E
v. Law Enforcement Agency
E was a front seat passeenger in a vehicle occupied
by five other undocumented day laborers heading northbound
near Fresno after spending all morning unsuccessfully
looking for work. The defendant was a law enforcement
officer who ran a stop sign and collided into the right
front of Mr. E's vehicle. All the passengers in the
vehicle were injured with soft tissue injuries, save
for Mr. E who was not wearing a seat belt. He hit his
head against the interior of the vehicle causing the
fracture of facial bones and a sever concussion.
 The
initial handling attorney reffered Mr. E's case to us
for trial just 45 days before it was set to begin. We
prepared for trial and appeared "answer ready"
in Fresno (a notoriously conservative jurisdiction).
we engaged in exhaustive negotiations in an attempt
to settle. The best offer made to the refferring attorney
was $175,000.00. After two full days of negotiations
the case was settled for $820,000.00. Part of the settlement
consisted of a structure component which could pay the
plaintiff $1.5 million over his lifetime.
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