CATASTROPHIC INJURY

• In Henline v. State of California, et. al., Pamela Henline, age 51, was driving her Honda on the freeway when a truck began to enter her lane. She swerved to avoid it, losing control and hitting a construction barrier which had been placed at the side of the lane. Because her Seat Belt failed to properly restrain her, she suffered severe injuries.
  
  The McClellan Law Firm brought suit against the State of California, the construction company it hired, the trucking company and Honda, the manufacturer of Pamela's car. The State of California and its construction company settled before trial for $2.75 million. Honda settled for a confidential amount. The case was tried against the trucking company, resulting in an $8.1 million verdict.

• In Acosta v. Industrial Asphalt, the plaintiff worker suffered serious injuries when he was partially run over by an asphalt truck that was backing up. The case settled for $7,830,000.
• In Salas v. AFS (American Field Service), the plaintiff was seriously injured in a single-car automobile accident while an exchange student in Argentina. The vehicle in which she was injured was being driven by the father of her host family. She had been placed with the family by AFS. AFS was sued for negligence in the placement with the family and for failing to establish host family rules. The case settled for $4 million.
• In Sahin v. Saielli and Denora, the plaintiff was seriously injured when a vehicle suddenly turned left in front of her BMW. The case settled for $2,350,000.
• In Craft v. Grand Casino, the plaintiff was paralyzed in a single-vehicle rollover following his intoxication at a Kinder, Louisiana casino, which served him drinks and allowed him to drink even though he was under age and driving. The case settled for $2.2 million.
• In Logan v. Claudefelter, the plaintiff was injured while riding unbelted in a Jeep in Mexico as a guest of another family. The family that owned the Jeep and failed to supervise was sued for negligence. The case settled for $1 million.

WRONGFUL DEATH

• In Mattix v. Castagnola, the negligent operation of a Jeep resulted in the death of the plaintiff's son. The case settled for $1,350,000.
• In Doe v. Nash, the plaintiffs' wife and mother was killed as a passenger in her vehicle when it was broadsided by another vehicle that failed to stop at a red light. The case settled for $2 million.
• In Michael v. Doe, the plaintiffs' son, a high school senior, was killed as a result of the negligent operation of a vehicle in which he was a passenger. The case settled for $2 million.
• In Cary v. Fox, et. al, the firm recently recovered $1.25 million for the death of 87 year old Bessie Carey. Ms. Carey, a widow who lived alone in El Cajon, was struck and run over by a delivery driver. The Firm brought suit on behalf of her adult children, and with trial pending, settled for the applicable insurance policy limits of $1.25 million.
• In Vandenberg v. Honda, the plaintiffs' husband and father was killed while test driving a Honda motorcycle when a co-worker stepped out on the track to take his picture and they collided. The case settled during trial for a confidential amount.
• Garrison v. Porsche arose out of the death of a husband and father who was a passenger in a Turbo 930, when the driver lost control on a city street and went into oncoming traffic. The jury awarded $2.5 million, which was upheld on appeal. The 1983 award tied the verdict for the death of Audie Murphy, a war hero and actor, for the largest wrongful death verdict in the state of California. Following the Garrison verdict, Porsche started offering driver's training to the purchasers of its high-performance, turbo-charged vehicles.
• Trent v. Porsche arose out of the death of a husband and father, when the Turbo 930 oversteered and collided with a telephone pole. The case settled for a confidential amount.

The McClellan Law Firm have litigated many more wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases. Some of those appear under other categories listed in the Our Success Stories section of the web site, including Products Liability, Worker Safety and Governmental Liability.

HIGHWAY DESIGN DEFECTS

• In Reveles v. City of Lemon Grove, et. al., a 17 year-old boy was left with a severe head injury following a collision at a dangerously designed intersection. The case settled for $1.2 million.
• In Cooley v. The State of Louisiana, a deceptive turn on a rural road with no shoulder or recovery area, caused serious injuries to the plaintiff when his vehicle rolled down into a field after leaving the road. The State of Louisiana settled the case for $2.5 million.
• In Henline v. State of California, freeway construction barriers eliminated any recovery area, after the plaintiff's vehicle was cut off by a truck. Ms. Henline was partially paralyzed. The State of California paid $2,250,000 to settle.
• In Banks v. The State of California, the plaintiff was seriously injured after his car swerved off the freeway and rolled over. The McClellan Law Firm argued that there should have been a guard rail to prevent vehicles from dropping off of the elevated roadway. The case settled at the beginning of trial for $1,250,000.
• In McAllister v. County of San Diego, two high school students were killed when their car slid off the wet roadway surface into a tree that was too close to the road. The County settled for $1 million.
• In Roberts v. The City of Poway, the plaintiffs' husband and father was killed when his bicycle was knocked into traffic lanes by trash containers placed in the bike lane at the instruction of the City of Poway and its contractor, Edco Disposal Corporation. The case settled for a confidential amount.

PRODUCT LIABILITY CASES

Product Liability - Passive Restraints/Defective Airbags

• In Rodriguez v. Volvo, the plaintiff received a brain injury in a low speed collision when the pretensioner in her seat belt failed and the airbag deployed.

