CLIENT VICTORIES

Vanessa Espinosa was a 22-year-old college student with a promising future.

In June 2020, a reckless CalFire captain sped his fire truck through a red light into an intersection, broadsiding Vanessa’s car, killing her.

For four years the State of California denied liability, claiming its driver was following CalFire procedure and was not at fault. They further argued that Vanessa contributed to her death because she was under the influence of marijuana and was distracted by her phone.

Through expert forensic analysis and deposing several witnesses, Heinrich Law discovered:

• Multiple eye-witnesses, including a retired Napa County sheriff, observed the CalFire captain driving recklessly immediately before the incident.
• Vanessa was not impaired and was not distracted by her phone.

48 hours before trial was scheduled to begin, the State of California suddenly reversed course and admitted 100% liability for the incident.

The case settled for $15 Million.

In October 2021, Tyler Ward, a 17-year-old high school student, drove his Amigo Warrior Scooter on his way home from a friend’s house. He drove over a pipeline trench and loose gravel on a residential roadway negligently left in an unsafe condition by Ranger Pipelines and Westland Contractors.

The hazardous condition caused Mr. Ward to lose his balance, crash, and slide into a construction backhoe on the side of the road. He sustained severe, open, comminuted fractures of his right leg and complex ligament injuries resulting in permanent disability.

The case settled for $8 Million following the pre-trial conference and while jury selection was taking place.

Abraham Degala was attacked and severely injured by unknown assailants while working as a foreman for a subcontractor at a construction site at the Hunters Point East housing complex in San Francisco, a dangerous area known for gang activity and gun violence.

This difficult case took six years to resolve favorably for our client.

Heinrich Law filed suit in 2018 against the property owner and general contractor, arguing that they breached their duty to provide reasonable security measures at the site.

Initially, a San Francisco Superior Court Judge ruled against Degala by granting the defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgement, which dismissed the case. In response, Heinrich Law, in partnership with Appellate Specialist Chuck Dell’Ario, filed an appeal which resulted in The California Court of Appeal reversing the lower court’s ruling in a now published decision.

The matter resolved for $6 Million dollars in November 2024, 48 hours before a jury trial was set to begin in SF Superior Court.

While shopping at a Grocery Outlet store in San Francisco, Carol Baron tripped over a “U-boat” product stocking cart platform that was negligently left in an aisle. She fell forward hard onto her outstretched arm, causing a severe humerus fracture as well as biceps and rotator cuff tears requiring a complex surgery. Ms. Baron continued to live with severe pain and dysfunction for years after the injury, even though her surgery was technically successful. She was ultimately diagnosed with Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (“CRPS”).

Heinrich Law sued the operator of the store, J&A Seven Wonders Corp, and the parent company, Grocery Outlet, Inc. Subsequently, Altair Law joined Heinrich Law and tried this case to verdict.

The defendants claimed that Ms. Baron caused her own injuries by ignoring an obvious hazard, and that Grocery Outlet had no liability because it had no operational control of the store.

Winning this case hinged on two essential developments:

• We assisted the Plaintiff in securing an accurate diagnosis of CRPS, which was more severe than her initial diagnosis. Therefore, the value of her damages was much higher than originally believed.

• Grocery Outlet argued its contract with J&A clearly stated that J&A was an “independent operator” and there was no joint venture as it had no authority to influence store operations. However, document requests and depositions of J&A owners and operators coupled with Grocery Outlet executives revealed that Grocery Outlet’s business practices were opposite of what was outlined in its contracts, and, in fact, it exercised control over operations of the J&A store.

A San Francisco jury found J&A and Grocery Outlet jointly liable for our client’s injuries and damages.  It assigned 80% fault to the Defendants for the accident; and 20% comparative fault against Ms. Baron.  The jury awarded the Plaintiff $6.6 Million, reduced to $5,280,000 for her comparative fault.

Following trial, the parties entered into a binding settlement for $5,780,000.

Heinrich Law’s client, a three-year-old girl, suffered catastrophic third-degree burns to her chest after spilling scalding hot chocolate at an upscale family restaurant and resort near Yosemite.  Heinrich Law argued that the restaurant knew the drink was intended for a 3 year old and therefore should have never served it scalding hot. Management of the restaurant placed sole blame for the incident on the parents, arguing it was up to the them to ensure the beverage was cool enough for their daughter to safely drink.

Heinrich Law successfully filed the case in Marin County, over the objection of defense counsel, who insisted the case had to be filed in Tuolumne County. Winning the motion to keep the case venue in Marin proved critical to winning this case. Following the completion of several rounds of written discovery, eight depositions, a defense medical examination, motion work, and two rounds of mediation, the case settled shortly before trial for $3.75 Million. Heinrich Law is thrilled to have been able to bring justice to this deserving family.

Heinrich Law’s client slipped and fell due to an extremely slick floor that had been negligently maintained. The incident caused the client severe lumbar spine and hip injuries. The client was in pain, faced significant medical expenses and was unable to work. The property owner and contractor denied liability and refused to settle.

Our investigation and case work up, which included the completion of over twenty five (25) lay and expert witness depositions, proved negligence stemming from the use of a cleaning product that was incorrectly applied to the floor.

We took the case to trial. After the first witness testified, the defendant made a $3.5 million settlement offer that our client agreed to accept.