$7.86 million - Record result for 65-year-old woman with cerebral aneurysm resulting in significant brain injuries.

Our brain injury lawyers represented a 65-year-old woman who was found to have a cerebral aneurysm. While the aneurysm was being treated it ruptured causing her significant brain injuries. Her injuries included quadraparesis and moderate to severe cognitive injuries necessitating 24 hour care. Plaintiff had a history of cancer and was receiving periodic CT scans to look for metastasis. Plaintiff contended that the aneurysm was visible on one of the CT scans and could have been diagnosed before she had a bleed. When the bleed occurred, the aneurysm was diagnosed and intervention attempted. Plaintiff claimed that the intervention was undertaken by personnel who were not properly trained in coiling techniques for aneurysms and caused the rupture. The defendants contended that in the original CT scan the aneurysm looked like bone in the sella and not an aneurysms. The interventional radiologists contended that this was an emergency situation and that intervention was necessary to save her life. They further stated that the rupture occurred spontaneously and was not related to anything they did during the procedure. This was a record result for a brain injury to a person of this age in this state.

$7.6 million - World record verdict (1976) for radiation-induced spinal cord injuries to 18 year-old, causing C-6 quadriplegia (Necochea v. UC).

We tried a case involving spinal cord injuries in San Francisco involving an 18-year-old woman who had been rendered quadriplegic during radiation treatment for cancer she had suffered as a child. This was an extremely difficult liability case against two major local hospitals and a nationally-recognized radiation therapist. The defense offered $500,000 to settle the case. That offer was withdrawn during the eight-week trial. The 1978 jury verdict of $7.6 million (present value) was the highest malpractice verdict in the country. It received wide media coverage on Walter Cronkite's 6 o'clock news, in Time magazine, and in other national news. This spinal cord injuries case remained one of the highest present value malpractice verdicts in the western states for years. It was then exceeded by a judgment for $8,900,000 we obtained in Hawaii a few years ago.

$6.4 million - San Francisco record legal malpractice verdict (1985) for failure to identify medical malpractice case for 32 year-old C-6 quadriplegic (Necochea v. Belli; including interest and costs).

We handled a legal and underlying medical malpractice case against MELVIN BELLI Esq., wherein we represented a thirty-two year old man who had been paralyzed in an automobile accident when he was sixteen years old. Belli had represented the young man in his auto case, which he settled for $250,000. We contended that he had missed other potential medical defendants. This case was tried for nine weeks in San Francisco County against an original offer of $600,000, which was then raised during trial to $1,200,000 and ultimately rejected by us. The trial involved proving medical malpractice against several doctors and a hospital, as well as legal malpractice against Mr. Belli and his firm. The jury verdict was $6.4 million with pre-judgment interest and costs.

$6.0 million - Settlement for brain infarcts caused by epinephrine overdose during emergency treatment for respiratory crisis (Hawaii).

Our brain injury attorneys settled this case for brain injuries to a 30 year-old woman. The plaintiff was suffering from a respiratory crisis and was in severe pulmonary distress. She was air evacuated to the defendant's hospital where she underwent an emergency endoscopy procedure. The patient was overdosed on epinephrine to dilate her bronchial passages and her blood pressure spiked from vessel constriction. In response they gave medications to lower her blood pressure which caused hypervolemic shock and a hypo perfusion brain injury. She eventually recovered from her injuries sufficiently that she could ambulate but required wheel chair in some community situations. She had mild cognitive injuries which affected executive function and memory. She had no attendant care requirements.

$4.0 million - Settlement for failure to diagnose cerebral artery injury in accident victim, resulting in C-4 quadriplegia.

$3.5 million - Settlement for motorcyclist diagnosed with Vertebral Artery Dissections.

Plaintiff was injured in an off road motorcycle accident and was admitted to an emergency hospital for evaluation and observation.  Over the next 24 hours, he gradually had increasing symptoms involving changes in sensation and decreased motor ability.  Eventually he was transferred by air to another facility where they diagnosed a traumatic vertebral artery dissection.  Plaintiff contended that defendants failed to diagnose the vertebral artery dissection and failed to treat it promptly to prevent propagation of the clot.  Defendants contended that the clot propagation was inevitable and could not have been prevented by early diagnosis and treatment.  The plaintiff died one year after the settlement was obtained.