Product Liability - Vehicle Stability, Rollover and Roof Crush

• Smith v. Chrysler. This case involved the rollover of the Jeep CJ-7, resulting in brain injury to the plaintiff. The case was settled for a confidential amount.
• Tradewell v. Chrysler. This case involved the rollover of the Jeep CJ-7, resulting in brain injury to the plaintiff. The case was settled for a confidential amount.
• King v. General Motors Corporation. A rollover of a Jeep Astrovan and the fracture of a seat hinge caused partial paralysis to the plaintiff. The case was settled for a confidential amount.
• Brehm v. Isuzu. A rollover and roof crush of an Isuzu Rodeo resulted in paralyzing injuries to the plaintiff. The case was settled for a confidential amount.
• Cooley v. Ford Motor Company. A Ford Taurus went off the roadway and rolled over. The plaintiff was crushed by the roof, resulting in paralysis. The case was settled for a confidential amount.
• Gilbert v. Toyota. A rollover of a Toyota SUV resulted in partial paralysis to the plaintiff. The case was settled for a confidential amount.
• Villalobos v. Toyota. A Toyota Land Cruiser rolled over after being struck by another vehicle, resulting in quadriplegia to the plaintiff. The case was settled for a confidential amount.
• Wall v. Ford Motor Company. A Ford Explorer rolled over, killing the father and seriously injuring his daughter. The case settled for a confidential amount.
• Lajeunesse v. Ford Motor Company. A Ford Explorer rolled over on the freeway and the resulting roof crush paralyzed a mother who was the front seat passenger. The case settled during trial for a confidential amount.
• Nuccio v. Chrysler. A Jeep CJ-5 started to roll on the freeway, causing the plaintiff's leg to fly out of the door opening, where it was hit by another car and traumatically amputated. The case settled for a confidential amount.

Product Liability - Vehicle Seat Belts and Restraint Systems

The McClellan Law Firm has had a number of cases against manufacturers for the absence of rear seat shoulder harnesses. In those cases, the lap-only belts in the rear seat paralyzed, crippled or killed the rear seat passengers. Some of those cases included:

• Miller v. Ford Motor Company
• Sisters of the Precious Blood v. Ford Motor Company
• Wilson and Schmittou v. Ford Motor Company
• Richter v. Chrysler
• Schultz v. Nissan
• Aponte v. Mercedes Benz
• Hanson and Takahara v. Hyundai
• Douglas v. Toyota
• Carter v. Chrysler
• Vonderharr v. Ford Motor Company
• Shi v. Nissan

Other cases have involved seat belts that inertially unlatched, meaning that they become unlatched as a result of the forces in the collision. Some of those cases include:

• Duncan v. Volkswagen
• Johnson v. General Motors Corporation

Other cases involved restraint systems that did not work properly. Some of those include:

• Henline v. Honda
• Tatum v. BMW
• Perlove v. Ford Motor Company

Product Liability - Vehicle & Car Fires

The McClellan Law Firm have handled a number of cases involving vehicles that have burst into flames following a collision. These types of cases are referred to as "post-collision fuel-fed fire cases." Some of those include:

• Balugo v. Mazda
• Rios v. General Motors Corporation
• Bugajski v. General Motors Corporation
• Escobedo v. General Motors Corporation

Product Liability - Seat or Seat Back Failures

The McClellan Law Firm has prosecuted cases in which individuals were paralyzed as a result of collapsing seat backs. Those cases include:

• Perlove v. Ford Motor Company

• King v. General Motors Corporation

Product Liability - Vehicle Speed and Power Defects

The McClellan Law Firm has litigated two cases against Porsche involving the Turbo 930, in which the combination of power, turbo-lag and oversteer made the vehicle too difficult to handle for the average driver, without proper warnings and instruction.

• The first case, Garrison v. Porsche, arose out of the death of a husband and father who was a passenger in a Turbo 930, when the driver lost control on a city street and went into oncoming traffic. The jury awarded $2.5 million, which was upheld on appeal. The 1983 award tied the verdict for the death of Audie Murphy, a war hero and actor, for the largest wrongful death verdict in the state of California. Following the Garrison verdict, Porsche started offering driver's training to the purchasers of its high-performance, turbo-charged vehicles.
• The second case, Trent v. Porsche, arose out of the death of a husband and father, when the Turbo 930 oversteered and collided with a telephone pole. The case settled for a confidential amount.

Product Liability - Door Latch Defects

The McClellan Law Firm has litigated cases in which door latch failures have resulted in catastrophic injuries. Some of those cases include:

• Van Cleve v. Toyota
• Valentine v. Ford

Product Liability - Transmission Defects

In Blaney v. Honda, the plaintiff parked her car in the driveway on a slight incline. After putting the transmission in first gear, she went to retrieve the newspaper from the driveway. While she was doing so, the transmission slipped to neutral and the car ran over her, causing paralysis. The case settled for a confidential amount.

Product Liability - Tire Defects

Some cases involve vehicles that lose control or roll over because of defects in the design, manufacture or processing of the vehicle's tires.f

For instance, in Tatum v. B.F. Goodrich, the plaintiff was brain-injured when her BMW rolled over following a blow-out of the rear tire as the result of poor adhesion between the steel cord and rubber. The case settled for a confidential amount.

OTHER TYPES OF MOTOR VEHICLE PRODUCTS HAVING DEFECTS

All-Terrain Vehicles

The McClellan Law Firm has litigated a number of All-Terrain Vehicle cases, including:

• Malter v. Honda
• Cusimano v. Honda
• Taitano v. Honda
• Searles and Lindell v. Honda

Lift Kits

In Ruiz v. Cepik, an after-market lift kit made the vehicle unstable and unsafe, resulting in the death of plaintiffs' decedent. The case settled for a confidential amount.

Trucks

In Zarour v. BB Transport, the absence of underride protection on the rear of a truck resulted in the death of plaintiffs' son when his vehicle rode under the truck on the freeway. The case settled for $1,075,000.

Tractors

In Ayers v. Hister and Atomic Investors, the plaintiff was brain-injured when his tractor overturned after the engine overspeed coming down a grade. The case settled for a confidential amount.