Our client was injured in a collision when a State of Arizona Department of Corrections van pulled out in front of him on a freeway. Our client injured both shoulders, had two surgeries, and was forced to retire early because of his injuries.

Family collects $1,500,000 judgment against bar for overserving patrons, and an additional $195,000 from others involved, after an intoxicated driver caused fatal injuries to 26-year-old.

A young woman was involved in a serious motor vehicle collision, injuring her knees and neck, and sustaining a concussion. A claim was brought against the at-fault driver, which resolved for the policy limits of $100,000.00. Another claim was made under the young woman's underinsured motorist coverage and resolved for the policy limits of $15,000.00.

A woman was involved in a hit and run collision, caused by a suspect fleeing the scene of a crime. Police tracked him down, and a claim was brought against his liability policy, which paid the policy limits of $15,000.00. An underinsured motorist claim was made with the woman's auto insurance carrier. Through arbitration, her case was valued at $105,000.00, and her carrier paid the difference.

A construction company was repaving public roadways and laid down a thick layer of gravel, failing to put up warning signs. There was approximately 1.5"-2" of gravel on the pavement when a bicyclist attempted to negotiate a turn. The gravel caused the bicyclist to fall, resulting in hip injuries that required surgery. The construction company accepted fault and paid $200,000.00 to resolve the bicyclist's claim outside of litigation.

A man was forced to slam on his brakes after the vehicle in front of him suddenly stopped, causing the vehicle behind the man to rear end him. The driver of the vehicle in front of the man left the scene of the crash without providing insurance information. A claim was brought against the person who rear-ended the man, which resulted in a $65,000.00 settlement. An uninsured motorist demand was then made with the man's insurance for the vehicle in front of him having slammed on his brakes. Arbitrators awarded the man an additional $20,000.00, resulting in a total of $85,000.00.

A bicyclist and a truck driver were travelling on a shared-use road near the University of Arizona when the truck negligently struck the cyclist. The cyclist fractured his ankle and needed physical therapy. We resolved his case against the at-fault party for their policy limits, collected the underinsured motorist policy limits from the cyclist's auto insurance, and also obtained medical payment coverage from his auto insurance, totaling $165,761.45.

Husband and wife clients were driving south on Highway 89. A vehicle heading north suddenly veered to the left and into our clients' lane, causing a head-on collision. The driver of the other vehicle died. Our clients were taken to the emergency room and were treated for serious injuries. We were able to resolve both of their claims for $317,764.14.

Between 2001 and 2015, our client underwent two surgeries for neck and back injuries he sustained in a 1999 collision. When he was rear-ended in 2018, he needed two additional surgeries to his neck and back. The insurance companies claimed that our client's injuries could not have been sustained in the 2018 collision, and that they were attributed to his pre-existing condition. We provided extensive research to the insurance companies to prove that the two recent surgeries were related to the 2018 wreck. As a result, we were able to resolve our client's claim for $265,000.00.

A pit bull attacked a woman leaving her with a contaminated open wound and partial detachment of her left thumb. Frances and Katie negotiated a $150,000 settlement for their client. As noted in Arizona Attorney Magazine.

A speeding car crashed and burned, killing all three of the occupants. We were asked to investigate the event by the family of one of the passengers, a young mother who died leaving 2 minor children. Unfortunately, this passenger was married to the driver, who had few assets and only a small amount of insurance. In an effort to determine if anyone else might be liable to pay compensation to the surviving children for their mother’s death, we investigated the safety of the road, and the condition of the vehicle, neither of which appeared to be responsible. However, we were able to establish through exhaustive investigation and medical and expert testimony, that the driver was likely intoxicated at the time of the accident, and that he had likely been over-served alcoholic beverages at a Tucson bar immediately prior to the collision. (experts in liquor liability, accident reconstruction, and toxicology were utilized.) Under Arizona law, a bar may be liable for injuries or deaths caused by an drunk driver who was served alcoholic beverages at the bar when he was already intoxicated. A dram shop case for wrongful death was brought against the bar by the families of the 3 people killed in the collision. Bache Lynch Goldsmith & Mendoza were the lead counsel, and developed all legal theories and evidence. The case resulted in the insurer for the bar paying its maximum insurance coverage, $1,000,000.00, to the survivors.

