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Added together, the attorneys at Boxer & Gerson, LLP have over 350 years of legal experience. Learn more about the trial verdicts, arbitration awards, and settlements they have achieved over the course of their careers. Remember that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any case. These case highlights are divided by practice area. Click below to read more: Personal Injury
Employment Law
Civil Rights Sexual Abuse Elder Abuse PERSONAL INJURY Automobile and Truck Accidents $12.6 Million Jury Verdict for Child Injured By Defective Highway Design. Before joining Boxer & Gerson, trial attorney Gary Roth represented an 11-year old child who was injured in a single vehicle auto collision caused by a defective roadway and suffered an amputated arm and a crushed leg, causing him to have more than thirty surgeries. After a two week jury trial, he secured a $12.6 million verdict for his client against the state and the driver for the serious injuries that were caused. $3 Million Pre-trial Settlement for Wrongful Death in Rear-End Collision. Boxer & Gerson achieved a $3 million settlement for the family of a self-employed HVAC repairman who was killed in a rear-end collision while working on a CalTrans Project. The firm was responsible for getting BART to install edge detection rubber flooring at all of its stations to assist the visually impaired (Pugh v. BART). Boxer & Gerson also secured automated independent access for disabled passengers to all BART station elevators. $370,000 Settlement for Injured Worker. Boxer & Gerson took the case of a union member who suffered an injured foot when he was hit by a car while picketing against unfair labor practices. The driver of the car paid out $370,000 in settlement for his negligence. Confidential Settlement for Woman With Closed Head Injury. Boxer & Gerson represented a 19-year-old woman who sustained a closed head injury in a vehicle-pedestrian collision. The woman, who underwent two years of rehabilitation, received a confidential settlement for injuries and emotional distress damages. Catastrophic Injury and Death $16 Million Settlement for Families of Workers Killed in Walnut Creek Pipeline explosion. Matamoras Pipeline welders Israel Hernandez and Victor Rodriguez lost their lives in the construction of EBMUD’s Walnut Creek pipeline project when the pipeline exploded on November 9, 2004. Their families retained Boxer & Gerson to find out how this tragic event occurred and to seek redress for their loss. The firm filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the companies involved in designing and managing the pipeline construction project. In the end, defendants EBMUD, Mountain Cascade, Kinder Morgan and Com-Force paid a total of $16 million, which will be allocated to the surviving family members of the two men. $3.1 Million Settlement for Family of Man Killed In Scaffolding Accident. Boxer & Gerson represented the wife and young children of Darryl Clemons, a 33-year old painter who lost his life when scaffolds collapsed on the Bay Bridge seismic retrofit project in January 2002. Working with a team of metallurgists and mechanical engineers, Boxer & Gerson was able to build evidence that the company that produced the scaffold Mr. Clemons had been using had exaggerated its capabilities to get the public construction project and failed to build the scaffolding according to the design. The lawsuit resulted in a $3.1 million settlement for the family. Construction Accidents $2.25 Million Settlement for Journeyman Diesel Mechanic for On-the-Job Injury. After a truck on a highway construction project backed into a journeyman diesel mechanic, Boxer & Gerson sued to recover lost past and future wages and emotional distress damages. The resulting $2.25 million dollar settlement helped the union construction worker regain his financial security and move on with his life. $1.05 Million Jury Verdict for Electrician Injured In Construction Site Accident. Boxer & Gerson won a $1.05 million dollar jury verdict for a union electrician who suffered a broken wrist when he fell over an anchor bolt on a construction site at UC Berkeley. Trial attorney John Anton presented evidence that a subcontractor on the project left the premises in a dangerous condition and should have foreseen the possibility of injury. Confidential Settlement for Truck Driver Injured At Construction Site. In a case settled on confidential terms, Gary Roth represented a truck driver who was airlifted after being pinned between the bucket of a backhoe and the bed of his truck while on a construction site. Dangerous and Defective Products Jury Verdict of $1.1 million for Man Injured In Fall Caused by Defective Light Pole. A jury awarded one of Boxer & Gerson’s clients $1.1 million to compensate him for the physical injuries, lost wages, and emotional distress he suffered after he fell off a ladder while