Top Plaintiffs' Verdicts by Impact: Francisco v. Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District

Attorneys at Panish Shea & Boyle LLP were able to secure more than $15 million for a young mother who sustained injuries while riding on an AC Transit bus.

"We were seeking a substantial verdict from a public entity," partner Brian J. Panish said. "The defendants tried to make it out that if you give a large verdict, it would increase the cost of riding the bus."

But it wouldn't, he added, because the agency had insurance.

Their client, Maria Francisco, was riding on the bus with her young daughter as the driver went over a speed bump faster than 30 miles per hour, causing her to fall and subsequently land on her back, crushing several vertebrae, according to court documents.

"The whole event was recorded," Panish said. "The driver was very rude in threatening to call the police on Ms. Francisco and saying that she wasn't really hurt."

The video was a key piece of evidence, though the defense almost prevented the jury from seeing it by filing a motion to suppress, according to court documents.

Panish was able to convince the judge to allow them to show the video during the trial. Francisco underwent multiple surgeries and attorneys were able to convey their client's injury and medical situation through doctors' testimony, technology and simulation.

"We did animation on the actual surgical procedure," he said.

Helping the jury understand why Francisco, who had dropped out of high school, should receive compensation for loss of income was another hurdle for her attorneys.

"We were making a claim for loss of income in the future," Panish said. "They were claiming that she could not have gotten a job anyway."

In the end, an Alameda County jury awarded Francisco $15,313,703, including damages for the loss of income in the future as well as $1 million to her daughter for emotional distress. Francisco v. Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District RG12617444 (Alameda Super. Ct., filed Feb. 16, 2012).

Defense attorneys Dana A. Fox and Shawn A. Toliver of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, who represented the transit district, could not be reached for comment.

Panish said the case was rewarding. "I felt good about the fact that the jurors understood the significance of her pain and the impact that it will continue to have on her life and her family's lives," he said.

- MELANIE BRISBON