OZ LAW has won over $250 million for accident injury victims. Scroll below to check out our Personal Injury settlement victories.
$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.
A 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.
Head-on Collision Accident Injury Case. OZ LAW fights for your financial rights after an accident injury.
The Elk Grove-based O'Brien & Zehnder Law Firm settled the claims of three injured passengers aboard a Greyhound bus that crashed near Fresno. The clients suffered injuries ranging from a broken pelvis, broken leg, and torn shoulder ligaments, to facial lacerations and soft tissue neck and back injuries. The case resolved at mediation collectively for all three clients for $1.3 million.
Client suffered severe injuries when he was struck as a pedestrian in a parking lot. He was walking from his car to his dry cleaners when a driver left the roadway and struck him at a high rate of speed. Client had multiple fractures in his pelvis and lower extremities. He also suffered injuries to his internal organs including a very painful urethra injury that required multiple surgeries to repair so that client could urinate normally. The case settled in 2020 for the defendant driver's insurance policy limit of $1,250,000.
A 33 year old male suffered hip and low back injuries when his car was broadsided by a driver who ran through a red light at a high rate of speed. Both vehicles were destroyed in the collision. Client underwent multiple injections and radio frequency ablation to treat his low back pain as well as a surgery to repair the torn labrum in his hip. The case resolved prior to trial for the sum of $1,000,000.
This case arises out of a high-speed, rear-end motor vehicle collision that occurred in Vacaville, California. Plaintiff was injured when his 1999 Honda Accord was struck at a high rate of speed by a 2011 Dodge Ram 5500 Tow Truck. The injuries sustained in the collision ultimately caused the plaintiff, who was only 29 years old at the time, to require a sacroiliac joint fusion surgery, in addition to more conservative measures such as sacroiliac joint injections, lumbar facet blocks, lumbar epidural steroid injections, nerve blocks, and radio-frequency ablation. Although the eventual surgery was a success, the plaintiff continued to suffer from symptoms related to the incident and will require future medical treatment. The case eventually settled at mediation for $900K.
Client's car was t-boned in an intersection when defendant ran a red light. Although there was little visible damage to both cars, client hit his head on the side window. Client had a congenital defect in his brain that had never been diagnosed. As a result of the impact, he developed a bubble in his cerebrospinal fluid called a syrinx. Over the course of a year, the syrinx grew in size from a small pea to a bubble that compromised client's spinal cord from C-1 to T-6. When it was discovered, client required emergency brain surgery. Fortunately, he made a full recovery. The case resolved in 2021 for $875,000.
Client was involved in a three-car collision and suffered neck, back, and knee pain as a result. After significant conservative treatment, including multiple injections in her neck, back, and sacroiliac joint, she eventually underwent a fusion of her sacroiliac joint. The surgery was successful in reducing most of the symptoms in her low back and hips. The case eventually resolved in 2019 for $842,000.
Elk Grove-based attorney John O'Brien obtained a policy limit settlement in an automobile accident case for a woman with a herniated disc that required surgery.
Elk Grove-based attorney John M. O'Brien obtained a $430K jury verdict in Sacramento Superior Court on behalf of a 46-year-old woman injured in an auto accident. The case was tried to a jury before Judge Brian Van Camp.
The plaintiff struck a car that was making a left-hand turn. The defendant, a 20-year-old woman, admitted that she made the left turn although she couldn't see into the plaintiff's lane. The defendant was insured by Allstate with a $100K policy. Mr. O'Brien offered to settle for the policy limit three different times on behalf of his client.
After the crash, the plaintiff complained of chest pain, shortness of breath, spinal and left hip pain and was taken to the emergency room. After seeing several doctors, she discovered she had suffered a herniated disc requiring surgery. One year later, she had the herniated disk surgery which was a complete success. After the surgery, Allstate offered the policy limit, but Mr. O'Brien declined.
Mr. O'Brien took the auto accident injury case to trial. After a full day of deliberations, the jury came back at $430K and apportioned 20% of the fault to the plaintiff.
Allstate appealed the decision, and after more than three years, the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's decision and upheld the jury's award. More than five years after she was initially injured, our client finally received the justice to which she had been entitled to for so long.
