Results and Verdicts

Policy Limit Demand Leads to Zero Dollar Award at UIM Arbitration

In August 2021, Douglas Carasso successfully defended an insurance company at binding arbitration in an underinsured-motorist action brought by the driver of the middle car in a three-vehicle chain-reaction freeway accident. Claimant alleged soft-tissue injuries to his back, neck, and shoulder, and then, most significantly, traumatic brain injury causing mental impairments continuing over six...Read More

Aggravation of Spinal Injury Award is a Fraction of Claimant’s Demand

On January 21,2021, Michael Cody and associate Michele Spencer obtained a successful binding arbitration award in a very contentious uninsured motorist claim. The claimant was a 55-year-old woman with significant pre-existing low back pain, radiculopthy, nerve compression and spinal stenosis. She claimed that she was injured when she was the front seat passenger in a vehicle being driven by...Read More

Plaintiffs Accept Settlement Offer 12% of Demand After 4.5 Years of Litigation

On January 20th, 2021, Debra Braasch and co-counsel, settled a case for for $3,750,000 following a 998, policy limits demand of $31,000,000 from which plaintiffs refused to budge and steadfastly claimed was the value of this case for more than 3 years. The case involved a pregnant woman who was involved in an accident with an 80,000-pound dump truck. Although pregnancy was intact after the...Read More

Successful Anti-SLAPP Motion Removes Defendant from Case

On December 18, 2020, Esther Choe of Macdonald & Cody, LLP obtained a favorable ruling in Orange County, granting Defendant’s anti-SLAPP motion and striking Plaintiffs’ entire unlimited complaint for malicious prosecution against Defendant.   Defendant claimed to be the victim of fraud and manipulation by her business partners and friends as well as the attorneys that represented them. She...Read More

Bicyclist v. SUV- Defense Verdict

November 2020, Nadin S. Said secured a defense verdict in Orange County. The accident occurred at the intersection of Lemon and Orangethorpe in Fullerton, California. The Plaintiff was a 60 year old bicyclist who was riding her bicycle against traffic on the sidewalk. As she approached the intersection, she claimed the pedestrian cross signal turned green and rode her bicycle into the roadway....Read More

Successful Result in Los Angeles Case with 91 Year-Old Plaintiff Who Sustained a Fractured Femur

On March 5, 2020, Scott Macdonald of Macdonald & Cody, LLP obtained a successful verdict in Long Beach, CA.  The case involved a 91 year old man who sustained a complete fracture of his femur after being forced to the ground by debris from a shattered trash dumpster enclosure which had been struck by the 93 year old defendant.  The plaintiff is a retired Navy Veteran.  He was forced to...Read More

Multiple Epidural Injections in a Low-Impact Case

On December 3, 2019, an Orange County Jury awarded a total of $2,500 for three plaintiffs with combined Medical Bills of over $225,000.  Scott Macdonald of Macdonald & Cody, LLP tried the case after plaintiff refused to negotiate off of the $100,000 policy limit demands for both adult plaintiffs and offered no serious discussions regarding the minor plaintiff.  The adult plaintiffs were...Read More

Mock Jury Aids in Settlement During Trial

On November 12, 2019, Scott Macdonald and Debra Braasch of Macdonald & Cody, LLP obtained a favorable settlement after four days of trial.  This wrongful death case was settled for just above the final pre-trial offer and within authority.  The settlement amount was less than half of the eight figure demand that plaintiff counsel said he would never accept to resolve the matter once policy...Read More

Jury Sends Plaintiff a Message

On October 29, 2019, the jury sent a strong message to plaintiff and her attorney that personal responsibility is a two-way street.  Plaintiff and defendant engaged in conduct on a freeway wherein both drove aggressively toward each other.  Plaintiff lost control of her vehicle and rolled after impacting the shoulder.  Plaintiff was not seriously injured.  Defendant, an off-duty police officer...Read More

Million Dollar Demand for Dog Bite

On August 22, 2019 Scott Macdonald, of Macdonald & Cody, LLP won a verdict of $67,232.77 from an Orange County jury for a dog bite incident.  Liability was admitted.  Plaintiff claimed that she sustained a dog bite which resulted in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).  The parties stipulated to over $15,000 in medical specials which were related to the incident.  The issue for the jury...Read More

Defense Verdict in Pedestrian versus Automobile Case

June 2019: Nadin S. Said of Macdonald & Cody, LLP secured a defense verdict in Downtown Los Angeles. The accident occurred in front of Westfield Fashion Square. The plaintiff was a 15-year-old minor who crossed the street and alleged defendant ran over Plaintiff’s foot with Defendant’s car. Defendant did not hire an expert and called the treating emergency room doctor who treated Plaintiff...Read More

Significant Leg Injury, and $32,000,000 Demand

Scott Macdonald and Michele Spencer were successful in obtaining a jury award of $5,300,000 after a $5,000,000 offer and against a $32,000,000 demand to a Los Angeles jury.  The verdict was read on March 21, 2019.  The plaintiff was a young lady in her early 30s.  She had her left leg pinned in between the rear of her vehicle and another vehicle which collided with hers as she stood on the...Read More

