Kathy’s 33 year-old developmentally-disabled daughter lived in her own home with the assistance of caregivers employed by the Defendants. This case was a wrongful death and Abuse of a Dependent Adult action brought by the parents. Kathy’s daughter died after a lengthy struggle with her caregivers. The deliberate disregard by Defendants of the high degree of probability that injury or death would occur by providing direct care staff without critically-necessary CPR certification, and its conscious choice of a course of action with knowledge of the serious danger to Kathy’s daughter.I was lead trial counsel in a wrongful death case with the assistance of Attorney Todd A. Porter; the decedent was a dependent disabled adult. Defendants offered$200,000.00 in a CCP 998 Offer to Compromise six weeks before trial. The jury awarded $7,700,000.00; the Honorable Judge Charles S. Crandall awarded an additional $1,507,270.00 in attorney’s fees and $2,105,155.68 in costs and interest for a total trial recovery of $11,062,385.68. In ruling on post-trial motions, Judge Crandall stated:
“Plaintiffs’ lead trial counsel (Mr. Murphy) has appeared before the Court on numerous occasions over a period of many years. His reputation for honesty is impeccable and, as discussed herein, his performance was outstanding!Stated somewhat differently, the quality of representation provided by Plaintiffs’ counsel (Murphy & Porter) far exceeds the quality of representation that would have been provided by attorneys in San Luis Obispo, billing at the hourly rates used in the defense’s lodestar calculation. . . . In particular, attorney Murphy’s credentials establish him as a highly skilled, very experienced, exceptional plaintiff’s counsel.”