Robert S. Glassman 

Robert S. Glassman specializes in catastrophic injury, wrongful death, sex abuse and product liability cases as a partner at Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi LLP.

He won a Daily Journal CLAY award in 2023 for his work in securing a $15.75 million wrongful death settlement and statewide reforms regarding how schools respond to student asthma attacks.

Glassman joined the firm in 2010 after taking first place in the John G. Bonelli Memorial Trial Advocacy Competition at Southwestern Law School.

Earlier, he clerked at the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office in the major crimes division, where he worked on high-profile murder prosecutions — and met his future wife, a deputy district attorney.

That criminal law background is useful, he said. “A lot of my matters involve parallel criminal cases.” In many, reforms that go beyond the individual litigation also are a goal.

In the most recent, in August, Glassman obtained a $2 million settlement from Sacramento officials for a victim’s adult daughter when a police officer made an illegal U-turn, causing motorcyclist Denzil Broadhurst’s death. Mendez v. City of Sacramento, 34-2023-00333099 (Sacramento Co. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 13, 2023).

Along with the payout, the officer was charged with vehicular manslaughter and the police announced a department-wide traffic safety stay to review best driving practices.

In July, Glassman won a $8 million settlement from Los Angeles officials when a 29-year-old woman was broadsided by a speeding LAPD vehicle in pursuit of a stolen car in downtown. The woman, Justyce Chavez, suffered multiple traumatic injuries. Chavez v. City of Los Angeles et al., 21STCV33770 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 13, 2021).

The fallout from that case included charges of misdemeanor reckless driving against the LAPD sergeant—a first in recent memory in Southern California of a criminal charge for an on-duty police car crash.

Glassman said he knew of no official departmental reforms stemming from the incident, though it did violate official policy governing police pursuit practices. “But a police representative did offer a handshake and a gracious apology to my client after we reached the settlement agreement.”

In the asthma attack case, a 13-year-old eighth-grade student, Adilene Carrasco, died several days after school personnel mishandled her asthma attack. Glassman sued on behalf of her mother, and the case went to mediation. Sepulveda v. Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School Dist., CIVDS2016435 (S. Bernardino Co. Super. Ct, filed July 30, 2020).

“Our conscious strategy was to settle so that we could isist on nonmonetary terms beyond a big number,” Glassman said. Along with local school reforms, Glassman promoted SB 283, Adilene’s Law, amends the Education Code to require districts to implement a comprehensive asthma management plan. Glassman testified before the Assembly Education Committee on the bill.

“It’s amazing to me that as lawyers, we can pick up the phone and call lawmakers and elevate one case to statewide reform,” he said.

–John Roemer