Fresno Victory for Scott Macdonald

Fresno Victory for MacDonald Cody: Jury Awards Plaintiff Just 15% Over Defendant Pre-Trial Offer, More than 75% Below Plaintiff’s Sought Damages  On February 28, 2019 a Fresno jury awarded plaintiff roughly $1,495,000, just slightly over the pre-trial offer of $1,300,000.  Plaintiff had refused to negotiate below their multi-million dollar demands and asked the jury to award between $6,800,000...Read More

Defense Verdict in Serious Injury, Rear-End Accident

September 2018, Scott Macdonald and Bryan Thomas secured a defense verdict in Norwalk. The plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her mother. The accident occurred on Interstate 5 in Norwalk in an area that has been under construction for years. Defendants were the driver and company operating a dump truck that was hauling debris from the job site. Defendant’s vehicle was...Read More

Net Verdict Substantially Lower Than The Pre-Trial CCP § 998

July 2018, Scott Macdonald and Debra Braasch successfully defended at trial a prominent Southern California auto dealership that was sued when one of its drivers was involved in an automobile collision.  Plaintiff, a sixty-eight year old man, broadsided our client’s vehicle that was attempting to exit the dealership into traffic.  Our client’s driver had his view obstructed by a car carrier...Read More

Jury Refuses to Award Costs for Unnecessary Surgery and Alleged Brain Damage

May 2018, Plaintiff sought $6,500,000 at trial for a knee surgery, lumbar fusion and alleged traumatic brain injury.  The jury awarded just over $41,000, substantially less that our pre-trial offer of $300,000.  We were entitled Section 998 costs.  The net result achieved by Scott Macdonald with trial support from Laura Reichenbach was a “walk-away”. Our client was a trucking company.  The...Read More

Unreasonable Leap of Faith – What are friends for?

March 2018, Scott Macdonald with trial support from Laura Reichenbach obtained a defense verdict in Orange County for an incident where an independent contractor fell from a scaffold at our client’s place of business. We represented a small business owner.  He hired a friend to assist with repairing the box on a bob tail truck.  Our client’s friend utilized a mobile scaffold to work on the...Read More

Severe Accident with Continuing Psychological Trauma

February 2018, Plaintiff sought over $3,000,000 after our client, an employee of an entertainment company, rear-ended his motorcycle on the freeway.  Plaintiff required a knee surgery which we conceded was caused by the accident.  Plaintiff also claimed that he had serious psychological problems including the need to use the restroom every time that he got into an automobile. Plaintiff refused...Read More

Reasonable Result For Cervical Fusion Surgery

January 2018, Our client, a business that operates tractor trailers was sued after one of its drivers rear-ended a vehicle in which plaintiff was a rear-seat passenger.  The damage to the vehicles was significant.  We admitted liability and Scott Macdonald tried the matter on damages. The plaintiff was a 28-year-old marketing representative and photographer.  He underwent a cervical fusion...Read More

Policy Limit Settlement at Trial

November 2017, Scott Macdonald and Michael Cody obtained a policy limits settlement during trial.  This was a unique case in which a low-impact case had been settled for $500 following the collision.   The validity of the release was challenged.  The carrier subsequently tendered the volume of the $15,000 policy limits.  Despite the low-impact nature of the collision, the plaintiff underwent a...Read More

Bakersfield Brain Damage – DUI Case With 40% Negligence On Opposing Driver

October 2017, We received this case approximately 30 days before the initial trial date in Bakersfield.  Our client, a Veteran and just starting treatment for cancer at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, was involved in a collision after he had a couple of drinks with friends before being scheduled to travel to Los Angeles for treatment.   He was driving the short distance home and made a...Read More

Bakersfield Brain Damage – Jury Convinced Plaintiff Unhurt and Not Credible

September 2017, In the first of two, back-to-back, Bakersfield trials, Scott Macdonald with the trial support assistance of Laura Reichenbach, were successful in obtaining a defense verdict in a case involving allegations of a traumatic brain injury and orthopedic injuries. Defendant was a young man that entered an intersection on a red light after he spilled a milkshake in his vehicle.  The...Read More

Jury Awards Priest Reasonable Damages for Failed Lumbar Disc Surgery

July 2017, Scott Macdonald successfully defended claims brought by a Priest who was involved in a freeway collision and claimed life-long back complaints.  Defendant contended that she was driving on the freeway and was rear-ended by plaintiff’s vehicle.  An independent witness, the police officer and plaintiff claimed that defendant made an unsafe lane change in the path of plaintiff...Read More

Successful Prosecution of Declaratory Relief Action

May 2017, Scott Macdonald received an award in favor of his client in Murrieta, California in a Declaratory Relief matter in which our client sought the Court to find that it had no duty to defend and indemnify an action for wrongful death for a murder/suicide. Policy holder shot and killed his significant other and then turned his weapon on himself.  The heirs of the policy holder’s...Read More

