Cases & Results

MST pays $3M in '05 crash case

A Watsonville woman received a $3 million settlement last week for injuries suffered two years ago when a bus hit her at the same Salinas intersection where a 75-year-old woman was fatally injured Wednesday by another Monterey-Salinas Transit bus.

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Pedestrian Struck by Light Rail Vehicle -- $2,000,000 Settlement

We obtained a cash and annuity settlement in the amount of $2,000,000 on behalf of 16-year-old girl who was struck by a San Francisco Municipal Railway LRV near Stonestown, on 19th Avenue, suffering amputation of her left lower leg below the knee.  The child was crossing the street with the green light at the same time a southbound LRV “M-Line” train was passing through the intersection.  Our lawyers demonstrated that the timing sequence of the various signal lights governing the direction of the train, and the pedestrian walkway, gave both parties the green light at the same time, creating a recipe for disaster.  The City claimed that the child was partially at fault for failing to see and appreciate the oncoming train.  The case was resolved after two sessions of mediation with a retired Justice of the First District Court of Appeal.

Pedestrian v. Taxicab -- $735,000 Settlement

Our team achieved a $735,000 recovery on behalf of a 42-year-old woman struck by a DeSoto taxi cab while she was crossing The Embarcadero in a marked crosswalk in downtown San Francisco. Our attorneys hired accident reconstruction engineers who were able to prove that the cab was exceeding 50 miles per hour when it struck our client. The cab driver originally claimed that a “phantom” car ahead of it actually struck our client first, thereafter knocking her into the cab. The cab driver also claimed that the injured plaintiff was crossing against a red light. Our attorneys proved otherwise.

MUNI Bus Wrongful Death Claim Settlement Includes Moscone Memorial

A bench at Moscone Park was recently dedicated in memoriam to Betty White, a woman who was hit on March 11, 2004, while walking her dog in the Marina district by a MUNI bus that ran a stop sign. Due to massive brain injuries, the 54-four-year-old woman passed away the following day. Betty was survived by her seven siblings. In the case handled by our firm, the City agreed to place the permanent memorial in addition to paying a substantial money settlement.

Prior to her death, Betty, a highly regarded community activist, worked vigorously with San Francisco leaders in her efforts to improve neighborhood safety and quality of life. At the time of her death, she had been lobbying for increased stop signs on Chestnut at Webster and Buchanan, out of concern for the safety of young mothers and children crossing the street to Moscone Park.

For more than twenty years, Betty had worked tirelessly with the Marina Merchants Association, promoting and securing safer conditions in the Marina District. A founding member of the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team and Safety Awareness For Everyone, Betty was responsible for developing emergency preparedness and disaster relief protocols following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, installing safe access to the Moscone Playground and Recreation Center, and obtaining a $50,000 grant as seed money for a new playground at the park