replacing light fixtures on a tennis court. The firm’s attorneys demonstrated to the jury that the defective design of the light pole was responsible for the fall. Settlement In Excess of $1 Million for Steelworker Injured by Defective Equipment. When a veteran steelworker was caught in 50-year old machinery and suffered permanent injuries, including the loss of an arm, Boxer & Gerson had to prove that a present-day company was liable for the negligence of the machinery’s manufacturer. After a lengthy investigation that took him around the country and uncovered additional successor liability from other involved companies, Boxer & Gerson partner John Anton delivered a seven-figure settlement to assure the steelworker’s financial future and compensate him for the pain and suffering he endured. Confidential Settlement for Man Injured In Water Slide. Boxer & Gerson, LLP brought suit on behalf of a client who became a quadriplegic while using the backyard water slide. The firm argued that the product’s design and warnings were dangerous and failed to guard against foreseeable injuries. To compensate the injured man for the life-altering effects of the injury, the firm negotiated a settlement on confidential terms. Dangerous conditions of property $10.6 Million Jury Verdict for Man Injured In Slip-and-Fall. A Boxer & Gerson client injured his knee and subsequently developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in a slip-and-fall accident on a wet floor in a retail store. This central nervous system disorder disabled him and required multiple surgeries. Through aggressive discovery during litigation, Boxer & Gerson proved that the store and its contractors had failed to fix problems with the roof over a three year period prior to the incident. Trial attorney John Anton brought the case before a jury, resulting in a $10.6 million verdict against the store, the installer of the roof and the manufacturer of the roof. Jury Verdict of $1.1 Million for Maintenance Employee Severely Injured In Fall. Boxer & Gerson obtained a verdict of $1.1 million for a condominium maintenance employee who severely fractured both ankles when he fell 28 feet while fixing a tennis court light. Nearly ten years earlier, the light had been installed without a bolt that would have prevented the accident, and Boxer & Gerson was able to prove that the developer of the condominium should be held responsible for the serious injury. $2 Million Settlement for Teamster Hit By Defective Forklift. After a Teamster warehouseman was hit by a forklift on a loading dock, Boxer & Gerson filed suit against the warehouse owner and a product manufacturer to prove the warehouse owner’s employee was negligent it driving the forklift and that a product he was transporting was dangerous and defective. The union worker received a $2 million dollar settlement to compensate for his injuries. $550,000 Settlement for Carpenter Injured by Falling Rebar Column. Boxer & Gerson represented a union carpenter who suffered a severe injury when a large rebar column fell on top of him, crushing his leg. This accident was ranked as the most severe injury sustained by any worker during the construction of Pac Bell Park. Although Cal-OSHA initially concluded that the general contractor did nothing wrong, the firm’s thorough investigation turned up evidence that proved otherwise, and the firm achieved a $550,000 settlement for the injured worker. $800,000 Settlement for Union Member Injured During Workplace Fall. When a member of the Operating Engineers union fell into a poorly marked and poorly lit pit on a seismic upgrade project, Boxer & Gerson sued for his injuries, resulting in a $800,000 settlement for lost wages, medical expenses, and emotional distress. Motorcycle and bicycle accidents Confidential Settlement for Man Hit By Motorcycle. A disabled veteran was driving his motorcycle in Oakland when a young lawyer suddenly turned in front of him, resulting in the loss of the motorcycle rider’s left foot and other injuries. Boxer & Gerson was able to establish that the lawyer was at fault and that he was traveling on business. The result was a highly satisfactory settlement against the defendant lawyer’s law firm. Confidential Settlement for Bicycle Accident Caused By Hole In Roadway. A 14-year old who was riding his bicycle in Berkeley sustained significant head injuries when he hit a hole in the pavement caused by a leaking water main. Boxer & Gerson led an investigation that determined the cause of the accident, found witnesses who testified on the client’s behalf and delivered a structured settlement guaranteeing monthly payments for the rest of the boy’s life. In a case still pending, Boxer & Gerson attorney Gary Roth represents a police officer who was ejected from his motorcycle when a driver exited a parking lot without looking. EMPLOYMENT LAW Discrimination and Retaliation $3.6 Million Settlement for City Employee