Client was involved in an automobile collision causing left shoulder pain where he was restrained by the seat belt. After conservative treatment failed, client underwent a left total shoulder arthroscopy. After 6 months of physical therapy, he made a full recovery. The case settled in 2020 for $425,000.
Elk Grove-based attorney John O'Brien represented a man rendered quadriplegic (paralyzed) in a shooting. He obtained a judgment of $7 million against the responsible party.
Landfill Property Devaluation litigation case. OZ LAW fights for your financial rights after an accident injury.
Client suffered severe facial injuries at defendant's fertilizer manufacturing plant in Lathrop, California when a 5-pound stainless steel hose plug was blown from a pressurized hose and struck him in the face. He suffered multiple facial fractures, disfigurement, and permanent partial vision loss in his right eye. Due to the vision loss, Client could not return to his job as a commercial truck driver. Liability was initially disputed and the client was blamed for the incident. After filing a lawsuit against the responsible parties and conducting litigation for more than a year, the case resolved at mediation in 2019 for $3,075,000.
Tanker Unloading Accident Injury Case. OZ LAW fights for your financial rights after an accident injury.
Our client, a 32-year-old paraplegic man was pushed over in his wheelchair by security attendant at the airport. The attendant did not provide adequate restraints for client and did not appreciate the transition between the jetway and the airplane causing client to hit his head and hand on the aircraft frame as he went to the floor. Client suffered a mild traumatic brain injury, left hand injury requiring surgery and a thoracic spine injury. O'Brien & Zehnder took over the case from a prior law firm. At that time, the highest settlement offer was $25,000. After two years of litigation, the case resolved in 2023 for $1,485,000.
The Elk Grove-based O'Brien & Zehnder Law Firm obtained a $1.4 million jury verdict in federal court against Walmart in a falling merchandise case.
Client suffered a severe leg fracture when she stepped out of a Sacramento light rail car in the dark, early morning hours and plummeted 4 feet to the ground below. The incident occurred because the light rail car was not lined up with the station platform and the wrong door was opened by the conductor. When the door opened, the client stepped out into nothing but darkness. The case resolved in 2021 for $550,000.
Plaintiff was an 83-year-old woman who was suffering from the early onset of dementia when the defendants involved the plaintiff in a risky real estate transaction that resulted in the plaintiff's eventual default of a $500K interest-only mortgage on her primary residence and threatened foreclosure. Elk Grove-based attorney John O'Brien filed a lawsuit against a nationally prominent real estate broker and mortgage company alleging financial elder abuse. The case was mediated before retired federal judge Raul Ramirez and was settled for $400K.
Client suffered second-degree burns on her thighs and abdomen when a pressure cooker she was handling exploded and ejected hot soup on her. Client had followed the directions on the pressure cooker to the letter. When the pressure cooker indicated that the soup was ready, she turned the knob to let out the pressure, the steam escaped and she went to remove the lid as she had always done in the past. Instead of coming off like normal, the lid blew off under pressure and super-heated soup caused severe burns. Client was taken to the hospital where she was admitted to the burn ward for the next 4 days. Fortunately, Client made an excellent recovery but still had some residual scarring. We filed suit against the American retailer who sold the pressure cooker, which was manufactured by a Chinese company. The case resolved after mediation in 2019 for $400,000.
Complex Medical Product Liability Case. OZ LAW fights for your financial rights after an accident injury.
A 44 year old woman suffered a crush injury to her right leg when a retractable basketball hoop went into freefall and landed on her. Client was a custodian for a local high school and was lowering the hoop when the incident occurred. As a result of the injury, she developed complex regional pain syndrome, which is a permanent and life altering diagnosis of constant, burning pain in the affected limb. Client underwent numerous procedures to alleviate her pain, including the implantation of a spinal cord stimulator. The case proceeded on a product liability theory against the manufacturer of the basketball hoop, alleging that it was defectively designed. The case resolved in 2023 on the eve of trial for the sum of $4,375,000.
Our client, a 30 year old man suffered a traumatic amputation of his left hand while working on farm equipment. Client was attempting to clear a fault code on a forager machine used for cutting corn when his hand was pulled into the machine and amputated. We filed suit against the manufacturer of the machine on a product liability theory, alleging defective design and lack of warnings. The case eventually resolved just before trial in 2023 for $2,700,000.
