Landmark Case:
Dominguez v. San Francisco
The Verdict:
$27 Million
Trial attorney(s):
Practice Areas:
Case Synopsis:
In the largest personal injury verdict ever delivered against the city of San Francisco, a jury awarded two families a total of $27.4 million for the February 2003 two-car accident that took the life of a 4-year-old girl. Brian Panish and Kevin Boyle of Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP represented the family of Elizabeth Dominguez, who was killed during an accident caused by a negligent Municipal Railway worker.
-–Brian Panish, Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP
The city of San Francisco was ordered to pay $27.4 million to the two families involved in the accident, which occurred when a city municipal truck collided with another vehicle, and then struck the 4-year-old girl who was walking with her mother, her best friend, and her best friend’s grandmother on the sidewalk. The crash resulted in the young girl being pinned against the wall of a nearby building, as well as caused injury to the girl’s mother. Witnesses to the incident claimed that the city municipal worker recklessly attempted to run a red light immediately before the crash occurred. The damages awarded by the jury were entirely made up of compensatory damages, as it found that the driver, despite running the red light, did so without malice against any of the victims.
Dominguez Vs San Francisco Case Articles:
Top Verdicts of 2005
Elizabeth Dominguez, a 4-year-old San Franciscan, died instantly and violently when a city worker driving a Muni repair truck plowed her into a pizza parlor in the city’s Mission District.
Other Publications:
A superior court jury decided Thursday that the city of San Francisco should pay $27.4 million to two families because of a two-car accident that sent a municipal truck hurtling into pedestrians, killing a 4-year-old girl.
Record $27 Million Jury Award Against City and County of San Francisco for Pedestrians in Muni CrashA San Francisco Superior Court jury returned a verdict of over $27 million ($27,394,567) today for the victims of a Municipal Railway truck crash on February 11, 2003, that killed 4-year-old Elizabeth Dominguez and injured and severely traumatized her mother, the little girl’s best friend, and her best friend’s grandmother.