Subjected to Retaliation and Wrongful Termination. A 27-year employee of the City of Emeryville turned to Boxer & Gerson’s employment practice group after she was terminated from her job following a psychiatrist’s report that she was "unfit for duty." The employee, who was chief union steward at the time of her termination, had challenged racial discrimination, harassment, and unfair treatment by City management throughout her career. Attorneys Darci Burrell and Leslie Levy charted new legal territory in this case by bringing a claim against the psychiatrist, Dr. Stephen Raffle, for "aiding and abetting" the City in retaliating against their client for her years of anti-discrimination advocacy on behalf of herself and others. On the eve of the jury trial, Emeryville agreed to pay an estimated $3.6 million in damages and attorneys fees to settle the case. The settlement was a vindication for the employee and restored her good name. Jury Verdict And Fees Award In Excess of $1 Million For Woman Subject to Retaliation. Boxer & Gerson attorneys Jean Hyams and Darci Burrell tried a case on behalf of a woman who suffered from retaliation after she complained repeatedly about sexual and racial harassment on the graveyard shift at Caltrans’ Oakland Transportation Management Center. Members of the jury wept when they rendered a unanimous verdict finding Caltrans liable for maintaining a sexually and racially hostile work environment and subjecting the plaintiff to retaliation. By obtaining a jury verdict and attorneys’ fee award in excess of $1 million, the Boxer & Gerson employment team vindicated the rights of the Caltrans employee and delivered a clear message to employers about the cost of maintaining a work environment in which sexually and racially inappropriate conduct is permitted to thrive. $650,000 Settlement For Age Discrimination. After a bank forced a 50-year-old woman to retire to make room for younger workers, Felicia Curran secured a $650,000 settlement based on age discrimination. A confidential resolution resulted from a tenure discrimination case brought on behalf of a university professor alleging gender and disability discrimination. Family and Medical Leave Retaliation Confidential Settlement for Woman Retaliated Against After Taking Medical Leave. A woman who missed work because of her serious health condition was fired by her employer under its "no fault" absence policy. After Boxer & Gerson, LLP filed suit on her behalf and worked the case up for trial, the employer ended up footing the bill for the plaintiff’s attorneys fees and paying the plaintiff money damages to avoid a jury trial. Arbitration Award for Employee Terminated After Taking Medical Leave. In a case arbitrated pursuant to a mandatory employment arbitration agreement, Boxer & Gerson, LLP attorneys secured a positive outcome for a woman who was terminated from her job after taking time off as medical leave. Since the termination took place as part of a major corporate reorganization and the layoff of hundreds of people, the firm’s attorneys had to prove that she was singled out and fired for unlawful reasons. Reasonable Accommodation Settlement of $600,000 for School Teacher Subject To Disability Discrimination. When the Pleasanton Unified School District refused to provide reasonable accommodations for a veteran school teacher and falsely claimed that the teacher’s disabilities prevented her from performing her job, Boxer & Gerson filed suit. In the end, the school district agreed to a settlement valued at over $600,000 to redress the wrong it inflicted on the teacher. $200,000 Settlement for School Teacher Denied Reasonable Accommodation. On the eve of trial, the Oakland Unified School District agreed to pay $200,000 to settle the lawsuit filed by Boxer & Gerson on behalf of a primary school teacher who was injured because the District failed to provide reasonable accommodations for her disabilities. Sexual Harassment $2.4 Million Arbitration Award for Victim of Sexual Harassment By 24 Hour Fitness. Boxer & Gerson attorneys represented a corporate sales manager in her sexual harassment claims against her employer, 24 Hour Fitness. The company required their employees to sign away the right to a trial by jury as a condition of their employment, so the claims could only be brought through private arbitration. The result, a $2.4 million award, including $1.2 million in punitive damages was one of the largest awards on record for a single plaintiff arbitration. After the arbitration, the employer tried to seal the record to keep Boxer & Gerson’s client from publicizing the outcome of her case. Jean Hyams and Leslie F. Levy fought a post-arbitration legal battle for the right to make the company’s misdeeds public so that other employers would learn the costly consequences of sexual harassment in the workplace. Confidential Settlement for Victim of Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment. In