Managing Partner
The past year marked a period of meaningful growth and hard-fought results for our firm. At its core, our work remains the same: standing with people whose lives were permanently altered by negligence, misconduct, or dangerous conditions—and holding powerful defendants accountable when it matters most. But this year also reflected an expansion of our capacity to take on even more complex, high-stakes cases while staying true to that mission.
Growing the Firm With Purpose
One of the most significant milestones this year was welcoming Khando Deckyi Khangsar to our firm. Her addition reflects both our recent successes and our continued commitment to expanding our ability to advocate for seriously injured clients.
Khando stepped in immediately on some of the most demanding litigation our firm has handled. She took on the management of complex discovery and pretrial filings in a major product liability case involving a young man who suffered a permanent disability and loss of use of his dominant arm—precisely the type of catastrophic injury work that defines our practice. That case proceeded through intense motion practice up to the eve of trial, requiring sustained focus, precision, and strategic judgment.
She also played a critical role in successfully opposing a motion for summary judgment in a multi-defendant construction injury case, where a subcontractor attempted to escape responsibility on multiple legal theories. The court denied the motion in its entirety, allowing our client’s claims to proceed toward trial. Khando also successfully drafted a Motion to Compel Further Discovery Responses to gain documents imperative to the case. Having Khando “in the fight” from the outset made a tangible difference, and her work this year reflects the caliber of advocacy our clients deserve.
Trial Results Years in the Making
After years of litigation beginning in 2019, we obtained a jury verdict in the City of Martinez tree-fall case, representing eight plaintiffs, including minors, parents, and grandparents, who were injured when a large tree fell during a downtown farmers market. The case culminated in a trial victory in late 2024 and was finalized in early 2025. It stands as a reminder that public entities must be held accountable when they fail to maintain public spaces safely—even when those failures stretch back decades.
Holding Public Entities Accountable
This year also included significant resolutions against government defendants:
- We secured a $3.25 million settlement in a Fresno pedestrian wrongful death case involving the death of a father of young children. The case exposed serious investigative failures, including alleged evidence destruction and conflicts in internal reviews. Beyond the financial recovery, the case underscored the importance of transparency and accountability when a life is lost at the hands of those entrusted with public safety.
- We resolved a $750,000 settlement against the City of Danville in a dangerous condition case involving a severe trip-and-fall injury that resulted in multiple surgeries and lasting impairment. The case highlighted the real consequences of ignored infrastructure hazards in residential neighborhoods.
Persistence Beyond the Policy Limits
Not every case is defined by a single verdict or settlement. In one wrongful death matter involving a 20-year-old killed by a drunk driver, available insurance was limited. Our firm, alongside our client, insisted on personal financial accountability beyond the policy limits. We continue to collect structured payments quarterly—because accountability should not end where insurance does.
Resolving Complex, High-Impact Injury Cases
Throughout the year, we resolved numerous serious injury and wrongful death cases, including:
- A leg amputation case requiring pursuit of multiple layers of underinsured motorist coverage, including litigating wrongful coverage denials.
- A $1.25 million wrongful death recovery for five adult children who lost their mother when she was struck by a speeding driver near her home.
- Multiple confidential product liability resolutions involving industrial machinery, consumer products, RVs, and pressure cookers that catastrophically failed by opening while still pressurized—causing full-thickness burns and permanent scarring.
- A leg amputation case requiring pursuit of multiple layers of underinsured motorist coverage, including litigating wrongful coverage denials.
- A $1.25 million wrongful death recovery for five adult children who lost their mother when she was struck by a speeding driver near her home.
- Multiple confidential settlements of catastrophic injury claims, including a construction accident involving a fall down an elevator shaft and a trip-and-fall at a condo development that caused a serious spinal injury.
Trial Work on a National Stage
This year also included trial work in a catastrophic product case resulting in a $26.3 million verdict for a quadriplegic client arising from a rollover incident. We are proud of our firm’s role in that litigation and of standing alongside trial teams willing to take these cases all the way to verdict.
Looking Ahead
We continue to file and litigate cases against some of the largest and most powerful defendants in the country—including public entities, Amazon, Uber, Lyft, major retailers, construction companies, automobile manufacturers, airlines, and product manufacturers. More importantly, we continue to represent people whose lives have been irrevocably changed: individuals who are paralyzed, permanently disabled, or grieving the sudden loss of a loved one.
As we look ahead, our focus remains unchanged—doing the work the right way, expanding our capacity thoughtfully, and never losing sight of the human stories at the center of every case.