Attorney Matthew D Easton's Legal Cases

Personal injury

Lazarowitz v. Shuttle Bus

Jul 01, 2016

OUTCOME: $3,060,000

I recently acquired $3,060,000 for a client injured while lane splitting on a motorcycle on the edge of the carpool lane when a shuttle bus suddenly changed lanes into the carpool lane of the 405 freew ... ay. While the bus company initially disputed liability due to my client’s lane splitting conduct, I was ultimately able to show that the bus driver’s negligent lane change was the true cause of the collision and they accepted full liability. As a result of this accident, my client slammed into the side of the shuttle bus and then crashed onto the roadway, suffering a fractured pelvis, torn ACL, internal degloving wound, and various shearing wounds. He underwent three surgeries and more than a year of physical therapy, and incurred $300,000 in medical bills. After demonstrating the significant effect that this accident had on my client’s life, the shuttle bus company sought a mediation early in the litigation process and ultimately paid $3,060,000.

Brain injury

Higashi v. Alhambra Birchwood Townhomes HOA

May 15, 2015

OUTCOME: $2,000,000

In 2015, I acquired a $2,000,000 policy limits settlement for a client who had fallen from a ladder that he placed on top of a two-story high scaffolding while he was trying to remove eaves for a proje ... ct on behalf of the HOA where he owned a condo. My client had fallen to the ground, severely fracturing numerous bones in his skull and face and suffering a traumatic brain injury. While the Defendants contended that my client was primarily at fault for his injuries because he chose to bring a ladder onto the scaffolding and placed the ladder in a precarious position on the scaffolding at the time of his fall, I showed that the Defendants' agents had negligently constructed the scaffolding and were liable as a matter of law due to other deficiencies. While the Defendants denied any liability throughout pre-litigation, they ultimately tendered their $2,000,000 policy limits after I showed their significant additional exposure in the matter early in the litigation of the case.

Personal injury

Withington v. McCollum

Apr 10, 2015

OUTCOME: $1,250,000

In 2015, I assisted in aquiring a mediated settlement of $1,250,000 for a Plaintiff who had been rear-ended and suffered a 2 centimeter (20mm) disc herniation at C5-6, requiring Anterior Cervical Decom ... pression, Discectomy and Fusion. After the first 3 months of positive recovery post-Fusion, Plaintiff began smoking again (as she had strictly been told not to do by her physician) and soon thereafter began to experience pain and radicular complaints. She was diagnosed with Pseudoarthrosis and loosening of the prior Fusion hardware and was advised to undergo a repeat surgery. At the time of mediation, Plaintiff had incurred $48,965.03 in medical specials, but had not yet undergone the second fusion surgery. Despite the Defense contention that Plaintiff was responsible for the need to undergo the second surgery due to her smoking, we negotiated a mediated settlement of $1,250,000.

Car accident

Thomas v. Scanlan

Oct 20, 2014

OUTCOME: $1,300,000

I acquired $1,300,000 for a client who was rear-ended in Newport Beach by a drunk driver being chased by the police at a high rate of speed in a residential community. The force of the impact sent my ... client’s car more than 500 feet down the roadway, up the curb, and into a tree. During pre-litigation, I was able to ascertain facts regarding a prior history of evading the police by this drunk driver in order to establish a powerful potential claim for punitive damages. As a result of the collision, my client suffered a mild traumatic brain injury due to subdural hematoma, as well as a thyroid cartilage fracture and respiratory failure for more than 3 days. She was intubated and hospitalized in the ICU for 10 days and spent another 12 days in the hospital and at a rehab facility. She was discharged with an NG tube still in her nose for feeding, but this was later replaced with a G-tube inserted into her stomach. This G-tube was required for more than 6 months after her discharge from the hospital as she continued to struggle with swallowing liquids due to her injuries from this accident. Ultimately, the medical specials related to this incident amounted to approximately $248,000. While these injuries were serious, none were of a permanent and lasting nature, and my client returned to work full-time within 4 months after the accident. Using the despicable conduct of the drunk driver and the powerful threat of punitive damages I had established, I was able to acquire the drunk driver’s full $1,300,000 policy limits in pre-litigation less than a year after the accident to the great joy and surprise of my client without the hassle of a lawsuit or further delay

Car accident

Jane Doe v Dry Force, Inc

Apr 14, 2014

OUTCOME: $1,240,000

Recently, I acquired $1,240,000 for a client whose breast implant incision ruptured after she was T-boned in an intersection. My client was a remarkable breast cancer survivor who was three months pos ... t-op to her breast reconstruction when she was T-boned and her healed incision was ruptured. After the rupture was surgically repaired the day after the collision, this client experienced a breast infection from the rupture, though it appeared to resolve a few days later. She then experienced recurrent infections several months later after a trip to Mexico following her failed nipple graft procedure. These recurrent infections ultimately lead to various complications and the removal of her breast implant for over a year before it was finally replaced and the situation ultimately resolved. In all, my client had incurred $175,000 in medical bills related to this 3-year ordeal. The Defendants’ physicians contented that all of my client’s more serious complications stemmed from the subsequent infections after her Mexico trip, and therefore were unrelated to the car accident. However, I was able to establish through multiple depositions that it was likely she had developed a biofilm infection after the initial rupture and that this biofilm lay dormant in the months after this accident. I showed that it was likely a jury would determine that this biofilm ultimately lead to the subsequent infections, such that the Defendants would be liable for all of my client’s complications. This convinced the Defendants to compensate her for the full extent of her injuries and the case settled one month before trial for $1,240,000.

Wrongful death

Schenk v Joe's Street Sweeping

May 01, 2013

OUTCOME: $2,750,000

I recently helped settle a wrongful death case for $2.75 million where the decedent was 55 years old with no wife or children, just two surviving parents in their 80’s. The defendants’ insurance carri ... er initially expected to pay little to settle the case of these 80-year-old parents who had no economic losses as a result of their son’s death. But because we demonstrated the unique bond these parents shared with their son by persuasively telling their family story, we were able to significantly increase the value of their case. After seeing how we would present this elderly couple’s case before a jury, the insurance company knew that taking the matter to trial could result in a substantially higher verdict based on our advocacy. Consequently, we were able to settle the case for an amount far in excess of our clients’ wildest dreams without them having to go through the pain and ordeal of a lengthy trial.