Featured Verdicts

New and noteworthy verdicts and settlements from around the country, selected by VerdictSearch editors.
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injuries claimed; experts, attorneys, insurers and judges involved; and more.

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California Verdicts

Find out about the most important recent California cases, selected by VerdictSearch editors. Coverage includes Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco and San Diego counties.

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Jury finds fertility doctor and agency not at fault for infant's birth defects

A jury found a fertility doctor and an egg donation and surrogacy corporation were not to blame for an infant being born with genetic abnormalities. After Naomi Arango-Ghersi was born on June 12, 2011, she was diagnosed with unilateral retinoblastoma, a type of eye cancer that required the surgical removal of her left eye. Her parents Carlos Arango and Monica Ghersi claimed that Dr. Lori Arnold and A Perfect Match Inc. failed to properly screen the egg donor before the in vitro fertilization process and failed to fully inform them of genetic testing that could have been performed. Defense counsel argued that the genetic deletion was not inherited from the egg donor and was the result of an unforeseeable spontaneous genetic mutation.
Arango v. Arnold
San Diego County

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On-call surgeon found not to blame for patient’s death, jury finds

A jury found an on-call surgeon was not negligent in the care of a patient who later died from septic shock due to a small bowel obstruction. On Sept. 5, 2013, James Reynolds, 62, underwent an inguinal hernia repair by Dr. John Steele. Reynolds returned to Steele on Nov. 20, 2013 with complaints of abdominal pain. Steele determined that the complaints were unrelated to the hernia surgery and asked Reynolds' primary care physician, Dr. Thomas Rastle, to perform the necessary workup. Rastle agreed. Reynolds died shortly thereafter. The estate claimed Steele failed to diagnose and treat the small bowel obstruction. Steele claimed that the responsibility for Reynolds’ death was entirely with Rastle, who settled out before trial.
Reynolds v. Rastle
San Diego County

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Jury awards $4.95M to woman burned by pressure cooker

A jury awarded $4.95 million to a woman who sustained second-degree burns to 14 percent of her body after boiling fluid exploded from a pressure cooker. On June 26, 2018, Precious King, then 43, was using an Elite Bistro pressure cooker that was imported and distributed by Maxi-Matic USA Inc. She claimed she believed she fully closed the lid before turning on the pressure cooker, but when she went to unplug it to de-pressurize the system after hearing a rattling noise, the lid exploded off the machine burning her face, chest, arms and breasts. King claimed the lid was defectively designed, as the machine pressurized even with the lid not fully closed. Maxi-Matic did not contest liability, but disputed the amount of damages sought.
King v. Maxi-Matic U.S.A. Inc.
Los Angeles County

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Largest California Jury Verdicts

(2023 only; based on cases reported to VerdictSearch)
VERDICT CASE VENUE DATE
$2,280,000,000 Doe v. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Riverside Co. April 25
$332,000,000 Dennis v. Monsanto Co. San Diego Co. Oct. 31
$267,732,000 Avnet Incorporated v. Hitachi Chemical Company Limited Federal May 22
$161,005,000 Soulliere v. Suzuki Motor of America Inc. Orange Co. April 26
$135,000,000 Blair v. Moreno Valley Unified School District Riverside Co. Oct. 11
$107,336,044 Estate of Hernandezcueva v. American Standard Inc. Los Angeles Co. July 11
$106,489,000 Colibri Heart Valve LLC v. Medtronic Corevalve LLC Federal Feb. 8
$65,942,256 Talavera Hair Products, Inc. v. Taizhou Yunsung Electrical Appliance Co. Ltd. San Diego Co. Jan. 11
$63,000,000 Wright v. Union Oil Co. of California Santa Barbara Co. June 8
$61,768,000 Esphorst v. Hicks Los Angeles Co. Dec. 12