Sep 20, 2017
Dubuque, September 20, 2017— Trial Lawyer Nick Rowley, founder of Trial Lawyers for Justice and partner at Carpenter, Zuckerman & Rowley, and his trial team Rodney Ritner, Dominic Pechota, and Grayson Yoder, recently won a $10 million non-economic damages verdict on behalf of clients Joanne and Mitchell Pellock against Mississippi Valley Anesthesiology, P.C. The corporation and its insurance company refused to offer the family a single penny in this heartbreaking medical malpractice wrongful death case.
A jury honored the memory of their 80 year old husband and father with a unanimous, record setting medical malpractice and wrongful death non-economic damage verdict of $10,000,000.00 on September 19 in Dubuque, Iowa.
This was a case in which metastatic cancer required surgery to remove his bladder, and ended up resulting in a bowel leak and sepsis. These conditions were treatable and fixable with an additional surgery. The additional surgery was scheduled, and during the negligent induction of anesthesia, Mr. Pellock vomited and aspirated stomach contents into his lungs and died later that day of secondary drowning. He drowned in his own vomit because the nurse anesthetist, who was soon to retire, failed to protect and then clean out Mr. Pellock’s airway after he paralyzed Mr. Pellock with drugs and left him defenseless. The anesthesiology provider failed to recognize that Mr. Pellock had just been fed an hour earlier and had a full stomach.
“I am incredibly proud to be the trial lawyer for Joanne and Mitchell and proud that justice was served for their husband and father today,” said Nick Rowley. “All lives matter, old lives matter. Even though life expectancy instructions only gave us 7 ½ years of damages, the jury found this family lost an important and valuable life, experienced extreme hardship, and that the medical professionals were negligent and wrong in the care of an 80 year old man who had finally beat cancer.”
“We are guaranteed the right to life, liberty, and happiness in America. If life is negligently taken away, we need to put a brutally honest value on it, and it shouldn’t be cheap,” Rowley went on to say.
At the start of the trial, the defense offer in this case was $0. The defense’s medical experts attempted to convince the jury that they felt this was a case in which the complications were a risk of surgery. Rowley was able to discredit those witnesses and convince the jury otherwise.
“Fortunately, a good hearted and fair Iowa jury sided with Joanne and Mitchell and awarded them every penny they deserved,” Rowley stated. “In the end, while it won’t bring back their loving husband and father, they were able to receive a $10 million verdict for his wrongful death. ‘We are certain the corporation and its insurance company will appeal and delay because that is what the defense industry does, but this is a big victory for Iowans, medical patients, and families across the entire country. Old lives matter.”
Source: Trial Lawyers for Justice
Case Number LACV103756
Sep 14, 2017
The Los Angeles based personal injury law firm Carpenter, Zuckerman, & Rowley (CZR) announces a $45 million settlement in a disputed liability car accident case against an insurance company. The case was handled by CZR Trial Lawyer Nick Rowley as well as attorney and partner Robert Ounjian and special projects director Steve Glass.
The case involved a disputed liability car accident in which CZR represented a 21-year old mother and her two children, ages 2 and 4, who were involved in a rear-end collision in San Bernardino County. Liability in the case was disputed because their vehicle was stopped on Haven Avenue, in an area nearby Ontario Airport, where vehicles are not permitted to stop.
The defendant claimed he swerved to try and avoid the collision, but could not stop in time. The police report listed both drivers at fault. The accident resulted in serious injuries to the 4 year old child.
“Many law firms would take on a case like this, and settle it for maybe $250,000 or $500,000 and remain within the insurance policy limits and avoid trial,” said Nick Rowley, lead trial lawyer on the case. “At CZR, we are trail lawyers seeking justice for our clients and are not afraid to take a case all the way to trial.”
“When a client is seriously injured, has life-long medical expenses, and their life is changed forever, insurance companies should award those individuals fair compensation. That is what we saw in this case, where the insurance company finally stepped up and did the right thing for our client and her children,” Rowley went on to say.
Aug 7, 2017
SAN DIEGO, August 7, 2017— Attorney Nick Rowley, partner at the law firm of Carpenter, Zuckerman, & Rowley and founder of Trial Lawyers for Justice, announces a verdict of $6.5 million for client Lisa Lopez as a result of an assault and blindness caused by negligent security and reckless conduct by shirtless bartenders at a popular San Diego nightclub who watched and laughed at the attack. Rich’s nightclub and XL Staffing security destroyed evidence of the video footage which showed the assault and the Superior Court of San Diego instructed the jury on destruction of evidence.
On December 21, 2012, Lisa Lopez was a patron at Rich’s Nightclub in San Diego, with her best friend’s husband, Charles Burris, and others. Charles met another friend, Sandra Beyl, an ex-girlfriend, at the club. Later in the evening, a verbal confrontation began between Sandra and Charles. The altercation then became physical, and lasted for five to ten minutes while nearby bartenders laughed and nightclub security did nothing to intervene to diffuse the situation as San Diego permit required them to do.
Hoping to diffuse the argument, Lisa approached Sandra and Charles and encouraged them to stop arguing when without warning, Sandra smashed a beer bottle onto Lisa’s forehead and eye, resulting in significant facial lacerations, severe damage and vision loss to her right eye. Neither the bar or security called the police or an ambulance despite having detained and handcuffed Sandra Beyl, who was intoxicated and over served.