a sensitive case involving a male manager who coerced a young woman who worked for him to have sexual contact with him, Boxer & Gerson attorneys negotiated a settlement in a confidential amount before a lawsuit had to be filed. $1.025 Million Jury Verdict/Equitable Relief Award for Female AMTRAK Engineer. Prior to joining Boxer & Gerson, Felicia Curran and her co-counsel obtained a combined jury verdict and equitable relief award after jury trial for the female locomotive engineer in the amount of $1.025 million. The court also ordered AMTRAK to pay an additional award for the engineer’s attorney fees. This case, Gotthardt v. National Railroad Passenger Corp. (AMTRAK) 191 F.3d 1148 (9th Cir. 1999), was the first appellate decision in this Circuit holding that the damage cap of 42 U.S.C. Section 1981a(b)(3) does not apply to an employee’s claims for lost future wages ("front pay") under the federal anti-discrimination law, Title VII. This issue was later resolved on a nationwide basis in 2001, by the U.S. Supreme Court, in Pollard v. E.I. du Pont (2001) 532 U.S. 843, once again in the plaintiff’s favor. $1.225 Million Settlement for Female Employees of Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Before coming to Boxer & Gerson, Felicia Curran achieved a settlement in the amount of $1.225 million on behalf of two women employees of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. A supervisor of the correctional institution where the women worked had sexually harassed them, subjecting them to a hostile work environment for more than nine months. During the pre-trial work-up of the case, the employer was forced to admit that it had no record of the sexually harassing supervisor ever attending sexual harassment prevention training and that the supervisor was responsible for monitoring his own sexual harassment training (the fox guarding the hen house). This is one of the largest reported settlements the Department of Corrections has paid in a sexual harassment lawsuit for harassment by a single supervisor. $500,000 Settlement for Employee of Fortune 500 Corporation. A young woman employee of a large Fortune 500 corporation was sexually harassed by her direct supervisor on a daily basis for more than a year. As an attorney representing her, Felicia Curran negotiated a settlement of $500,000. In pre-trial work up of the case, the company admitted that neither the supervisor nor any of the department heads of the company had taken any sexual harassment training, a fact which increased the company’s responsibility for what had occurred. $500,000 Settlement for Victim of Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment. Felicia Curran brought a quid pro quo sexual harassment and hostile work environment lawsuit on behalf of a young Asian-American woman whose department head threatened to fire her if she told anyone about his verbal and sexual abuse. The case resulted in a $500,000 settlement on behalf of the wronged employee. Wage and Hour Violations Confidential Settlement for Employees of Waste Disposal Company. For For more than a decade, a major waste disposal corporation paid eleven of its employees wages as much as $20/hour less than the prevailing wage agreed upon with the local government. Boxer & Gerson uncovered the full story of the company’s cheating, including a quote from a vice-president who said "what [the workers] don’t know won’t hurt them", and won a settlement that included a sizeable compensation for the workers’ years of lost wages. Whistleblower Retaliation $475,000 Settlement for Police Officer Terminated After Refusing To File False Police Reporter. Boxer & Gerson, LLP brought suit for wrongful termination in violation of public policy on behalf of a police officer who was terminated after he complained to his superiors that he had been unlawfully pressured to falsify a police report. By taking depositions of command officers up the chain of command to the level of chief of police, attorney Jean Hyams gathered evidence to show that her client’s complaints were one of the factors motivating the decision to terminate him. Just days before a jury trial was set to begin, the police department agreed to a $475,000 settlement. Jury Verdict Over $100,000 for Coach Who Reported Inappropriate Behavior By Colleague. A swim coach reported that one of her assistant coaches was engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior with minors on the swim team. Her employer refused to do anything to correct the situation and she resigned from her job rather than sit by and watch the young team members be harmed. Boxer & Gerson attorneys Leslie Levy and Jean Hyams won the jury trial, resulting in an award of over $100,000 for the swim coach. CIVIL RIGHTS $835,000 Settlement to Protestor Injured By Police During Demonstration. Boxer & Gerson secured one of the largest settlements ever achieved against the San Francisco Police Department -- $835,000 -- on behalf of a court reporter whose arm was broken by an aggressive police officer during a peaceful anti-war demonstration. The same officer was later fired by the San Francisco Police Commission for making false statements about the event. Lawsuits Against BART Result In Improved Access for Disabled Patrons. Boxer & Gerson partner Leslie Levy brought two cases against BART on behalf of passengers with disabilities. These cases have made the system more accessible to the people with disabilities who rely on BART trains for transportation. Because of one lawsuit, BART installed edge detection rubber flooring at all of its stations to assist people who are blind or visually impaired. (Pugh v. BART). The second lawsuit forced BART to provide automated independent access for disabled passengers to all BART station elevators. Pioneering Lawsuit For Tenants Sexually Harassed By Landlord. Prior to joining Boxer & Gerson, partner Leslie Levy brought a groundbreaking case alleging sexual harassment in housing. She represented multiple tenants whose apartment manager was perpetrating severe sexual harassment against them. The settlement achieved was the largest settlement in the nation at the time for housing sexual harassment case. The publicity generated by this case, including a television appearances on Oprah and prominent coverage in newspapers around the country led to increased training, education and attention to the problem of sexual harassment in housing. SEXUAL ABUSE $1.9 Million Settlement For Children Molested By Berkeley School Teacher. When several 4th graders in Berkeley were molested by a teacher, Leslie Levy won a settlement of $1.9 million and an agreement for system-wide training on issues of sexual abuse of children by school personnel. $900,000 Settlement For Therapist Abuse. A therapist used the transference phenomenon to exploit her professional relationship with a young woman to induce the woman to have sexual relations with her. Felicia Curran, prior to joining Boxer & Gerson, was one of the attorneys who filed suit on her behalf and secured a $900,000 pre-trial settlement. The young woman was severely traumatized by the therapist’s abuse, and the settlement provided funds for the medical care and therapy the young woman needed to recover from the abuse. Confidential Settlement for Church Member of Sexual Harassment Case Against Pastor. A minister used his pastoral counseling sessions to convince an emotionally vulnerable member of his church that it was God’s will that she should have sex with him. Jean Hyams brought suit against the minister and his church for breach of the relationship of trust between clergy and parishioner. After aggressive litigation, the matter resolved confidentially on the eve of trial. ELDER ABUSE Judgment by Default in the Amount of $3,279,463 in an Elder Abuse Case on Behalf of an Elderly Woman and Her Daughter Against a San Pablo Nursing Home. An elderly woman had suffered because a San Pablo nursing home repeatedly neglected her, causing her to develop a Stage 4 bedsore that covered her buttocks. The bedsore required multiple surgeries to save the elderly woman’s life, rendering her bed-bound for the rest of her life. In a suit she filed prior to joining Boxer & Gerson, LLP, Felicia Curran obtained a judgment by default in the amount of $3,279,463 in an elder abuse case. The judgment was entered by a judge after an evidentiary hearing in which Felicia presented evidence of the woman’s pain and suffering. She also presented evidence that entitled the daughter to a damage award for her own emotional distress that was based on gross acts of mistreatment of her mother which she observed during visits to the nursing home. Settlement of $850,000 for Wrongful Death and Neglect of a Dependent Adult Who Became Septic at Long Term Care Home. Felicia Curran represented a forty-five-year-old who went to live at a long term care facility after he became physically disabled from multiple sclerosis. He was totally dependent on others for basic activities such as toileting, bathing, turning in bed, and getting in and out of bed. He was often left for hours sitting in wet diapers, causing him to develop chronic urinary tract infections. The facility’s neglect of his needs caused him to become depressed and withdrawn to the extent that he refused to eat and became malnourished and dehydrated. He passed away after becoming septic, caused by the urinary tract infections. In a case filed before she came to Boxer & Gerson, LLP, Felicia presented evidence that the long term care facility caused the man’s death by its repeated neglect of his medical and psychological needs, and that the managers of the facility were aware of the neglect but did nothing. Her advocacy secured an $850,000 settlement on behalf of the family for wrongful death and neglect. Settlement of $850,000 on Behalf of Elderly Disabled Woman Against Physicians