On May 1, 2015, Jim Miller completed a 10 day jury trial in San Joaquin County Superior Court where the plaintiff sought over $7,000,000.00 in damages for lost wages, medical expenses and pain and suffering allegedly arising from an incident that occurred at Jim’s client’s store. The intervenor, Zenith Insurance Company, sought repayment of workers’ compensation benefits paid to the plaintiff. After hearing the testimony of eight medical doctors, three liability experts, an economist, a neuropsychologist, two vocational rehabilitation experts, the plaintiff, his wife, daughter and two defendant company representatives, the jury returned a verdict finding the plaintiff 75 percent at fault for the incident and awarded him $720.00. The intervenor received a verdict of zero dollars. Since Jim’s client had served both the intervenor and the plaintiff with 998s well above the jury verdict amounts, he is seeking over $133,000.00 in costs and expert fees from the intervenor and plaintiff. Continue reading →

Jim Miller arbitrated a claimed tinnitus case. The arbitration was conducted over a two-day period in December 2014 and January 2015. The hearing arose out of a two car motor vehicle accident which resulted in moderate damage to the back-end of the claimant’s vehicle. As a result of the accident, the claimant claimed he sustained soft tissue injuries as well as severe tinnitus that was ongoing and permanent. Jim and his experts conceded that the claimant did have tinnitus and that it arose from the subject accident. However, there was a dispute over the damages that should be awarded for such an injury. Continue reading →

Jim Miller completed a first party underinsured motorist hearing on October 23, 2014. This arbitration hearing arose from a three vehicle motor vehicle accident. However, the claimant was involved in both earlier and subsequent motor vehicle accidents. She also had an extensive surgical history, having undergone carpal tunnel releases in 1970 and 1971, cervical fusion surgeries in 1988 and 1992 and total bilateral knee replacement surgeries in 2003 and 2004. She also had extensive lumbar and lower extremity complaints including a right sided decompression at L3-4 and L4-5 in 1993 and a laminectomy revision of L3-5 in 2003. Following the earlier motor vehicle accident, the claimant underwent a re-exploration of the L3-4 decompression laminectomy and L3-4 micro discectomy which occurred in September 2009. Continue reading →

Jim Miller completed a 17 day jury trial in September and October 2014 where a jury found his client not liable for the wrongful death of a married 73-year-old woman with five adult children. The co-defendant was found 100 percent liable for the death and the jury awarded the plaintiffs $3,214,134.00. Continue reading →

In this matter the claimant had preexisting fibromyalgia. She was involved in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in an exacerbation of the fibromyalgia complaint and severe foot pain. The claimant ultimately had surgery on her foot three years after the accident. The doctor who performed the surgery, a renowned orthopedic surgeon from the San Francisco area, testified that the claimant would need additional treatment. He also testified that based on the information given to him by the claimant’s attorney about the claimant’s history he would relate the need for surgery to the subject accident. Continue reading →

In this matter the claimant asserted that he sustained significant injuries to his low back which necessitated a need for low back surgery. The surgery that was proposed was an L5-S1 discectomy and fusion.

Jim Miller represented the respondent and retained a qualified orthopedic spine surgeon who disputed the need for the surgery. Continue reading →