brian panish

Several news sources have announced that Brian Panish, the Jackson family’s Los Angeles personal injury lawyer and friend, delivered a statement that asked a judge to impose a sentence for Dr. Conrad Murray reminding all doctors to stay true to their Hippocratic oath to do no harm to their patients.

According to the news statement, the letter reminded all physicians “that they cannot sell their services to the highest bidder” and that the pop singer’s premature death is “simply against the natural order of things”.

The statement, which didn’t stipulate the specific sentence the Jackson family had in mind for Dr. Murray, was fully read by the attorney of Panish, Shea & Boyle. The words written by the plaintiff resonated into the audience’s hearts as a glimpse of the distress all members of the Jackson family face daily without the notable presence of their beloved son, brother and father.

Dr. Murray is being held in jail since he was convicted for involuntary manslaughter last November 7^th.  During the four-week case, Dr. Murray’s careless behavior during the fatidic day of Michael Jackson’s unfortunate death was exposed, as well as his incompetent medical judgment and lack of dedication to the Hippocratic oath the Jackson Family mentioned in their letter to the judge.

The wrongful death lawyers in Los Angeles of Panish, Shea & Boyle are dedicated to this case and will continue to pursue justice in the Michael Jackson Tragedy.

PANISH SHEA & BOYLE LLP ANNOUNCES COURT’S DENIAL OF MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL IN RECORD $17 MILLION WRONGFUL DEATH VERDICT FOR BLIND MAN KILLED BY A LOS ANGELES METRO TRAIN FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LOS ANGELES (October 26, 2011.) A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has denied a motion by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) to set aside a record wrongful death verdict against the agency in the death of a visually impaired man who was killed by a Metro train and to order a new trial.

On July 29, 2011, following a five-week trial, a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury unanimously awarded Mary Cuthbertson $17 million for the January 28, 2009 wrongful death of her 48 year old son, Cameron. Cameron Cuthbertson, who was visually impaired, mistook the gap between LACMTA Blue Line rail cars for a door, fell between the cars and, after climbing halfway back up onto the train platform, was crushed to death when the train began to move. Protective barriers were in place for all other Metro rail lines, while the Blue Line, which travels through Compton and Watts and is the most heavily traveled, was left without similar safeguards. Mrs. Cuthbertson was represented at trial by Brian Panish and Deborah Chang of Panish Shea & Boyle LLP, and the trial was attended by many people from the visually impaired community because of its importance to the issue of equal access.
Following the verdict, the LACMTA filed a Motion for New Trial on the grounds that the damages awarded to Mary Cuthbertson were excessive and not supported by the evidence and that the trial court made legal errors during trial. In support of its argument that the damages were excessive, the LACMTA cited to the fact that the verdict was the largest award of non-economic damages in a wrongful death case involving an adult child.

On October 26, 2011, Judge Yvette Palazuelos denied the motion, finding that “[a]fter weighing the evidence, the Court is not convinced from the entire record…that the jury clearly should have reached a different decision regarding the amount of damages” and that “sufficient evidence was presented by Plaintiff to support the award.” In ruling, the trial court pointed out that “[t]he facts of this case are unique”, in particular because of “the mutual, dependent relationship of an aging parent and adult child who were both disabled and who assisted each other with their respective disabilities. It is undisputed that the loss of her adult child had (and will likely continue to have) a profound, lasting effect upon Mrs. Cuthbertson.”

Brian Panish stated, “This case was so important for all visually impaired persons who use transit in Los Angeles and throughout the country – and the Court’s decision confirmed what the jury decided after hearing all the evidence: that Cameron Cuthbertson’s death was a tremendous loss to his mother and that their relationship was unique and compelling.”

Cuthbertson v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Case No. BC413070
Superior Court of the State of California, Los Angeles County
The Hon. Yvette Palazuelos, presiding

Contacts:
Panish Shea & Boyle
Brian Panish or Deborah Chang
310-477-1700

On Monday, Brian Panish was honored to have been a guest speaker at the annual Treusch Public Service Lecture at Southwestern Law School, his alma mater.

The Treusch Public Service Lecture was established in 2000 by the late Paul E. Treusch, a member of the Southwestern faculty from 1979-2004, and his wife Phyllis, as an expression of their commitment to public service and legal education.

The lecture series brings national leaders in the field of public interest to the campus to share their insight and experience. Brian Panish’s address followed the screening of the HBO documentary Hot Coffee: Is Justice Being Served?

Before passing away at age 95 in 2006, Professor Treusch described the effort behind establishing the lecture series:

“We believe efforts like this are much needed now, when our profession has been challenged to justify its ethical base. We want to stress to our students that the practice of law is not just a money-making venture, but a profession and a service.”

The lawyers at Panish Shea & Boyle were very proud to have one of their own speak at an event with aims like this one. As a personal injury law firm, we strive to bring justice to those who have been wronged, and work to hold responsible parties accountable for their actions.

The Los Angeles personal injury attorneys at Panish Shea & Boyle would like to congratulate John Morgan of Morgan and Morgan, PA on his book “You Can’t Teach Hungry: Creating the Multimillion Dollar Law Firm”. This book has been described as “the ultimate guide to building the multimillion dollar law firm”. In “You Can’t Teach Hungry”, John shares his prince and knowledge of running a hugely successful law firm, laying a road map to run your own multimillion dollar practice.

