Dolan, Christopher B.

San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Redondo Beach, Torrance • Civil Rights & Personal Injury

His career spanning three decades, Christopher B. Dolan has dedicated his professional life to civil rights and personal injury litigation not only in California, but also in other states like Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.

As the founder of Dolan Law Firm PC, he has secured more than a billion dollars for his clients.

One of Dolan's most notable accomplishments is his pivotal role in the case of Loomis v. Amazon, where he successfully challenged the retail giant's product liability shield. This case was particularly significant as it set a precedent for holding online platforms accountable for the products sold by third-party sellers, a substantial shift in consumer protection law.

But beyond the courtroom, Dolan has been active in legislative reform, especially concerning the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) caps. Collaborating with attorneys Nick and Courtney Rowley, he addressed these caps through affirmative legislation. This was in part motivated by the tragic case of Charles Johnson v. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which involved the death of Kira Johnson due to medical negligence. Representing her widowed husband, Dolan recognized the racial undertones in Johnson's treatment and, upon suggesting an UNRUH action, brought attention to the racial disparities in health care.

In the filed complaint, Dolan quoted various testimonies, including that of a surgical technician, herself African American, involved in Johnson's botched delivery, wherein she testified that she had seen women of color, especially in labor and delivery, treated differently based on their race.

"The complaint also contained the statement of the director of maternal-fetal medicine, who testified that 'racial and ethnic disparities exist in both perinatal outcomes and quality of health care,'" Dolan said. "She testified that black women at Cedars were three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications causes and had a twofold greater risk of severe morbidity than White women. When asked by Nick why she thought that was so, she said it was on account of 'structural racism.'"

The case settlement went beyond financial compensation, sparking a broader inquiry into the treatment of African American patients and prompting an investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services into Cedars' practices.

Dolan stated, "This is the kind of impact litigation that makes me proud of being a trial lawyer and drives me every day to fight against injustice. It is this work that I call legacy work, which leads to change: often, change comes at the end of a gavel. I thank Nick and Courtney for all they have done to fight MICRA and for allowing me the honor of partnering with them to represent Charles and Kira and to bring light to racial injustice in health care."