Equipment problems cause plane crash
Award: $12,203,892

The verdict for plaintiff Desrosiers was reported to be the largest personal injury verdict ever awarded in the San Joaquin Valley (Desrosiers v. Flight International, Eastern District Federal Court).

Gas station slip and fall
Award: $985,489

A waitress sprained her foot when she fell in an oil spill at a self-service ARCO gas station (Wild v. Don's AM/PM ARCO, San Bernardino County Superior Court).

Ryder Truck crushes salesman's legs
Award: $1,112,000

A bread salesman sustained multiple fractures to both legs when the truck jumped back upon starting as he was unloading bread at the rear (Fryan v. Ryder Truck Rental Inc., Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Skier dies from head injury
Award: Defense

A teenager's family claimed that Sierra-At-Tahoe misled them into thinking the green/easier trail was appropriate for beginning skiers (Trovato v. Sierra-At-Tahoe, Eastern District Federal Court).

Termination of contract stops construction of gym
Award: Defense

A general contractor claimed that a college district wrongfully terminated a contract for construction of a campus gym (Sergio Construction Inc. v. West Valley-Mission Community College District, Santa Clara County Superior Court).

Fall causes spinal injury
Award: $1,250,000

An HVAC repairman's foot went through a hole in the roof where he was working, jarring his spine and causing lumbar disk disease (Bailey v. San Leandro Property Management, Alameda County Superior Court).

Landlord shoots tenant
Award: $5,612,500

An apartment owner collecting rent accidentally killed a tenant with the handgun he carried for protection (Encarnacion v. Aguilera, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Dismissal of case caused by attorney malpractice
Award: $3,110,911

The attorney for a car salesman failed to move a wrongful termination case back onto the civil active list resulting in its dismissal (Greco v. Biddle, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

Counselor molests girls
Award: $780,000

Three 11-year-olds in the New Haven school district were molested by their school counselor on campus during school hours (Rodriguez v. Wong, Alameda County Superior Court).

Pizza deliveryman strikes pedestrian
Award: $1,278,233

A teenage student was struck by a Domino's Pizza franchise driver, sustaining a broken leg and pelvis (Wills v. Vargas, Los Angeles County Superior Court).

SuperShuttle passenger suffers closed head injury
Award: $475,000

A computer analyst was injured when the van's driver ran a red light and collided with another vehicle (Volkman v. SuperShuttle of San Francisco Inc., San Francisco County Superior Court).

Insurance Code provisions violated
Award: $709,000

Two insurance companies violated Insurance Code notice provisions when they terminated an agency contract (Faulconer v. Redland Insurance Company, Orange County Superior Court).

EDITOR'S NOTE: California Bar Journal publishes this abbreviated summary of important trials in California provided by Trials Digest Publishing Inc. For a free complete trial report on any case listed, call 510/420-1800.