Personal Injury Case Results
Since 2000, John Gomez has obtained over $130 million in compensation for his clients with 17 awards exceeding $1 million. In March 2006, he and his team obtained a record $106 million verdict against the County of San Diego and Kristin Rossum in a case arising out of the "American Beauty" murder case.
Below are some of the types of personal injury cases we've handled.
DEFECTIVE TIRES/SUV ROLLOVER:
Three generations of a family were traveling in Mexico when tragedy struck. One of the tires on their General Motors SUV failed, causing a loss of control and roll over. As a result of the rollover, a child died. Others inside the vehicle suffered a variety of injuries. After filing the case, the Gomez Law Firm obtained a confidential settlement from both General Motors and the tire manufacturer.
PREMISES LIABILITY (KNEE):
A woman was walking home from a neighborhood restaurant when an uneven sidewalk caused her to trip and fall, shattering her knee. The Gomez Law Firm filed suit. The defendants claimed our client was responsible for not paying attention to where she was going. The Gomez Law Firm demonstrated that the change in elevation was severe and dangerous and obtained $385,000 in settlement.
PREMISES LIABILITY (SHOULDER):
A woman was walking through a corporate party when she tripped and fell over a power cord that had been covered with astro-turf. She fell directly on her shoulder, suffering a serious orthopedic injury. Along with co-counsel, the Gomez Law Firm filed suit. After litigating the case, we obtained $550,000 in settlement.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE/NEGLIGENCE:
A young family suffered a still born birth. The hospital was supposed to release the baby’s body to a local mortuary for burial. Instead, the hospital released a placenta. The mortuary failed to verify it had received the body, and instead, buried the placenta. The family attended the funeral and memorial service. Months later, the family received a call informing them that the hospital had made a terrible mistake and their baby’s body had not been buried, but instead, was still in the hospital morgue. The Gomez Law Firm brought suit and obtained a confidential settlement from both the hospital and mortuary.
WRONGFUL DEATH:
Gregory de Villers was fatally poisoned with County drugs by his wife, Kristin Rossum, a former County toxicologist and self-admitted methamphetamine addict. The Gomez Law Firm brought a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the parents of Mr. de Villers successfully arguing that the County negligently hired and supervised Ms. Rossum and failed to comply with DEA regulations for drug security. After a nine-day jury trial in the San Diego Superior Court, the jury returned a verdict for the parents of $6 million for the loss of their son’s love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society and moral support against Ms. Rossum and the County. The jury also returned a verdict for the parents of $100 million in punitive damages to punish and deter Ms. Rossum.
PARAPLEGIA/PRODUCTS LIABILITY:
A 37 year-old operations engineer was driving a tractor-scraper on his jobsite. His assignment was to fill in the drop off or cut area with dirt. He approached the drop area and the front wheels of his scraper dropped over a cut. Both wheels of the scraper dropped off the cut and the scraper bounced two to three times. As a result of the incident, he suffered a loss of consciousness, spinal “burst” fractures at L-1, partial paraplegia of lower body, including nerve damage, loss of erectile function, and loss of bowl and bladder function. The Gomez Law Firm achieved a confidential settlement with the tractor manufacturer.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT:
A young Mexican woman worked as a director for an international company for approximately 3 years. During her tenure, she endured several inappropriate and lewd comments about her gender and race. She further endured sexual advances and rumors about her personal life. After reporting the conduct to her manager and human resources, no action was taken by the company. Left with no choice, she resigned. The Gomez Law Firm mediated a settlement prior to filing a lawsuit.
INVASION OF PRIVACY:
After her dermatologist took “before-and-after” photographs of her face, he sold those photos to distributors of a skin care line for advertisements including website, pamphlets and brochures all without her consent. The extremely private woman suffered severe humiliation, fear, anxiety and distress knowing her photographs were reaching a national and virtual audience. The Gomez Law Firm mediated a settlement with her physician and all distributors.
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE:
A single mother in her 30s underwent a tubal ligation otherwise known as having her “tubes tied.” During the operation, her surgeon punctured her bowel twice dictated as “through-and-through holes in the small bowel.” At home that afternoon, she began to experience severe cramps and breathing difficulties. By the next day, she had difficulty walking and standing. She was taken to the clinic but was told to go to the emergency room if her symptoms persisted, which she did. Thereafter, she lingered in a long slow recovery from sepsis with peritonitis following the bowel injuries. Although the punctures are a common risk of the procedure, The Gomez Law Firm accomplished a settlement prior to filing a lawsuit.