A 29 year old man fell 5 stories, an estimated 60-70 feet, through an open, unprotected mechanical shaft from the roof of a building under construction. Client was working for a framing contractor at a multi-employer commercial building site. Unbeknownst to him, an employee of another contractor removed the cover from a narrow mechanical shaft that went all the way to the concrete floor 5 stories below. He inadvertently stepped through it and suffered severe injuries to both legs as well as myriad internal injuries requiring multiple surgeries to repair. The case resolved in 2022 for $5,000,000.
Construction accident attorney John M. O'Brien obtained a verdict of $4.25 million dollars in a personal injury lawsuit tried in Alameda County.
The victim was injured while working on a road-widening project.
He was struck in the back of his knee by the blade of a skip loader.
Elk Grove-based personal injury lawyer John M. O'Brien obtained a $2 million policy limit settlement for a man who was severely injured at a worksite in Modesto.
The Elk Grove-based O'Brien & Zehnder Law Firm obtained a $450K settlement for a roofer who broke both of his feet because a crane operator failed to properly place trusses on the second story of the building.
Several years ago, the Elk Grove-based O'Brien & Zehnder Law Firm started a trial against a trucking company in a case involving the wrongful death of a 20-year-old man who was riding as a passenger in a vehicle driven by a close friend, who was also killed. The driver of the semi-truck blew a tire. Instead of waiting for assistance on the side of the highway, he decided to execute an illegal U-turn across Highway 152 near Gilroy.
With no warning and insufficient sight distance for oncoming traffic, the driver was sprawled across the road in the middle of the U-turn when our client's car hit the trailer at 60 mph and submarined under the side, killing both front seat occupants and severely injuring an occupant riding in the back seat. The case settled right before opening statements for $2.5 million for each injured victim or their families.
The Elk Grove-based O'Brien & Zehnder Law Firm settled a case for the parents of a deceased 22-year-old exchange student from China. The student was riding his bicycle on the way to class at San Marcos College in Southern California when he came to a stop at a busy intersection. When the crosswalk light turned green for him to proceed, he started across the intersection. At the same time, a cement truck immediately to his left was preparing to make a right-hand turn across the crosswalk. The driver of the cement truck was looking to his left to clear traffic before initiating the right-hand turn against a red light. At that same moment, the light turned green, and our client started across. The cement truck driver either never looked to his right or simply could not see our client in his blind spot as he started his turn. The truck struck and killed our client about 6 feet from the curb.
The responding investigators from the local sheriff's department concluded that the accident was our client's fault despite multiple eyewitness testimony to the contrary. In what was clearly a biased conclusion based on favoring a local business over a foreign student, the officers concluded that our client was not paying attention when he crossed "in front of the truck" and was wearing earbuds and riding his bike in a crosswalk in violation of local ordinances. After entering the case, we established that the truck driver initiated his right-hand turn without looking to see if the crosswalk was clear and that the student cyclist was not at fault for causing the accident. The case resolved for the defendant's insurance policy limit of $2 million.
$2.5 million recovered for motorcyclist as a result of collision on eastbound Interstate 80 near Dixon, California. Defendant caused the collision when he executed an unsafe lane change directly into Client's path. As a result of the unsafe lane change, Client was forced to lay down his motorcycle and collide with the rear of defendant's vehicle in order to avoid being ejected and thrown into traffic. As a result of the crash, Client sustained a broken scapula, torn labrum and biceps tendon, broken collarbone, fractured ribs, herniated discs in his neck and low back, a traumatic brain injury, and a Grade I splenic injury. In addition to physical injuries, Client suffered cognitive, emotional, and psychological injuries, including severe depression, mental fog, nausea, and headaches - all consistent with post-concussive syndrome and someone who suffers from chronic pain.
Clients were the adult children of a 91 year old woman who perished in the Paradise, California fire. Clients sued PG&E for the wrongful death of their mother. PG&E subsequently declared bankruptcy due to the volume of claims against it for negligence, and even criminal wrongdoing, in starting the fire that consumed the entire town of Paradise. Clients' wrongful death claim was limited by the bankruptcy court, but eventually resolved for $2,625,000.