We represented a surveyor who was struck by a State-owned van while working in a busy Tucson street. He was crossing the street, walking between traffic stopped for a stoplight, when he stepped into the center turn lane and was struck. He sustained a head injury resulting in a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Based on a thorough investigation, it was our opinion that the driver of the van, a State of Arizona employee, was negligent. A big problem in the case was that our client was working in the street without any warning signs or cones, and was not seen by the driver. Our lawsuit for personal injury was hotly contested. Accident reconstruction, medical, and labor market experts were utilized by each side. The State ultimately paid our client $250,000.00.

Our client, a 17 year old girl, was lured to a park and attacked by 2 other girls, after a work dispute turned personal. The attackers used a baseball bat and their hands and feet, to severely beat our client to the point she thought she would die. She suffered serious head injuries, resulting in loss of memory, ongoing memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and problems with school; she also sustained injuries to her jaw joints, causing pain and problems eating. The medical diagnosis included: concussion, post concussion syndrome, and temporomandibular joint (jaw joint – “TMJ”) dysfunction. She will likely need treatment for her jaw problems for many years. The attackers were prosecuted criminally, and Bache Lynch Goldsmith & Mendoza filed a civil lawsuit for damages (compensation) against the two attackers and their parents. The court entered a Judgment in favor of our client in the total amount of $500,000.00.

We represented the adult children and mother of a 65 year old woman who was fatally injured in a motor vehicle collision at an intersection in rural Pima County. While it initially appeared that the accident was caused solely by the other driver, who was speeding, investigation, discovery, and expert evaluations established that the intersection was dangerous and that Pima County knew of the dangers involved and failed to take action to improve safety. Utilizing experts in accident reconstruction and traffic engineering, we established that the death was caused by the combined fault of Pima County and the driver of the other car. We obtained $1,040,000.00 for the family in a wrongful death case, plus a requirement that the speeding driver make payments to a favorite charity of the deceased.

Our client worked in a grocery store when she was knocked to the floor by an inattentive customer. She sustained a fractured hip which required a hip replacement. The grocery store’s security videos were subpoenaed; they helped establish that the customer was not looking when she abruptly stepped backwards while shopping, and knocked our client down. A lawsuit for negligence was filed against the customer. We established that the customer’s homeowner’s insurance provided liability coverage for the incident. Our client received $240,000.00 from that insurance company.

Our client suffered an amputation of his right hand, a minor traumatic brain injury (TBI), and other injuries, when he was ejected from his SUV during a rollover on I 10. Our client’s friend was driving him and 2 other friends on their trip from their homes in Texas to California, when he started to move from the right lane into the left passing lane. He had to swerve back into the right lane to avoid a vehicle already occupying the left lane, and lost control of the SUV, which went into a slide and then rolled over, ejecting our client, even though he was wearing his lap/shoulder belt. Because the driver’s insurance was insufficient, we needed to investigate all possible claims and all sources of compensation. We had the scene of the collision and roadway documented photographically, and we purchased the vehicle salvage so it could be examined by expert witnesses. We first consulted with a nationally known tire expert, who determined the rollover was not caused by tire failure. Further expert evaluation of the vehicle and the way it responded during the incident, revealed potential design defects. The vehicle had been purchased from a Texas used car dealer, We associated with Texas and Arkansas attorneys with extensive experience in automobile products liability cases.. A lawsuit filed against the automobile manufacturer and dealer contended that the SUV was defectively designed so that the passengers were subject to an extreme risk of rollover, and was unreasonably dangerous because it performed in an unsafe manner when doing foreseeable turning maneuvers. It was further alleged that the SUV was unreasonably dangerous in that it was not equipped with a sufficient occupant protection system. The case was ultimately settled with the Defendants for a total of $850,000.

