SUCCESS STORIES

On a summer day in 2016, the “McCoy” and “Frank” families were out for a leisurely bicycle ride in Del Mar when they were struck by an intoxicated motorist and suffered devastating injuries. One child had to undergo 8 surgeries to save his leg, while his uncle sustained a traumatic brain injury. The driver’s insurance company tried to settle with our clients for its $300,000 policy limit, but Coast Law Group knew that this was nowhere near sufficient to compensate them for everything that they had lost.

Coast Law Group immediately launched an investigation to determine whether there were any other parties that could be responsible for our clients’ damages. Coast Law Group determined that the driver was a waitress at a local restaurant who had admitted to drinking alcohol on the job before heading out to various bars. Although the bars could not be held liable for serving her, her employer could be if it had knowledge of her alcohol use. Coast Law Group later uncovered evidence that while her employer had a “strict no drinking policy”, employees routinely consumed alcohol while working and the driver herself had been spotted consuming a margarita while on the job.

Coast Law Group thus pursued the restaurant under the legal theory that it was partially responsible for causing the accident because it had allowed its employee to become intoxicated while working in violation of its own policies, and then to drive home intoxicated. Coast Law Group argued that while the driver was clearly primarily responsible for the collision, the restaurant was 100% responsible for all of our clients’ economic damages under Proposition 51. Instead of leaving this in the hands of a jury, the insurance companies for the restaurant and the driver’s vehicle tendered their $2,300,000 policy limits. The driver likewise was sentenced to a lengthy term in prison for her reckless behavior.

“Thomas” and “Emma” were returning home from the restaurant they own in Newport Beach when they were struck by “Danny,” a 19-year-old recklessly speeding in his father’s BMW M3. Before getting in the M3, Danny had been drinking alcohol with friends on his uncle’s yacht.

Both Thomas and Emma were hospitalized, and Emma remained in the hospital for over a month. Emma required seven surgeries to address her multiple fractures and nerve damage. She temporarily lost the use of her left hand.

In addition to causing severe injuries to Thomas and Emma, Danny’s recklessness also injured the three passengers in his M3, including causing his friend in the passenger seat to sustain a broken leg. There was only $500,000 in coverage on Danny’s M3 to cover the injuries sustained by Thomas, Emma, and Danny’s three passengers. As a 19-year-old convicted felon, Danny had no income or assets.

To complicate matters further, neither Thomas nor Emma had health insurance since private insurance was costly due to their self-employment. Within a matter of weeks, their collective medical bills exceeded $700,000. The restaurant closed for several days. Thomas, the restaurant’s chef, was unable to work during Emma’s lengthy hospitalization.

Coast Law Group discovered Danny had crashed another vehicle owned by his father prior to this collision. Coast Law Group brought a claim against Danny’s father for negligent entrustment of the M3. Coast Law Group identified a $1,000,000 umbrella policy which provided coverage for the negligent entrustment claim specifically. Additionally, Coast Law Group was successful in obtaining a portion of the settlement proceeds from the insurance on Danny’s uncle’s yacht, although coverage was initially denied. Coast Law Group successfully obtained $1,325,000 in payments from the three insurance carriers—Danny’s automobile carrier, Danny’s father’s umbrella policy, and Danny’s uncle’s yacht carrier. Coast Law Group strategically structured the payments to Thomas and Emma to maximize their net settlements and pay their outstanding medical bills.

After the conclusion of the civil litigation against Danny’s father and with a contribution from the yacht carrier, Coast Law Group pursued criminal restitution against Danny for Thomas and Emma’s additional damages. After hard-fought litigation in the criminal court, Coast Law Group obtained a restitution award against Danny for Thomas and Emma of $630,000. Danny will never be able to discharge that restitution award in bankruptcy.

When she was just 15, “Gina’s” teacher and coach initiated an inappropriate physical relationship with her.  After Gina disclosed the relationship to another teacher, the abuser was arrested and convicted of a felony.  Gina suffered from frequent panic attacks which in turn caused seizures.  During litigation, Coast Law Group discovered the teacher had received a letter of recommendation from his former employer although he had also behaved inappropriately with female students while he taught there.  A fellow teacher at the former school district testified that when the defendant left that position, he felt as if the problem had merely been “passed on” to someone else.  Coast Law Group brought claims against the teacher, his current employer, and former employer.