WRONGFUL DEATH:
While a 63 year-old father of two walked across the street within the marked crosswalk, an oncoming vehicle crashed into him. He flipped and landed onto the street causing severe blunt force trauma to his head and several internal injuries. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. The Gomez Law Firm attained a settlement for the driver’s auto insurance policy limits to compensate his family for the loss of his love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society and moral support.
BURN INJURY:
A young welder was severely burned in a gas pipeline explosion in Walnut Creek, California. He suffered second and third degree burns encompassing 20% of his total body surface area. His third degree burns affected his right forearm and elbow. His second degree burns reached his entire head, his buttocks, right arm, left arm right and left leg, right and left shoulders, back and right and left knees. After being released, he was re-admitted to endure painful graft surgery on his right forearm and elbow in which skin was removed from his left groin to graft the wrist and elbow. Today, he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and residual scarring encompassing 11% of his total body surface area including his head, buttocks, right arm, left arm right and left leg, right and left shoulders, back and right and left knees. The scarring has resulted in extreme heat sensitivity, decreased mobility, pain, and discomfort. The Gomez Law Firm mediated a $3.1 million settlement.
AUTO COLLISION:
A young critical care technician was rear-ended by an underage drunk driver. Torrey suffered from a disc protrusion the L-5 level and pinched nerves in his back requiring physical therapy, epidural steroid injections with the possibly of surgery in the future. The Gomez Law Firm reached a $100,000 settlement with only $6,000 in past medical bills.
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE:
After surgery to her lumbar spine, the patient, a single mother of two, endured debilitating pain to her lower back and legs. The pain restricted her from performing daily activities such as dressing, bathing, sitting, shopping, showering, walking, standing, bending, getting in and out of bed, lifting, and cleaning. It was alleviated only with prescribed narcotics. During the two years of rigorous pain medications, she suffered from headaches, insomnia, and lack of energy, inability to think clearly, and stomach pains. She also experienced feelings of hopelessness, loss of control, vulnerability, frustration, frightened, anger, depression, and suicidal thoughts. She argued the neurosurgeon operated on the wrong level and side of her lumbar spine. After a corrective surgery, The Gomez Law Firm settled for a confidential amount.
WRONGFUL DEATH:
A 23 year-old professional snowboarder was solicited by a magazine to participate in a photo shoot in Andorra, Spain. On the first run of the day, he hit his head on a rock causing a closed subdural hematoma which he ultimately died of several hours later. The Gomez Law Firm achieved a confidential settlement against the magazine and related entities for the father’s loss of his son’s love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society and moral support.
SEXUAL ASSAULT:
A young woman who recently relocated to San Diego was a victim of a sexual assault by a door to door salesman. Immediately after, she suffered extreme stress, anxiety, loss of control and trust which forced her to relocate on the day of the assault. Her history of panic attacks and obsessive compulsive disorder also resurfaced. The Gomez Law Firm settled for a confidential sum with the employer, among others.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT:
An older female supervisor of a hotel constantly and pervasively sexually harassed a young male hotel clerk for six months. The sexual advances included grabbing of body parts, verbal requests for sex and written harassing notes, cards and emails. This unlawful conduct was reported by the victim to the supervisors of the harasser. Those supervisors did nothing forcing the clerk to endure the disgusting advances until he mentally had no choice but to quit his job and seek medical treatment including psychological counseling. He was diagnosed with major depressive and post traumatic stress disorders which required months of mental health treatment. The Gomez Law Firm mediated a confidential settlement.
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY/SUV ROLLOVER:
While a mother of three children was driving home from one of her two jobs, another vehicle collided with her sports utility vehicle (SUV). As a result of the collision, her SUV rolled over. During the rolls, the roof completely collapsed. The roof crush was so severe that it crushed her seatback, pinning her hair between the seatback and the collapsed roof. She suffered catastrophic and permanent brain injury. Upon admission to the hospital, doctors predicted no chance of a meaningful recovery. They placed her into a medically-induced coma to attempt to treat and stabilize her severe brain injuries. Medical records throughout her stays refer to her injuries as “catastrophic” “grave” and “permanent.” One month later, doctors opined that she is permanently wheelchair-bound and will require 24/7 attendant care. She was transferred to a skilled nursing facility briefly until her family removed her from so that she could be with them. Today, she requires constant care and attention. She will never work or otherwise function independently again. The Gomez Law Firm mediated a settlement for the auto insurance policy limits of the at-fault driver and a confidential amount from the SUV manufacturer.
