Need A Wrongful Death Lawyer In California?
If you have suffered the loss of a loved one from a severe injury or accident in California, Walkup Melodia can help you. Please contact us online or call now (888) 564-8254 for an immediate consultation with a wrongful death lawyer in San Francisco.
Fatal Roll-Over - $7,750,000 Settlement
Our Motor Vehicle Accident wrongful death lawyers negotiated a $7,750,000 pre-trial settlement in state court wrongful death suit arising from the wrongful death of a father and husband on behalf of his surviving wife and two children. On a trip through Arizona the deceased And his wife were driving next to a National Package delivery truck when the truck driver made an unsafe lane change. The truck began to merge into the lane of our client, causing the decedent to correct his vehicle towards the soft dirt shoulder on his left . The couple's SUV hit the dirt shoulder and rolled over. The resulting roof crush caused fatal injuries to our clients husband who was driving the SUV.
Vehicle Collision - $3 Million Settlement
Our automobile accident wrongful death attorneys obtained a settlement comprised of both cash and future annuity payments, having a present cash value of over $3,000,0000, on behalf of the survivors of a 42-year-old man who was fatally injured when his truck struck a guardrail at a rural bridge crossing. On the morning of his death, the decedent's pickup truck drifted across the center lane of a two-lane road. After correcting back into his own lane, he struck and slid along a metal guardrail, which led to a bridge abutment. As he approached the bridge, there was a gap between the guardrail and the bridge rail. At the point of the gap, the front of the truck struck the abutment, which impaled the vehicle and its driver. Our wrongful death team demonstrated that the guardrail and bridge were not built in accordance with the original plans or specifications. The recovery included the future value of the decedent's wages, benefits and household services as well as a sum to compensate his heirs for the loss of his care, comfort and society.
SUV Rollover - $2.9 Million Settlement
Our vehicle stability team negotiated a settlement against the makers of the Chevrolet Blazer for the surviving husband of a woman who was killed when her Blazer overturned in a single-car Northern California accident. Our client's wife was driving to work when she inadvertently left the road surface, and in the process of correcting back onto the roadway, she overcorrected and her vehicle overturned. During the three rolls that followed, the roof collapsed, and she sustained fatal head injuries. Our attorneys demonstrated that the vehicle, as designed, was not sufficiently stable to protect drivers who found themselves in foreseeable and expected emergency driving maneuvers. The settlement was paid both in cash and in annuities. Under the terms of the court-approved annuities, the woman's surviving son will be provided periodic payments to cover the cost of high school and college and to provide security to him as a young adult.
Cross-Median Accident - $2.75 Million Settlement
Our automobile accident attorneys obtained a settlement on behalf of the surviving wife and children of a 39-year-old San Francisco businessman who died when his car was struck head on by another vehicle that had catapulted over the center divider of northbound Highway 101. The accident occurred when a Jeep, traveling in the opposite direction, lost control and climbed up and over the median, striking our client's husband. The settlement was contributed to both the offending driver and the State of California. Our lawyers proved that the other driver was negligent, and that the median divider, as designed and built, was in violation of State of California design requirements.
Wrongful Death - Truck strikes senior citizen, $2,000,000 settlement
Our wrongful death auto accident lawyers settled a wrongful death claim on behalf of the heirs of a vibrant 72-year-old woman who was walking to work in the SOMA district when she was struck by a large industrial truck. A vigorous woman for her age, the decedent helped support her daughter and two grandchildren. The operator of the rig failed to yield as the decedent crossed the street with the right-of-way. Not seeing the decedent, the vehicle operator struck her, throwing her several feet and causing an intracranial hemorrhage. Without substantial economic loss, the focus in the case was on establishing and proving the unique, close bond the adult plaintiff shared with her mother.
Big Rig Head-On - $2 Million Settlement
Our truck accident team negotiated a settlement on behalf of the surviving wife and two children of a 42-year-old man who died when his automobile was struck head on by a semi-truck on State Route 65 outside of Lincoln, California. Our clients sought recovery for future and lost earnings as well as for the loss of love, comfort and society of their husband and father. As part of the settlement, our attorneys also worked with the workers' compensation carrier for the decedent. The case was settled after being filed in Sacramento County Superior Court.