Gina’s parents could not afford to pay for the psychiatric treatment she desperately needed to heal from her trauma.  Coast Law Group ensured Gina had access to as much psychiatric treatment as she needed without incurring any out-of-pocket expenses.

A settlement with the school districts was reached at mediation for $550,000.  A stipulated judgment was entered against the teacher for $1,000,000.  Coast Law Group assisted Gina in investing a portion of her settlement funds in an annuity.  This allowed her settlement funds to grow at a high rate of interest and provided for her to receive regular payments as a young adult.

While participating in a 100 mile “century ride” throughout San Diego County, Ootsen Eastburn struck a “lip” on the pavement which caused her to be thrown over her handlebars and another rider to crash.  Although “dangerous condition” cases can be very difficult to pursue, Coast Law Group accepted the case because her neck injury was so serious that she had to have multiple vertebrae surgically fused together.

A public records request revealed that several months before her crash, another cyclist had hit the same “lip” and likewise been thrown over his handlebars.  It likewise revealed the same thing happened to another cyclist just hours before our client’s crash.  On both occasions, the city made no effort to repair the condition or even mark it as a dangerous condition knowing full well that hundreds of cyclists were riding towards it.  Regardless, the city refused to make any settlement offers.

Coast Law Group vigorously litigated the case and prepared for a month long jury trial when the City had a sudden change of heart and offered its $1,000,000 policy limit just days before trial.

Our clients “Cathy” and “Mark” were struck by a truck while crossing the street and were dragged on the road until the vehicle finally came to a rest.  Although “Cathy” assumed that her health insurance would pay for her scar revision surgeries, it declined to cover these expenses because it considered them “cosmetic”.  She likewise needed thousands of dollars in dental care and had no means to support herself or her daughter while she recovered from her injuries.

Coast Law Group located medical providers that would provide her with medical care “on a lien” and wait until the case was settled before seeking payment, and secured funding for her to pay for her rent and personal expenses while she was unable to work.  Although the driver blamed our clients for “stepping in front of a moving vehicle”, Coast Law Group was able to eventually secure a $935,000 settlement for our clients.

Don Victor was a retired science teacher who was struck by a delivery truck while crossing the street. His attorney had counseled him to obtain medical care through Kaiser, who was primarily focused on his knee injury. Mr. Victor reached out to Coast Law Group for a “second opinion” about his case.
After reviewing his file, Coast Law Group determined that in addition to his knee injury, Mr. Victor had a subarachnoid hemorrhage and a shear injury which resulted in a traumatic brain injury. Coast Law Group obtained video footage of the incident form a local store which showed him striking his head and a photograph of a significant laceration on his head. In order to determine the full extent of his injury, CIL assembled a team of neurologists, neuropsychologists and other providers outside of Kaiser to document the full extent of his lingering traumatic brain injury. We eventually secured a $837,500 settlement to resolve his claim.

“Brian” was run over by a hit-and-run driver while walking home on a Friday evening. While his life was saved by heroic first responders, talented physicians and caring nurses, his future looked bleak. He was a small-business owner without health insurance and had run up over $1,000,000 in medical bills.
Police conducted a diligent investigation in order to identify the vehicle or its driver without success. Brian hired a highly-regarded attorney out of Los Angeles but was told that unless the driver could be identified by the police, it was likely a dead-end case. At the suggestion of a friend, Brian contacted Coast Law Group to seek a second opinion.
Coast Law Group first connected Brian with doctors who agreed to provide him with medical care for his immediate medical needs even though they might never get paid. It then helped him secure retroactive health insurance to pay for his future medical needs as well as the approximately $1,000,000 in medical debt that he had incurred. 100% of this medical debt was paid for by his health insurance.
While ensuring that his immediate needs were taken care of, Coast Law Group left no stone unturned in seeking other avenues to help Brian get back on his feet financially. Although Coast Law Group was never able to identify that driver that struck him, it did identify a policy of insurance for his landscaping business which provided benefits for accidents involving “uninsured motorists”. Even though Brian was not working at the time of his accident, was not within his work vehicle and was never able to determine whether the vehicle that struck him was “uninsured”, Coast Law Group determined that he was entitled to receive these benefits. When confronted with Coast Law Group’s analysis, the insurance company quickly agreed to pay Brian its $500,000 policy limit.