Auto Accidents
- A client was driving on Rock Creek Park when a driver crossed the yellow line and crashed into her car. She suffered a broken leg and a closed head injury. At first she retained another well known national attorney but was not satisfied with the progress of the case. She came to our office. We learned that the driver had been drinking, had taken the red-eye flight from California and was here on business. We wanted to keep the drunk driving facts in the case and wanted to use the threat of punitive damages to negotiate as high a settlement as possible. The defendant's lawyer moved the Court to dismiss the punitive damages claim as DC does not allow punitive damages unless you can prove that the driver intended to do harm, a standard which can almost never be proven. We found case law that held that if a driver knew he was exceedingly tired and had a drink that it might be a way to get the alcohol facts before the jury. Once the Court agreed with us the case settled for just shy of $1 million.
- A client suffered soft tissue injuries to her neck and back when her car was run off the road by a truck. Her former lawyer tried to get her to accept a $39,000 settlement and then petitioned the Court to withdraw when she would not accept it. We accepted the case and prepared for trial. Three weeks before trial we settled for $95,000.
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A client had a rear-end collision with minimal damage to his vehicle. The client developed significant headaches that could only be helped with narcotics. Although the medical bills were small we were able to prove to a jury that his future included reliance on these medications for years to come. The result was a $58,000 jury verdict.
Pedestrian/Auto Accidents
- A client was crossing within a crosswalk in downtown D.C. The light turned red while she was across two of the three lanes of traffic. As she started to cross the third lane a car came down the road and collided with her. The car had a green light. Using a little known traffic regulation, we were able to show that the driver should have come to a stop before he passed cars that were stopped at a crosswalk on a green light. Once the research was done the case settled three days before trial for $537,000.
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A client came into our office with a limp and with restricted use of his right arm. He said he had been in an auto/pedestrian accident but knew nothing of the facts due to trauma induced amnesia. The police report indicated that he had attempted to cross the street against the light about 10 feet outside the crosswalk. Before the accident he was a Navy cryptologist and didn't think he would be so careless. We were the fourth law office he had visited. Each lawyer before us said that the police report was too strong and told him he could not win. We noted on the police report that there was an eyewitness, but he was homeless and there was no address. We went to the nearest gathering place of homeless men in DC and interviewed them until we found the witness. It turned out that the vehicle that hit our client had been turning and picked our client up on his hood and dropped him about 10 feet outside the crosswalk. Using an expert witness accident reconstructionist we were able to establish that the client had bee crossing with the light and in the crosswalk when the defendant failed to yield the right of way. When the client fell to the ground 10 feet later he suffered a brain injury. Although they initially denied liability, we settled the case for over $900,000 on the eve of trial.
Legal Malpractice
- A client received much less than she expected in a paternity suit. A review of the trial transcript indicated that her lawyer had failed to introduce key documents into the case and had neglected to request attorney's fees, which should have been awarded. A settlement was reached within weeks for $75,000.
- A client suffered personal injuries when he slipped and fell on a staircase in his apartment building. His lawyer sued the wrong party and the statute of limitations passed. He came to our office. We were able to settle his claim soon after filing the lawsuit for $68,000.
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A client was named the beneficiary under her aunt's will in exchange for agreeing to care for her in her declining days. Another relative abducted the aunt and had her sign a new will and power of attorney denying our client's status. When the aunt died the client retained a lawyer to challenge the new will as it had been executed while the aunt had limited mental capacity. The lawyer thought he had two years to file the will, but the law only allowed him six months. The client came to us to sue the lawyer. We did. We were able to establish that the aunt was not competent when she signed the new will and that the client would have inherited from the aunt had the lawyer filed the will contest within six months. Our client received a $350,000 settlement.
Dental Malpractice
- Our client had seen her dentist in DC for 15 years. She had regular cleanings and care for occasional cavities. One day she became concerned that her dentist did not respond to her questions about her bleeding gums. She went to a new dentist and learned that she had periodontal disease that had led to bone loss throughout her mouth. Using her own dentist and our expert we established that she had received substandard care. Her dentist had performed no periodontal charting, only occasional x-rays, and had not referred her to a periodontist when she first showed signs of problems. The result was a $77,500 settlement.
- Our client was severely disabled 16 year old girl. Her parents provided excellent care to their daughter, including taking her to a pediatric dentist twice a year for cleanings. One time the dentist suggested that she be seen at the hospital so she could be sedated for more involved treatment. When the session was complete the dentist told the parents that their daughter had extensive decay and had to lose many teeth. The parents were irate since such severe decay should not have occurred if the cleanings had been properly performed. We sued the dentist for negligence and fraud. The jury awarded $86,000.
- Our client had her salivary duct cut when a dentist nicked it with a bur during a root canal. The insurance carrier denied liability asserting that this is a known complication that can occur in the conduct of any procedure. We sued and settled for $55,000 shortly thereafter.
- Our client was talked into having veneers placed on all her front teeth to improve her smile. The dentist did not perform all the necessary remedial work before covering up cavities with the veneers. In a few years the client's teeth began to rot. We sued the dentist and recovered $75,000 for the client-enough to pay for the total mouth reconstruction she needed.