and Skilled Nursing Facility. An elderly woman’s physicians mistakenly diagnosed a back injury as a muscle sprain, instead of a fracture. The elder became disabled from the pain, to the point where she had to be admitted several times to a nursing home for pain management. At the nursing home, she was repeatedly over-sedated with medication and required to do physical therapy, which only made her condition worse. Her cries of pain were ignored. When the fracture was finally diagnosed months later, the woman had spinal cord damage. The case settled for over $825,000 after the judge ruled that there was evidence that could support a claim that the nursing home and some of the physicians had committed malicious, oppressive, and despicable neglect of their elderly patient. Settlement of $825,000 on Behalf of Elderly Disabled Woman Against Physicians and Skilled Nursing Facility. An elderly disabled woman in her seventies developed decubitus ulcers on her hips and buttocks during a period of immobility following a major surgery. The ulcers could have been prevented if she had been turned regularly in the hospital. Her physicians cut corners, and delayed providing her medically necessary treatment, equipment, and referrals to specialists, causing the ulcers to become infected, which in turn infected her bones, ultimately requiring hip resection surgery. The neglect permanently altered the quality of the woman’s life and cut short her remaining years. The physicians argued that the decubitus ulcers were caused by pre-existing disabilities, and not by any neglect. The case settled for $800,000 after a hearing in which evidence was presented to establish that the physician’s neglect had caused her injuries, and which established the amount of the woman’s monetary losses. Settlement of $825,000 for Wrongful Death and Neglect of an Elderly Woman Who Died from Aspiration. After an elderly woman moved into a long term care facility, staff of the nursing home dropped her, causing a fractured hip. They then ignored her complaints of hip pain for weeks. The elderly woman became depressed from the pain and neglect, and began to refuse to eat, which severely affected her well-being and contributed to her deterioration. She was finally seen by a physician when her daughter had her examined by a physician visiting the facility. She was operated on for repair of the hip, but then aspirated while recovering from the surgery in the hospital. The case settled for $750,000 based on legal theories of wrongful death and neglect. Settlement of $700,000 on Behalf of Dependent Adult Against Care Home. A mentally disabled young adult was placed in a group home by a placement agency. Her parents discovered scars all over her back when they visited her, which hadn’t been there before. She was unable to tell anyone what had happened because of her mental disabilities. The group home blamed the young woman for the injuries, contending that wounds were self inflicted. The case settled for $700,000 after extensive pre-trial work-up which showed that it was likely that she was beaten with a strap by an overnight "caregiver" at the group home. Settlement of $500,000 on Behalf of Elderly Man and Her Family Against Skilled Nursing Facility and its Physicians. An elderly man entered a skilled nursing facility for short-term care to recover from a heart attack and stroke. At the nursing home he was left unattended in bed, flat on his back, for long periods of time, which caused him to develop pressure ulcers all over his body. The physicians at the skilled nursing facility held back aggressive treatment for the pressure ulcers because of his advanced age, putting him at risk of losing a leg as the pressure ulcer spread into the muscle and bones. The skilled nursing facility and the physician contended that their conduct amounted to, at most, negligence, and that the damage limitations of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) should limit any settlement to $250,000. Felicia Curran obtained a settlement in excess of the MICRA limits by advocating a legal theory for the family members that entitled them to damages for their emotional distress. Settlement of $375,000 on Behalf of Elderly Woman and Her Family Against Skilled Nursing Facility and its Physicians. An elderly resident of a nursing home was unconscious when she was taken by ambulance from the nursing home, after having aspirated juice and liquid which the nursing home staff had negligently given her. She never regained consciousness, and passed away at a hospital, without being able to say goodbye to her family. The case settled for $375,000 after Felicia Curran defeated the nursing home’s motion to have the elder abuse case dismissed, by presenting evidence of the nursing home’s reckless neglect to a judge, including the nursing home’s delay in seeking medical treatment for the elder. |
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