Gregory L. Bentley

Newport Beach

Trials

Gregory L. Bentley co-founded Bentley & More LLP in 2016 to represent consumers and personal injury clients in high-risk cases. He calculates that he achieved settlements totaling more than $81 million in 2022 and more than $35 million so far this year.

In early August, he was fly fishing for bull trout in British Columbia. "Very tough fish to get," he said. "I like a challenge."

He got one in a catastrophic motorcycle injury matter that resulted in a high-value confidential settlement in March. "Other firms declined this case," Bentley said. "It seemed impossible. We were the last stop for this family." His client is a 26-year-old man who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in 2020 in a motorcycle accident in a construction zone when he was unable to avoid a vehicle that made a U-turn in front of him. Boyer v. County of Orange et al., 30-2021-01179814 (Orange Co. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 19, 2021).

"We got multiple 10 figures," Bentley said, "after we found the traffic rerouting was confusing and out of compliance." The defendants included those responsible for directing traffic through the zone; Bentley and numerous experts were prepared to show that they designed a defective plan, made unapproved changes in the field and observed unsafe U-turns for weeks in the area where client Brett Boyer was injured.

Boyer's near-newlywed wife Amanda sustained a compelling loss of consortium -- essentially losing her husband, losing their future together and becoming one of his primary caregivers, Bentley said.

In another difficult case, Bentley represented several individuals badly injured when a Los Angeles bus driver fell asleep at the wheel in 2019. His 50,000-pound vehicle drifted into vehicles and pedestrians near a sidewalk taco stand, leaving victims with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorders. After three years of litigation, the defense conceded that the driver's negligence was the cause and agreed to a $7.9 million settlement. Chinchilla et al. v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority, 20STCV16510 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed April 30, 2020).

"The defense disputed damages," Bentley said. "PTSD is much better recognized by jurors than by insurance companies, and the insurers here just didn't want to compensate until we were close to trial. They want to delay to try to get the client to take less. But juries will compensate if you have a good beef."

--John Roemer