$17.65 million recovered for family who lost their 13-year-old daughter in a motor vehicle collision. Defendant driver, who was in the course and scope of his employment and driving a company-owned vehicle, negligently crossed the double-yellow line separating northbound and southbound lanes of traffic on Highway 49 in Calaveras County. As a result, Clients' vehicle was struck hard on the rear drivers' side and forced off the roadway and down an embankment. Clients' 13-year-old daughter, who was restrained in the rear, driver-side seat, suffered significant blunt force trauma to the left side of her face and head and died at the scene. Her mother witnessed the traumatic death and was forced to remain in the front passenger seat - with her daughter visibly lifeless in the back seat - until she could be extricated by responding emergency personnel. The father, who suffered his own severe physical injuries, particularly to his head and left arm, was in and out of a semi-conscious state. His left arm, barely attached to his body, was bleeding profusely. There was little his wife could do to help but hold his arm in place and try to keep him awake. Both the mother and father were life-flighted from the scene and taken to separate hospitals.
Defendant driver plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. The case was litigated for over two years and resolved in 2020 for defendants' combined insurance policy limit of $17.65 million.
Client was rendered quadriplegic when he fell from a trellis while installing a gutter on defendant's personal residence. Client's employer was hired to install new gutters. Unbeknownst to Client, the trellis on which he was standing had significant dry rot. The trellis collapsed and Client fell approximately 11 feet to the ground below and fractured his spinal cord. Ordinarily, a homeowner has no liability for injuries to an independent contractor's employees when they are performing work for which they were hired. An exception to this rule is when the property owner fails to warn about a latent or concealed danger on the property. We argued that the dry rot fell into this exception. The case eventually resolved in 2019 for just under $4 million.
67 year old man suffered severe injuries when a driver ran a stop sign and t-boned his van. The defendant driver was in the course and scope of his employment and driving a company vehicle at the time of the collision. Client was hospitalized for multiple traumas, including spinal fractures in his neck, mid back and low back, pulmonary embolism, and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing). He was in a coma for more than 2 weeks, endured two spinal surgeries and painful rehabilitation for a year. The case resolved in 2022 for $5,000,000.
Our Elk Grove-based law firm has been fighting for the financial rights of accident injury victims for over 30 years. John O’Brien and Grant Zehnder are award-winning personal injury attorneys in Sacramento County.
At O'Brien and Zehnder, we genuinely enjoy helping people get through a tragedy by supporting them in any way we can. At the same time, we aggressively pursue their case against the responsible parties and make sure we recover full compensation for their damages.
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OZ LAW NEWS & MEDIAA common misconception of lawsuits is the expectation that the process itself will require a great deal of your time and energy. In reality, with the right attorney, this shouldn’t be the case. At the O'Brien & Zehnder Law Firm we value the opportunity to practice personal injury law because it allows us to help people when they are most in need.
We make it our duty to ensure our clients can focus on healing and not the steps in-between. Call us to schedule a consultation with an injury lawyer in Elk Grove or Sacramento. Our website allows you to contact us and gather information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Contact Attorney John M. O'BrienWhile no amount of money can bring your loved one back or take away your grief, California law allows you to seek monetary compensation for your losses through a wrongful death action against the party responsible for your loss. Such an action should be pursued with the aid of a personal injury firm like the O'Brien & Zehnder Law Firm, which has extensive experience in handling wrongful death cases.
For families who have lost their primary breadwinner or the person who cares for the family and home, receiving monetary compensation from a wrongful death settlement can ease the financial burden their loss has caused.
Contact Attorney Grant R. ZehnderAs tenured Elk Grove and Sacramento County Personal Injury Lawyers we know how to fight for our client’s best interests. Our job is to obtain a settlement that is appropriate and satisfactory for you and your family. In addition, our injury attorneys are skilled, trial-tested litigators. This means they won’t simply settle a case just to get it off their desk. They are NOT AFRAID to take a claim all the way to court. They will truly fight for your financial rights after an injury.
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