2026

On May 27, 2026, Scott Macdonald and Steven Hingst secured a favorable trial verdict in Orange County.  The matter involved a significant rear-end impact.  We admitted liability, but contested causation for the claimed injuries.  Plaintiff underwent a left shoulder surgery for a torn labrum and rotator cuff.  Plaintiff also underwent a minimally invasive lumbar discectomy for alleged disc herniations at L4-5 and L5-S1.  Plaintiff waived all past medical specials except for the lumbar procedure for which she sought $160,000.  She sought future care, including a cervical fusion surgery, and requested $350,000.  She asked the jury to award a total of $4,000,000.

We were able to demonstrate for the jury that the medical treatment received was lacking in a continuity of care given her being transferred from lien doctor to lien doctor.  We introduced evidence of a subsequent accident which preceded the lumbar surgery.  Plaintiff claimed she was uninjured in the subsequent loss.  The jury awarded $100,000 in past medical bills, $75,000 in future medical bills, $25,000 in past pain and suffering and $10,000 in future pain and suffering.  We will seek costs given that we had offered $500,000 by way of C.C.P. 998.

On January 30, 2026, Scott Macdonald and Danielle Boyd secured a verdict in the Orange County Superior Court for an admitted liability, alleged traumatic brain injury case.  The case involved a side-swipe accident in which plaintiff’s driver’s side door was hit by a third vehicle after our client ran a red light.  Plaintiff hit her head against the passenger side window causing a hematoma.  She was self-transported to the hospital after the collision where she was diagnosed with a concussion.  Imaging also revealed a pre-existing Chiari I malformation.  Plaintiff sought care with multiple lien providers following the accident with complaints of headaches and other associates neurological symptoms.  She claimed a significant life disruption including difficulties working and caring for three children.  Plaintiff sought over $15,000,000 at trial for a life-long injury.

Mr. Macdonald and Ms. Boyd introduced evidence that two of plaintiff’s three children were born after the accident.  Social media and investigative footage demonstrated that plaintiff was not as impaired as claimed.  Expert testimony established that the concussion was mild and would have resolved within a short period of time.

After deliberations, the jury awarded less than half of plaintiff’s past medical bills, $50,000.  The jury awarded a small percentage of the Life Care Plan sought by plaintiff, $115,000.  The jury awarded past pain and suffering of $450,000 and future pain and suffering of $40,000.  The total verdict was $655,000.