Pedestrian struck
Award: $22,800,000
A pedestrian in a crosswalk was struck and severely injured by a bus making a left turn from a right-turn-only lane (Shi v. Coach USA Inc., San Francisco County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: Randall H. Scarlett).

Canal drowning
Award: $500,000
A 4-year-old boy drowned when he was sucked into the intake box of an irrigation canal adjacent to his backyard (Trevino v. Merced Irrigation District, Merced County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: Michael Marderosian).

Driver sideswiped
Award: $10,205,711
A 42-year-old driver of a pickup truck suffered major injuries when he was sideswiped by a tractor-trailer that ran a red light (Donahue v. Youkhan, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: R. Rex Parris).

Cancer death
Award: Defense
A 62-year-old man died allegedly as a result of the failure to timely diagnose his bladder cancer (Santisi v. Babikian, San Diego County Superior Court, Defense attorney: Robert W. Frank).

Bus passenger injured
Award: $13,820,000
A 58-year-old passenger on an LACMTA bus sustained severe brain damage when the bus struck a parked car carrier (Garcia v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: Browne Greene).

Palimony
Award: $1,631,969
A woman who cohabited with a man for more than 20 years successfully sued for breach of promise of lifetime support (Vescera v. Chulak, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: Gordon S. Benson).

Truck driver injured
Award: $1,160,000
A 44-year-old UPS employee suffered major injuries when his truck was struck and overturned by a vehicle that ran a red light (Burton v. Rassekh, Orange County Superior Court, Plaintiff attorney: Christopher R. Aitken).

Motorcycle collision
Award: Defense
A 44-year-old man operating a Harley Davidson motorcycle was severely injured in an intersection collision (Russell v. Hopper, Sacramento County Superior Court, Defense attorney: Ernest A. Long).

Chemotherapy negligence
Award: $400,000
A 57-year-old cancer patient lost the use of his left hand because of leakage of the chemicals he was receiving intravenously (Benavides v. County of Los Angeles, Plaintiff attorney: Michael D. Payne).

Editor's Note: California Bar Journal publishes this abbreviated summary of important trials in California provided by Trials Digest, a Thomson West business. To report your case results, go to west.thomson.com/trialsdigest/form.asp or call 415-344-6000.