A contractor was on a ladder outside a Tucson restaurant when a restaurant employee sprayed water around the base of the ladder. Soon after that occurred, the ladder fell and the contractor sustained serious injuries to his right arm, and a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), or closed head injury (CHI). Through extensive investigation and evaluations by expert witnesses (engineering and medical), we obtained evidence that the water caused the ladder to slip and fall. A lawsuit was filed against the restaurant. This case involved a battle of experts, with the restaurant producing expert witnesses to establish that its employed did not cause the ladder to fall. The restaurant ended up paying $200,000.00 to our client.

Our client and his friend, both experienced cyclists, were riding bicycles down Catalina Highway, when the friend turned his bicycle into our client, causing a collision between the bicycles which threw our client to the ground. He sustained a fractured wrist and fractured clavicle, and possibly some spine damage. We brought a claim against the bicyclist friend for negligent operation of the bicycle, and violation of accepted bicycling rules and methods of operation. A claim was made against the cyclist friend’s homeowner’s insurance policy and we obtained $125,000.00 for our client.

A bicyclist was riding in Rural Pima County in the early morning. It was still dark, but he had a number of lights on his person and bicycle. As he proceeded through an intersection with the right-of-way, a truck drove right in front of him and they collided. He sustained a fracture of his right femur, which required surgery. We pursued a claim for him and recovered $200,000.00.

Our client was involved in a relatively minor motor vehicle collision, but sustained serious injuries as a result. The only property damage was to her rear bumper, and she did not think she was injured at the scene of the collision. The following day, she was in severe pain and an MRI revealed a herniated disc in her cervical spine. Although insurance companies frequently deny such claims, or only offer very small amounts to people who claim to have been injured in minor property damage accidents, with the assistance of a neurosurgeon and biomechanical engineer, we were able to convince the insurance company to pay $215,000 to our client.

A beautiful young woman sustained laser burns during a laser hair removal procedure at a medical spa (sometimes called a med-spa or medi-spa) in Tucson. After the burns healed, she was left with “scars”, or discolored areas on the skin, which may be permanent. A lawsuit was filed against the spa and its owners for medical negligence or malpractice, negligent training of the technicians who performed the procedures, failure to warn of the potential adverse effects, and misrepresentation. In establishing our case, we consulted with our client’s treating physicians and independent medical experts. The case was settled prior to trial, but the terms of the settlement are confidential.

Our client, a lively 80 year old, was a passenger on a motorcycle being driven by her husband when it slipped on gravel at a very low speed, and skidded and fell to the ground. She sustained injuries to her head and shoulder, and a fractured forearm. No surgery was required. In order to obtain compensation for our client for her injuries, we brought a claim against her husband (with his consent), seeking payment under his motorcycle liability insurance. We also pursued a claim against the underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) on the couple’s automobile policy. We recovered the $50,000 liability limits of the motorcycle policy, and $40,000 of underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) on the second insurance policy.

Our client, a young woman, sustained injuries in a 2 vehicle collision – she was a passenger in one of the cars. Although the evidence showed that both drivers were at fault, their combined insurance policies did not have sufficient coverage to fully compensate our client, so we attempted to find other sources of compensation. Through investigation and discovery, it was established that the other driver’s fiancé was a pharmacist for Safeway, who was attempting to deliver a prescription to a Safeway customer at the time of the collision, and she was driving the pharmacist in his car because he was tired from work. We filed a lawsuit against both drivers and Safeway. Through legal research and legal arguments, we were able to convince the Court that Safeway might be liable for the other driver’s negligence, even though she was not a Safeway employee, since she was driving to assist the pharmacist make a delivery for Safeway. She might have been found to be a voluntary employee or agent of Safeway, thereby making Safeway liable for her actions. After extensive investigation, depositions and other discovery, Safeway and the auto insurers together paid $130,000.00 to our client.