeles County case, were successful in establishing that a number of seemingly unrelated insurance policies owned by the defendant provided coverage for this loss. The case was ultimately settled with contributions from various insurance companies.
INJURIES: Brain injury.
COMMENTS:
This case set a RECORD for the largest settlement ever obtained in the Torrance Superior Court.
Gonzalez vs. Diana's Mexican Food
RESULT/YEAR:
VERDICT in 1986 for $10,070,000.
KEY FACTS:
This was a case involving a brain injury to a 32-year-old factory worker sustained in an automobile accident. The defense denied any responsibility, and the case was solved by tireless investigative work on the part of MICHAEL SORESI, a long-time independent investigator employed by B & K, when he located a missing witness who put the blame on the defendant. The case was further complicated by inadequate insurance coverage on the part of the defendant, which resulted in a series of complex arrangements to maximum recovery. The trial attorney in this matter was LARRY BOOTH.
INJURIES: Brain injury.
Zitz-Evanich vs. City of L.A.
RESULT/YEAR:
SETTLEMENT in 1996 for $5,000,000.
KEY FACTS:
In this personal injury and wrongful death case in Los Angeles, the plaintiff's vehicle had been rear-ended by a truck driven by an employee of the City of Los Angeles. The settlement was achieved by Los Angeles wrongful death and car accident attorney Larry Booth and JOHNNA HANSEN after extensive preparation relating to the condition of the plaintiff husband and the necessity for him to obtain treatment for his brain injury in specialized centers throughout the U.S.
INJURIES:
Brain injury to husband and the death of his wife.
COMMENTS:
This case called into play the extensive medical knowledge of JOHNNA HANSEN, who regularly pursues serious and complicated medical malpractice cases on behalf of the firm.This case set a RECORD for a prejudgment settlement by the City of L.A.
Confidential
RESULT/YEAR:
SETTLEMENT in 1997 for $3,800,000.
KEY FACTS:
This was a case on behalf of a pedestrian who was struck by a school bus while crossing a street in a crosswalk.
INJURIES: Multiple leg fractures.
COMMENTS:
The amount of this settlement, achieved by LARRY BOOTH, is remarkable in light of the fact that the plaintiff made a good recovery from her injuries and there was essentially no viable claim for loss of earnings. Consequently, the settlement represented almost exclusively damages for pain and suffering. A settlement of this size is typically paid only in cases involving much more serious injuries, such as paralysis or brain injuries.
Confidential vs. Laidlaw
RESULT/YEAR:
SETTLEMENT in 1999 for $3,000,000.
KEY FACTS:
This wrongful death case, tried by RICHARD KOSKOFF, with involvement by LARRY BOOTH prior to trial, was brought by the widow and two young children of a 36-year-old man whose car was crushed by a public transportation bus which crossed over a center median onto the wrong side of the road. The key issue in trial was the extent of the loss suffered by the plaintiffs as a result of being deprived of the financial support of the decedent, who had owned and managed two retail stores. Koskoff called an expert economist, who presented a sophisticated economic analysis concerning the gross revenues of the business, the earnings history of the decedent and the projected growth of both.
The defense countered by claiming that the widow stepped in to run the business after her husband's death and continued to receive substantial income generated by the business. However, Koskoff convinced the judge to exclude all evidence concerning what happened to the business after the accident, based on the legal principle that a defendant whose negligence causes another's death cannot reap a benefit from any financial resources that the heirs may receive, either from their own work or from an inheritance. Following the Court's ruling and after three days of trial, the defense agreed to pay $3 million to settle the case.
INJURIES:
Wrongful death of 36-year-old husband and father of two children ages two and five.
Baney case
RESULT/YEAR:
SETTLEMENT in 1991 for $2,250,000.
KEY FACTS:
This case, handled by LARRY BOOTH, involved a former major league baseball player who was struck by an automobile while walking on a sidewalk.
INJURIES:
The plaintiff, who had been a relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds during their world championship years but, at the time of the accident, was working as a furniture salesman, suffered a degloving injury to his leg. The injury did not disable him from work as a furniture salesman.
COMMENTS:
At the time of this settlement, verdicts in cases involving amputated legs were typically $500,000 or less. This settlement was nearly five times that amount, which is incredible in light of the fact that the plaintiff's leg was not amputated, he suffered little or no loss of earnings and the case would have gone to trial in Orange County, the most conservative jurisdiction in California.
Wilson vs. C. H. Heist
RESULT/YEAR:
SETTLEMENT in 1987 for $1,600,000.
KEY FACTS:
This case, handled by JOHN LEVITT (a former B & K attorney), was against a trucking company which employed a driver who caused two accidents on the wrong side of the road. B & K established that the driver was operating with a suspended license, had a prior conviction for possession of amphetamines and frequently used both amphetamines and marijuana on the job. B & K further established that the truck was not mechanically sound and was overloaded by approximately seven tons.
INJURIES:
There were two plaintiffs. The first, a 62-year-old man who was 18 days away from retirement, was killed. The second, a 48-year-old construction worker, sustained a compression fracture of his low back, but returned to work in four months.
Gardner case
RESULT/YEAR:
SETTLEMENT in 1990 for $1,500,000.
KEY FACTS:
The plaintiff, a seven-year-old, was struck by a police car while riding a bicycle. The defendant city claimed that the child had suddenly darted out in front of the police car. But RICHARD KOSKOFF was able to prove, through reconstruction of the accident and the nature of the injury, that the police officer's version was completely inconsistent with the facts. B & K regularly employs accident reconstruction experts in order to disprove the version of accidents presented by the opposition. Often, the physical facts simply contradict the claims made by participants or even eyewitnesses.
INJURIES:
Brain injury to seven-year-old boy.
COMMENTS:
This case is another example of the outstanding work done by RICHARD KOSKOFF in cases involving brain injuries. Such cases, particularly when they involve children, require painstaking testing by expert witnesses to accurately predict the impact that these injuries will have on the individual's life.
Liang vs. UPS
RESULT/YEAR:
SETTLEMENT in 1994 for $1,300,000.
KEY FACTS:
This case was handled by LARRY BOOTH on behalf of the widow and small child of a man who was killed in a traffic accident caused by a UPS truck. The key issue in the case was the earning potential of the decedent, who had a series of low paying jobs, but arguably had much greater potential. B & K utilized a CPA and an economist to establish the earning potential of the decedent and thereby obtain this sizeable settlement.
INJURIES: Wrongful death.