PREMISES LIABILITY:
Days after moving into her newly constructed home with her husband, our client fell down a one-story stairwell while moving a mattress. She attempted to grab the handrail to prevent her fall, but there was no handrail. She presented to the emergency room with a fractured skull, closed head lacerations and swelling, obvious fractures to her hand and other assorted symptoms. The following day, she underwent surgery to repair her skull and reconstruct her crushed face. Thereafter, she had surgery to her hand, where her surgeon used plates and screws to stabilize her right ring finger. Her doctor warned her that she likely would only regain partial use of her right hand. She underwent a second surgery to her hand to remove the plates and screws, then two subsequent surgeries to her finger to provide greater function and mobility. As a result, she will experience arthritis, pain and nerve discomfort for the rest of her life. The Gomez Law Firm reached a confidential settlement with the builders of the home.
PREMISES LIABILITY:
A young high school student suffered massive crush fractures and de-gloving injuries to her foot and ankle after a retaining wall collapsed on her foot. Her CT scan showed fractures of the base of the second through fifth metatarsals. Doctors operated, cutting away the skin and muscles in her foot to relieve pressure, and attempting to piece together her destroyed foot with pins. She suffered through six painful debridement sessions. Later, doctors applied a skin graft to her foot with skin they had taken from her thigh. Doctors removed the pins and allowed her to bare weight in a cast. After removal of the cast, she began physical therapy. She continues to suffer from extreme pain and discomfort to her medial plantar arch, medial heel, anterior lateral left ankle and left forefoot. Today, she cannot run, jump, or engage in athletic activities that were previously a large part of her life. She cannot walk for any substantial period of time without experiencing substantial and severe pain. Her left foot and ankle are extremely scarred and disfigured, causing her severe embarrassment. She also suffers from scarring to her thigh where doctors harvested skin for the grafting procedure. The Gomez Law Firm attained a confidential settlement with the adjacent property owners.
SPINAL CORD INJURY/PRODUCTS LIABILITY:
A 17 year-old girl was sitting in the rear middle seat of a mini-van full of passengers. Her seat was the only one with a 2-point “lap only” seatbelt as opposed to a 3 point “shoulder/lap” seatbelt. Upon impact with a trailer ahead, she was the only person in the van to suffer physical injuries. In response to the forces of the collision, and without any restraint to her upper torso, she was literally wrapped around the lap belt, which cut into her abdomen, lacerating her bowel. Her head and upper extremities flew violently forward, with her head either striking the unpadded front passenger seat in front of her, or her own knees. The rapid shearing forces tore her spinal column apart, most dramatically at the L3 level, and extending from L4 to L1. With her abdomen and internal organs gutted, she could not lift herself back up to a seating position. She felt immediate and immense pain in both her back and stomach. Today, she cannot stand or walk for any extended period of time. She continues to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and depression. She will have screws and rods in her back for the rest of her life. The Gomez Law Firm reached a confidential settlement with the manufacturer of the mini-van.
WRONGFUL DEATH/SUV ROLLOVER:
Three generations of a family were traveling within a sports utility vehicle (SUV) when it rolled over. During the rollover, the driver was ejected and later died of his injuries. His wife and two children were also in the vehicle and suffered massive head and internal injuries. The driver’s 5 year-old son had his spleen removed and a distal pancreatectomy. Because he lacks a spleen, he must take antibiotics daily and undergo regular monitoring to prevent infection. He also has a lengthy and visible scare above his navel. The driver’s wife suffered a spinal injury at L-5 level and extreme lacerations to her right foot and leg. Those lacerations resulted in deep vein thrombosis to her lower leg causing her to be wheelchair bound for 7 months. Today, she cannot be on her feet for any significant period of time or she will experience extreme swelling and discomfort. Also in the vehicle were the decedent’s mother and his sisters. His sister was ejected during the rollover. She suffered most by watching her big brother struggle to live despite his massive head injuries at the side of the road. As for her physical injuries, she suffered a neck sprain, contusion of her right foot, chest pain, dislocation of her right hip and diffuse back and neck pain. Since that time, she has received cortisone shots and engaged in physical therapy. She still suffers pain in her hip and back, however, and that pain has greatly reduced her ability to engage in normal levels of activity. The Gomez Law Firm has settled the family’s claims against the SUV manufacturer.
