While the lawyers in the Janssen Law firm aggressively prepare their cases for jury trial, there are other dispute resolution methods that may be suitable for a particular case. In fact, most civil cases for money damages settle prior to trial, in recognition of the economic fact that trials are expensive and uncertain for both sides of a dispute.
On July 6, 2010, the Janssen Law Firm and attorneys from two other firms received for their clients the largest jury verdict in the United States this year. The case is Lavender v. Skilled Healthcare Group, Case No. DR060264, Superior Court of California, Humboldt County. The plaintiff class is represented by W. Timothy Needham, Michael Crowley, Amelia Burroughs and Patrick Griego of the Janssen Law Firm from Eureka, by Michael Thamer from Callahan, and by Chris Healey and Aaron T. Winn of the Luce Forward firm from San Diego. This is the highest verdict ever achieved against a nursing home chain and one of the highest verdicts in the United States this decade.
On July 6th, 2010 a Humboldt County jury returned a verdict in excess of $670 million dollars against Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., Skilled Healthcare LLC and 22 subsidiaries located throughout California for violating the state minimum staffing requirements. The plaintiff class was represented by members W. Timothy Needham, Michael Crowley, Amelia Burroughs and Patrick Griego of the Janssen Law Firm from Eureka, by Michael Thamer from Callahan, and Chris Healey of the Luce Forward firm from San Diego. This is the highest verdict ever achieved against a nursing home chain and one of the highest in the United States this decade. In its verdict the jury found that defendants understaffing was done with malice. The jury will return on July 15th to decide the amount of punitive damages the defendants should pay as a result of their misconduct. The specific Skilled Healthcare facilities sued were Alexandria Care Center, LLC, Alta Care Center, LLC, Anaheim Terrace Care Center, LLC, Bay Crest Care Center, LLC, Brier Oak on Sunset, LLC, Carehouse Healthcare Center, LLC, Devonshire Care Center, LLC, Elmcrest Care Center, LLC, Eureka Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, LLC, Granada Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, LLC, Hancock Park Rehabilitation Center, LLC, Montebello Care Center, LLC, Royalwood Care Center, LLC, Pacific Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, LLC, Seaview Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, LLC, Sharon Care Center, LLC, St. Luke Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, LLC, Sycamore Park Care Center, LLC, The Earlwood, LLC, Valley Healthcare Center, LLC, Villa Maria Healthcare Center, LLC, Willow Creek Healthcare Center, LLC.
The Janssen Law Firm recently successfully resolved a wrongful death matter for the $300,000.00 homeowner’s insurance policy limits of a defendant property owner whose burn barrel fire got out of control in a Eureka, California residential neighborhood. The defendant property owner allowed an un-permitted “burn barrel” fire to get out of control on an extremely gusty, fall day (winds in excess of 30 miles an hour) which caught the back deck, picnic table and a fence on the property line on fire. John “Happy Jack” Van Lieu rushed into the smoke with tubs of water to knock down the fire, and was exposed to toxic smoke.
Within two days “Happy Jack” was coughing up blood, and was hospitalized, eventually dependant on a ventilator, and expired at St. Joseph’s Hospital. The cause of death according to the pathologist was “massive alveolar lung damage consistent with toxic smoke inhalation exposure.”
The Janssen Law Firm recently resolved a semi-truck/vehicle head-on collision case for the trucking insurer’s one million dollar policy limit. The semi-truck driver employed by a trucking company out of Washington State fell asleep at the wheel while traveling Southbound on Interstate 5 North of Williams, California. The big rig traversed the center median area and collided head-on with a young couple driving Northbound on Interstate 5. The impact demolished the car our clients were in, and caused serious injuries to the driver, including an open left humerus fracture, splenic lacerations, chest pulmonary contusions, and left transverse fractures of cervical vertebral level 7 and thoracic vertebral level 1. The driver’s open fractures required two separate bone graft surgeries, including the acute care surgery to implant hardware to reconstruct the limb.
Eureka City Officials Looking to Create Guidelines for Medical Marijuana
The Eureka City Council will be deciding Tuesday, January 5, 2010, whether to impose a 45-day temporary moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, as city council members work on creating regulations on the dispensaries. The Eureka Times-Standard recently reported that following the footsteps of the City of Arcata, other jurisdictions are hoping to create guidelines to regulate medical marijuana distribution through land use codes.
As noted elsewhere on our website, a significant number of motorists are driving without liability insurance (“uninsured”) or inadequately insured (“under-insured”). Many law abiding Humboldt County drivers learn to their distress that the careless driver who injured them or one of their family, either has no insurance at all or only the minimum required under the California law ($15,000.00 of liability coverage). Most people don’t think about securing the appropriate amount of uninsured or under-insured coverage for themselves, because they don’t plan on being seriously injured by a judgment proof driver.
The above scenario is all too common. The only sure protection is to get adequate uninsured motorist coverage for yourself. In fact, auto liability insurance carriers must offer uninsured motorist coverage along with liability coverage, unless the insured expressly declines it.
On Friday September 25, 2009, Attorney Michael Crowley of the Janssen Law Firm presented testimony from Nancy Huntzinger and other evidence before Superior Court Judge John Feeney regarding the wrongful death damages in her lawsuit against Defendant Stephen Hash, who killed her then fourteen year old son, Curtis Huntzinger, in 1990. Judge Feeney awarded Ms. Huntzinger a 3.6 million dollar wrongful death judgment commenting to her in court, “Clearly, no monetary judgment can compensate you for the loss of your son,” and offered his condolences for her loss.
Proper handling of premise liability “slip and fall” cases requires a lawyer to be familiar with the applicable building codes in order to prove liability and establish damages. Slips, trips, and falls caused by negligently maintained property or premises result in serious injuries to members of our community. Recognizing the failure to comply with required building codes is essential to the successful prosecution of a premises liability case.
A recent case handled by Michael Crowley of the Janssen Law Firm on behalf of an elderly woman injured in a church parking lot illustrates the point. Mr. Crowley’s client was attending a fund raising dinner in a hall on the church’s property during evening hours. The flood light on the roof of the building as well as a wall light were broken and non-operative at the time. She left the dinner to return to her car, parked in a painted designated disabled parking space.
As more members of our community bicycle to work, school, and for exercise, there’s been an unfortunate increase in fatalities and serious injuries to bicyclists. Many motorists do not realize that bicyclists have the same rights under the California Vehicle Code to occupy the roadway as does a motor vehicle. Further, many motorists are inattentive and even unaware of the presence of bicyclists on the roadway.
A recent bicycle injury case handled by Michael Crowley of the Janssen Law Firm illustrates the problem. Mr. Crowley represented a 46-year old apartment complex maintenance worker who was riding her bicycle home from work on Union Street between Henderson and Harris Streets in Eureka when she was struck by a flatbed-semi driven by a trucker employed by a commercial trucking company. The driver left the scene of the accident, and was later found by the police, stating he was unaware that he had struck anyone.