A two-pound cap fell 30 feet onto a man's head. The City said it owed nothing. The jury said $22.6 million.

For families facing a catastrophic injury against a government entity — and for the attorneys who refer those cases out.

On a sidewalk in Van Nuys, a man waited to cross the street. An aluminum cap from a city light pole — about two pounds — broke loose and fell roughly thirty feet onto his head. He survived. But the man who walked to that corner is not the man who left it. The injury cost him his cognition.

The City of Los Angeles took the position that it was not responsible. We took it to a jury. After a fourteen-day trial, the jury returned a verdict of $22,596,874.87 — $5.6 million in economic damages for past and future medical care, and $17 million in non-economic damages. (Ismael Soto Luna v. City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Superior Court No. 22STCV01171.)

I'm telling you about this case not to brag, but because it shows exactly the kind of work most firms can't or won't do — and what it takes to actually win it.

Why cases against a city are a different animal

Suing a public entity in California is not like suing a driver. The rules are built to protect the government, and they trip up lawyers who don't live in this area:

There's a six-month claim deadline — far shorter than the ordinary statute of limitations — and missing it usually ends the case before it starts. You have to prove the public entity had notice of the dangerous condition, or that its own employee created it. And you're up against a city attorney's office and experts whose entire job is to argue the condition wasn't dangerous, wasn't theirs, or wasn't the cause.

A lot of firms hear "City of Los Angeles" and pass. The deadlines are tight, the proof is hard, the defense is well-funded. That's precisely where the real work is.

What "the hard work" actually means

Winning a case like this isn't about a good opening statement. It's about doing the things that don't show up on a billboard:

Reconstructing how and why a fixture failed and proving the entity should have known. Building the medical proof that connects a head strike to a lifetime of diminished cognition — the kind of damages insurers and government lawyers reflexively minimize. Standing in front of a jury for two weeks and making them understand a human life, not a number. And refusing the early, convenient positions that make a case go away cheap.

This is the part other people don't know how to do, aren't willing to do, or aren't equipped to do. My results are the evidence of that work — not a slogan.

If you're a family facing this

If someone you love suffered a catastrophic injury — a brain injury, a spinal injury, a death — because of a dangerous condition on public property, a defective premises, a truck, or an unsafe worksite, the worst thing you can do is wait. With a government entity, the clock can run out in six months. The earlier the right lawyer is involved, the more of the case can still be built.

If you're an attorney with a case like this

Some of the best cases I've tried came from lawyers who recognized a file was bigger than their practice and wanted it in the right hands. If you have a catastrophic-injury, dangerous-condition, wrongful-death, or complex liability matter you'd rather refer or co-counsel, I'm happy to talk. Referral relationships are handled professionally and fee splits are honored under California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5.1.

The bottom line

A two-pound piece of metal can take everything from a person, and the entity responsible will tell you it owes nothing. Whether it owes $22 million is decided by who's standing between that family and the city — and how hard they're willing to work.

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Results depend on the unique facts of each case. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Responsible for content: Tom Vertanous, Esq., The Vertanous Firm, P.C., SBN 330760 — (626) 888-2223.