In the book Morgan states: “You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight, you bring Brian Panish.”

If you were lucky enough to be at the 2011 CAALA (Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles) event in Las Vegas, John Morgan was signing and giving away free copies of his book at the Panish Shea & Boyle exhibitors booth. The event was a huge success and everyone at Panish Shea & Boyle would like to thank all those who attended. If you missed your chance you can pick up the book online at Amazon by clicking here.

Here are some photos taken at the CAALA event:

Panish Shea & Boyle LLP partner Brian Panish has been included in a “Cover Spotlight” within Southern California’s Best Lawyers 2011 publication. Best Lawyers magazine acknowledges Mr. Panish for his 18-year consecutive win streak as a trial lawyer and “fierce competitor” who represents those affected by another party’s negligence or intentional wrongdoing.

Mr. Panish told Best Lawyers that what is most important to him is “to do something for the clients…there are so many people out there that we’ve made their life better and we’ve made products safer.” Mr. Panish also states that his desire to be competitive motivated him to become an attorney. Mr. Panish began setting records outside of the courtroom in high school as a highly competitive football, basketball and baseball player. He was offered a football scholarship to Fresno State where he played for the school and was recently named a 2010 outstanding alumnus during the school’s centennial celebration.

In the Best Lawyers article, Mr. Panish emphasizes that, similar to having a strong sports team, in order to most effectively represent clients, it is important to have a strong legal team. Mr. Panish states, “We have passion for what we do…it is a team and the key is getting the talented people on the team and then developing them.”

The article also recognizes Mr. Panish’s landmark verdicts, including three out of the four jury awards in California’s legal history exceeding $50 million in compensatory damages, which Mr. Panish obtained.
Brian Panish also received the number-three ranking in the 2010 list of Top 10 Southern California Super Lawyers and has been ranked among the “100 Most Influential Attorneys” in the State of California by The Los Angeles Daily Journal. Mr. Panish was also recently recognized by the California chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates as Lawyer of the Year.

Panish Shea & Boyle LLP partners Brian Panish, Adam Shea, and Kevin Boyle have been selected for inclusion in the 2011 Edition of Southern California’s Best Lawyers®, which is published as a supplement to the Los Angeles Times, in the area of Personal Injury Litigation. Attorneys selected for this honor are also included in The Best Lawyers in America® publication. Lawyers are chosen for the Best Lawyers publication based solely on evaluations by other lawyers – usually those handling cases in the same practice area. Evaluating lawyers are asked which attorney they would refer a friend or relative to if they could not handle a case themselves. Lawyers included on the list “must earn a spot through exemplary legal work that attracts the notice of their colleagues” and, to maintain their place on the list, “they must be at the top of their game year after year.” The listing is considered “the preeminent referral guide to the legal profession in the United States.”

Earlier this fall, Panish Shea & Boyle LLP was named a “Tier 1” Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation Firm by the U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers® in the 2010 Best Law firms rankings. Only five law firms in Los Angeles and twelve law firms in Los Angeles County were ranked as a “Tier 1” firm in the Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation area.

Panish Shea & Boyle LLP is honored that its partners have been recognized by Best Lawyers as among Southern California’s Best Lawyers in 2011. Over the past five years, the firm has obtained over fifteen verdicts and settlements in excess of $10 million in cases. Altogether, the attorneys at Panish Shea & Boyle LLP have obtained over two-hundred verdicts and settlements over $1 million, including 3 out of the 4 personal injury verdicts in California in excess of $50 million. To learn more about the many accomplishments of the firm or to discuss your legal matter with us, please visit http://www.psblaw.com/ or call 1-877-800-1700.

The family of a man who was killed on September 23, 2009 by a wrong-way driver in a head-on collision on Highway 101 in Santa Barbara County has been awarded $7 million in a wrongful death settlement. According to a Santa Barbara Independent article, a Verizon employee drove the wrong way onto the freeway after suffering from a diabetic reaction. Before causing the six-car accident that took the life of the minivan motorist, the Verizon employee traveled southbound on northbound lanes for eight miles.

Brian Panish of the plaintiff’s law firm Panish Shea & Boyle LLP represented the deceased man’s family. In the article, Brian Panish states that Verizon knew of the employee’s diabetic condition but failed to do anything about it, and that the employee had a history of diabetic reaction incidents that were not appropriately dealt with by the company. Mr. Panish emphasized the importance of Verizon accepting its responsibility for the crash and his hope that this type of accident will not happen again.

As one of the largest wrongful death settlements on record in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, the $7 million will be divided among five family members with the man’s widow receiving $4 million and his children and grandchildren collecting either $1 million or $500,000 each.

The Los Angeles wrongful death attorneys at Panish Shea & Boyle LLP have consistently been recognized by various organizations and publications as being among the best plaintiff’s attorneys in the United States. Our aggressive and skilled legal team is dedicated to helping our clients during what can be the most difficult and challenging time in their lives. Please call 877-800-1700 for a free consultation and to learn more about how the attorneys at Panish Shea & Boyle LLP can assist you with your case.