Public Transportation Negligence - $2 Million Settlement
Walkup attorneys negotiated a combination cash and annuity settlement on behalf of a 16-year-old girl who was struck by a San Francisco Municipal Railway LRV. At the time she was struck, she was crossing the street with a green light. The settlement was paid on behalf of the municipality. Although the defense attempted to prove that the child should have heard the approaching vehicle, our attorneys demonstrated that the child had done nothing wrong and that the injury was entirely the fault of the Municipal Railway driver.
Debris on Highway - $1.9 Million Settlement
Our wrongful death auto accident team recovered on behalf of the husband and three adult children of a wife and mother who was killed while driving home from her nursing job at a local hospital. This head-on collision occurred on a curvy, undivided, two-lane section of Highway 116 between Petaluma and the town of Sonoma. Both drivers' were killed as a result of the collision.
Defendants blamed the accident entirely on the negligent driving of the vehicle that crossed the centerline and struck the decedent. However, the post accident CHP investigation identified multiple plastic containers littering the roadway in the vicinity of the accident scene, which had spilled kerosene across the roadway. Through pre-trial discovery, we established strong circumstantial evidence that the containers belonged to the defendant disposal company, who vigorously denied ownership or control.
Discovery also revealed that several years prior to this collision Caltrans had studied this roadway and recommended several changes to decrease the likelihood of such head-on collisions. As of the date this accident, Caltrans had not put into place any of its own recommendations.
Auto vs. Truck Collision - $1,265,000 Settlement
Our automobile accident attorneys obtained a settlement on behalf of the mother, wife and children of a 38-year-old Daly City man killed when the car he was riding in was struck by the defendant's truck. The car was being driven by a friend, who lost control and rolled his vehicle, ending up in the middle of the number one and two lanes of southbound I-5. During the rollover, a dust ball was kicked into the air, obscuring the vision of oncoming drivers. All oncoming traffic except for the defendant truck driver slowed. The defendant's truck barreled into the car at more than 40 miles an hour. Experts retained by our auto liability lawyers testified that the truck driver's reactions were too slow, and his vehicle speed too fast, for prevailing conditions. The defense contended that the truck driver was faced with an emergency and that his efforts to avoid the collision were as good, or better, than anyone might expect. The case was settled at mediation just prior to trial.
Bus Accident - $1,139,700
Our bus accident team successfully recovered wrongful death damages on behalf of seven adult children of a 60-year-old woman who was killed when the bus she was taking from Arizona to Mexico experienced brake failure as it descended a freeway off ramp in Phoenix. The high speed crash killed the driver and severely injured several other passengers. The bus company had a principal place of business in Los Angeles, and the lawsuit was successfully filed and kept in Los Angeles Superior Court. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the defendant company declared bankruptcy. Plaintiffs obtained a relief from the bankruptcy stay by stipulating that the amount of any recovery would be limited to the amount of the insurance policy limits of five million dollars. As the case progressed through discovery, the bankruptcy attorney for the trustee filed an interpleader claiming that the insurance proceeds were assets of the estate. Our attorneys immediately recognized that the interpleader, if unopposed, would significantly diminish the policy limits because bankruptcy laws gave the trustee and the bankruptcy attorney's priority of payment over the injury claimants and filed an opposition to the interpleader complaint. The settlement was negotiated while a ruling on the opposition was pending.
Contact our California fatal accident lawyers today. Make an appointment for a FREE CONSULTATION to discuss your family's potential wrongful death claim. Call 1.888.564.8254 or 1.415.658.9310.
The wrongful death attorneys at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger represent the families of wrongful death victims in California and Nevada, including the cities of San Jose, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Fresno, San Mateo, Walnut Creek, Concord, San Rafael, Napa, Redwood City, Stockton, Modesto, Los Angeles, San Diego, Reno, Las Vegas, Elko, Carson City and Tahoe.