“The employees at the nightclub behind the bar who were shirtless decided to laugh and serve more alcohol instead of stop the violence, and the security staff whose sole job is to protect patrons at the club chose to do nothing to diffuse this situation which lasted 5-10 minutes before Lisa intervened. Then the Defendants destroyed the video footage,” said Nick Rowley. “Despite the customer having a bottle shattered on her face and bleeding profusely, the club did not skip a beat or stop the music, and instead decided to continue the party and keep selling alcohol. This was a case of profit over safety.”
“The jury in this case realized the fault of club employees and understood the importance of protecting people from violence rather than doing nothing or egging it on with laughter. They also clearly understood the severe impact this event had on Lisa’s life,” Rowley went on to say.
The jury awarded $2.5 million for past non-economic losses and $4.0 million for future non-economic losses, resulting in a total verdict of $6.5 million. The top offer from the defense was $75,000 prior to trial. Then during trial the offer increased to $400,000.
“This verdict will help Lisa deal with the loss that resulted from the gross negligence of nightclub and security staff employees, but she will never be the same as she was prior to this incident,” said Rowley.
The trial team for Ms. Lopez consisted of Theresa Bowen, Haytham Faraj and Nicholas Rowley.
The California law firm of Carpenter, Zuckerman, & Rowley has over 100 employees dedicated to fighting for the rights of the injured.
With offices in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and California, and offering legal services from coast to coast, Trial Lawyers for Justice specializes in personal injury law.
Both firms are dedicated to helping clients recover the compensation they deserve for their injuries. For more information, or to schedule a consultation regarding your case, visit www.czrlaw.com or www.tl4j.com today.
Case Number 37-2013-00080607-CU-PO-CTL
May 16, 2017
Trial Guides is proud to announce the fourth Take Back the Courtroom CLE event. This two-day, intensive CLE brings together three of America’s greatest trial lawyers: Rick Friedman, Roger Dodd, and Randi McGinn (plus guest speakers Nicholas Rowley and Keith Mitnik). They will teach you all of the skills necessary to win even the most difficult trials.
This event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. The cost varies based on your level of experience:
- $1,200 per person for those lawyers who have practiced for more than five years.
- $600 per person for those who have practiced less than five years if they are registered with Trial Guides’ New Lawyers Program.
On Friday, May 19, there will be a reception from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Both evenings will feature a guest speaker from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.. These two sessions are optional, although they are included in the event price.
PLEASE NOTE: This event is open only to civil plaintiff’s OR criminal defense counsel. Lawyers who perform any work on behalf of insurance companies or any form of civil defense work are not allowed to attend. All attendees will be required to sign an affidavit to that effect before being allowed entry. No audio or video recording is allowed.
You will have access to five trial legends at this event – lawyers who try cases every year and who continue to obtain exceptional results. This is an event you don’t want to miss.
Topics will include:
- Working with difficult judges
- Dealing with difficult opponents
- Handling difficult cases
- Preparing difficult clients for depositions
- Preparing difficult clients for direct and cross-examination at trial
- How to make tough decisions at trial
- How to deal with new venues and new judges
- Demonstrative evidence
- Changing trends in voir dire
- And much more
May 10, 2017
LOS ANGELES, May 8, 2017—Attorney Nick Rowley of Trial Lawyers for Justice and Carpenter, Zuckerman, & Rowley recently stepped in and took a difficult slip and fall case to trial in Santa Monica, California for client Brenda when her trial attorney fell ill and was hospitalized.
Brenda tripped over a variable height curb in a Costco parking lot and suffered two quadriceps tendon tears. She required surgery and was forced to spend 90 days in a rehab treatment facility.
“Brenda faced a number of challenges in this case, including the fact that no other Costco customers had slipped or tripped over the curb. Also, the defense argued that Brenda had recovered well and had no residual injuries,” Rowley says. “Costco was unwilling to make any type of offer, not even a penny, to Brenda, which is why this case ended up in court.”
Mr. Rowley made the risky decision to try the case as an expedited jury trial, which is heard in front of a smaller jury, has no right of appeal, and must be completed in just a few days. Instead of calling medical experts or Brenda’s healthcare providers to the stand, Mr. Rowley only called Brenda who he believed would be able to best tell her story of injuries and damages. Despite only being introduced to the case at 8pm the night before trial, Mr. Rowley managed to win a $1.5 million non-economic damages verdict against the defendant, Costco. This is a record setting victory for an expedited jury trial on a slip and fall with this type of injury.
“The jury had the option of finding Brenda partially or fully liable for her injuries, but they determined that Costco was 100% negligent and liable instead,” Rowley states. “I took a chance by not calling medical experts or doctors to the stand to testify, because I believed that simplifying this case and focusing on the power of the truth of the human story was what the jury needed most. It was a great honor to be able to step in as Brenda’s trial lawyer. Trying cases for good deserving people is what I do. And, because of Brenda’s courage, Costco redesigned and made the walkway safe.”
With offices in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and California, and offering legal services from coast to coast, Trial Lawyers for Justice specializes in personal injury law. Trial Lawyers for Justice is dedicated to helping clients recover the compensation they deserve for their injuries. Nick Rowley is also a partner at Carpenter, Zuckerman, & Rowley, a personal injury firm serving al of California. For more information, or to schedule a consultation regarding your case, visit www.tl4j.com or www.CZRlaw.com today.
Apr 17, 2017
Trial Lawyers for Justice (TL4J) was recently mentioned in an article in The Huffington Post titled “Things You Should Know about Pursuing a Personal Injury Claim”. The section titled “Be Smart When Choosing Your Lawyer” mentions the importance of choosing an experienced personal injury firm when you sustain a personal injury.