San Jose Plaintiff Gives Jury Headache But Gets Nothing For His

April 2017, Michael Cody represented an 84-year-old client who turned left in front of the plaintiff in a trial in San Jose, CA.  Plaintiff was a 54-year old Pakastani immigrant who had worked as an auto mechanic before severing multiple fingers in a saw accident in his backyard 4 years before the accident from which he had been rendered totally disabled.  Plaintiff claimed to have uncurable...Read More

Magic Flying Mattress Case and a Defense Verdict

April 2017, Scott Macdonald with the assistance of Laura Reichenbach received a defense verdict in Long Beach after a jury found that defendants were not negligent. Defendants were the owner and operator of a hauling business.  Defendant was on his way to pick up some plants from a nursery on the 101 freeway in the Woodland Hills area when plaintiff alleged that a mattress flew out of the back...Read More

Tragic Accident but Defense Verdict

March 2017, Scott Macdonald obtained a defense verdict for our client in San Bernardino after a hotly contested two-month trial. Defendant was driving home from a church retreat with three passengers.  She was in a rural desert area with a two-lane road.  Defendant encountered a vehicle which had come across the center line and into her lane.  Defendant took evasive action which forced her...Read More

Defense Verdict in Automobile Versus Pedestrian Accident

December 2016, Scott Macdonald and Laura Reichenbach obtained a defense verdict in Orange County in a truck versus pedestrian collision. Defendants were a mechanic and his employer.  Defendant driver was on his way to a designated job location in the early morning hours in his company vehicle.  He was on Beach Boulevard in Anaheim which has four lanes in each direction separated by a median....Read More

One Million Dollar Award and Substantial Contributory Negligence For Case Involving Deceased 16-Year-Old in Long Beach

August 2016, When Macdonald & Cody, LLP was opening its doors, Scott Macdonald and Laura Reichenbach were in trial in Long Beach in a wrongful death case involving a 16-year-old who was crushed to death by a speed boat that hit a jet ski upon which the 16 year old was a passenger.  The driver of the jet ski sustained serious injuries.  The driver of the jet ski and parents of the deceased...Read More

Reasonable Award For Pedestrian Hit On Crosswalk

April 2016, in his second of back-to-back alleged traumatic brain injury cases in Orange County, Scott Macdonald was successful in securing a reasonable demand of $34,000 in the face of a multi-million-dollar demand. Plaintiff, a young man, was walking in a crosswalk with his brother when our client collided with him. He had a very large contusion to the side of his head. Plaintiff claimed...Read More

Verdict For Insurance Defense Attorney Scott Macdonald In Santa Ana Brain Injury Case

On March 23, 2016, the jury handed down a favorable verdict in a car accident case defended by Scott Macdonald. Macdonald represented an 86-year-old client who drove the wrong way on a city street, causing a head-on collision. Estimated closing speed between the vehicles was 34 to 43 miles per hour. The collision was forceful enough that air bags deployed in both cars and the drivers went to...Read More

Irvine Insurance Defense Attorney Holds Award in Drunk Driver Case to Zero

February 2016, In this Long Beach case, Scott Macdonald brilliantly defended a drunk driver who rear-ended a stopped car. The facts were simple. The defendant driver, a doctor, hit a retired couple’s car while they were stopped at a red light. Two hours after the accident, the doctor registered a .20 blood alcohol level on a breathalyzer test at the police station. He pied no contest to...Read More

Downtown Los Angeles Jury Finds Knee and Spine Surgery Unrelated to Accident

November 2015, Michael Cody successfully defended a young Los Angeles City engineer who had rear-ended the plaintiff on the freeway at a fairly significant speed.  Plaintiff was a 58 year old Thai immigrant who had fled Thailand during the Vietnam war and worked as a courier for a large Hollywood movie studio.  Plaintiff claimed to have suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and serious...Read More

Orange County Attorney Scott Macdonald’s Successful Car Accident Verdict

In 2015, Scott Macdonald earned a significant victory in an Orange County car accident case. His defense of the driver, who rear-ended a car driven by a 51-year-old school teacher, limited the award to $502,000 when the plaintiff was seeking $3.5 to $5 million. The accident caused major damage to the rear of the plaintiff’s car, as well as totaling Macdonald’s client’s...Read More

Scott Macdonald Wins Second 2015 Car Accident Defense Verdict

On February 25, 2015, Scott Macdonald secured his second defense verdict of the year, in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Torrance Courthouse. In the low-speed, car versus car accident case, the jury voted 12 – 0 against the plaintiff after just 50 minutes of deliberation. The plaintiff claimed that as a result of the accident, he required lumbar fusion surgery. Macdonald proved to the...Read More

Scott Macdonald Wins Vehicle Accident Defense Verdict In Riverside Superior Court

On January 13, 2015, Scott Macdonald secured a defense verdict in a car vs. motorcycle collision trial in Riverside Superior Court. Although Macdonald’s client had turned her car left in front of an oncoming motorcycle, he proved to the jury that circumstances gave her no realistic opportunity to avoid the collision. His client was insured with a $30,000 liability policy, and the policy...Read More