Student Run Over in Crosswalk Recovers $585,000

Hanna P. (fictitious name), a 22-year old mathematics student at the University of California, Berkeley, was walking home from campus when she was struck by a sedan in 2007 on a busy Berkeley intersection. She was slammed to the ground, striking her face. She fractured four teeth and needed implants and bone grafts.

Partner Dale Minami, Senior Counsel Mark Fong and Associate Eunice W. Yang obtained the $25,000 policy limits of the driver of the sedan, and in addition, obtained a $540,000 settlement for Hanna at mediation against her own insurance company under an Underinsured Motorist Claim. In addition, the team claimed reimbursement of $20,000 medical payments. In total, the team recovered $585,000 for Hanna.

The bone graft, insertion of implants, and placing of crowns required almost 18 months of painful procedures and her consultants felt she would require two or three more such procedures in her lifetime. In addition to the fractured teeth, Hanna suffered a fractured nose and continual headaches, which were diagnosed by the prosthodontist to whom we referred Hanna. Fortunately, the prosthodontist discovered the problem and was able to create a splint for Jenny that helped reduce the frequency and severity of headaches.

Hanna’s insurance company disputed this claim and felt she would not require another implant, offering $340,000 to settle the case. Our team was able to convince the insurance company that she would be a chronic dental patient, suffer headaches for the rest of her life and compromise the delicate anatomy and physiology of her teeth and mouth. The settlement will compensate Hanna for her past pain and suffering and medical bills and will pay for Hanna’s future dental needs and the pain and inconvenience of her future procedures.

Minami Tamaki Recovers $2.1 Million for Medical Malpractice

Fred F. (fictitious name), a 51-year-old home care provider, was driving in the course and scope of his employment as a caregiver in San Francisco. Fred was struck by a Hummer rented from the Hertz Corporation and driven by a foreign tourist making an illegal turn on a red light. He was taken by ambulance to the emergency room of the local hospital, where Fred’s treating physicians inadvertently injured his spinal cord rendering him a partial quadriplegic.

Senior Counsel Mark Fong, Partner Dale Minami and Associate Eunice Yang handled the auto accident claim, which settled for Hertz’s policy limits of $1 million, and later settled the claim against the physicians and the hospital for $2.1 million.

Fred faced a number of challenges in settling the medical malpractice case. First, non-economic damages were capped at $250,000 due to the California Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975. His past and future wage loss claim was $252,157.

The defendants argued that Fred’s claim for future medical expenses was unrecoverable as a matter of law, as the compensation carrier had agreed to provide him with lifetime medical care.  Through experts in healthcare financial administration, life care planning and workers compensation utilization review, our team argued that workers compensation is unlikely to pay for much of the treatment he will need over the next 30 years, leaving him exposed at the time when he will most need care.

The team settled the medical malpractice case for $2.1 million, recovering all of Fred’s wages and the terms of the settlement provides Fred with the lifetime care that he needs.

Homeowner Pays $300,000 in Dog Bite Case

Sumiko S. (fictitious name), a 32-year old, was visiting an acquaintance in San Ramon, when she was viciously attacked by the homeowner’s pit bull/Welsh corgi mix in 2009. While she was petting the dog, it suddenly jumped up and bite Sumiko’s face and upper lip, causing serious injuries to about a third of her lip.

Partner Dale Minami handled the case for this client and was able to arrange for a renowned plastic surgeon to repair Sumiko’s lip as it was so severely mangled that she needed four stages of reconstructive plastic surgery. The first surgery was needed to repair her upper lip by removing the damaged tissue from Sumiko’s face and lip. The subsequent three stages of surgery included a procedure to rejuvenate the skin on the lip, then reconstruct the delicate features of her mouth.

Sumiko also suffered emotional distress including nightmares and flashbacks rising from the attack and was despondent over facial disfigurement.

The case settled for $300,000, the homeowner’s policy limits, which provides Sumiko with the option of pursuing further reconstructive surgery in the future and psychological care as needed.

Minami Tamaki at the 23nd Annual NAPABA Convention

By Olivia Lee and Sean Tamura-Sato

Minami Tamaki attorneys recently attended the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Convention, held in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 17-20, 2011. Partners Dale Minami and Brad Yamauchi, and Associates Olivia Lee, Sean Tamura-Sato, and Eunice Yang joined over 1,200 other Asian American and Pacific Islander lawyers, judges, legal scholars, and law students at the Omni Hotel at the CNN Center.

Minami Tamaki LLP Associates Olivia Lee (far left), Eunice Yang (third from left) and Sean Tamura-Sato (far right), with Attorney General of Hawaii David Louie (middle).

This year’s Convention theme of “Sustainability” focused on planting the seeds of renewal and growth for AAPIs, and celebrated the achievements of AAPIs in the legal community. Minami Tamaki attorneys reconnected with old friends and made new ones during the four day event filled with CLE panels, receptions, committee meetings, plenary sessions, and after-hours events. Among the dozens of inspiring and dynamic panels were sessions on the impact of 9/11 on the AAPI community ten years later, the introduction of state immigration laws patterned after Arizona Senate Bill 1070, AAPI representation in the judiciary, and an examination of race, color, and citizenship through reenactments of U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in the cases of Ozawa and Thind. Members of the Ozawa family also attended these reenactments.

Minami Tamaki Partner Dale Minami (third from right) with Attorney General of Hawaii David Louie (far left), Hawai’i Supreme Court Associate Justice Sabrina S. McKenna (third from left), California Supreme Court Associate Justice Goodwin Liu (fourth from left) and Congresswoman Mazie Hirono (fifth from right).

The Minami Tamaki delegation attended several Solo & Small Firm Committee events, including a Committee dinner and planning meeting. Minami Tamaki is committed to increasing solo and small firm membership and benefits within NAPABA, and to providing a support and referral network for Committee members. Future plans include educational programs focusing on solo/small firm practice, and increased dialogue regarding the interests of consumers, employees, and accident victims.

Associates Olivia Lee, Sean Tamura-Sato, and Eunice Yang also attended several Young Lawyer / First Time Attendee events at the Convention, allowing them to build bonds with the next generation of NAPABA trailblazers. It was truly rewarding to meet so many impressive young attorneys from around the country.

Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Denny Chin was the keynote speaker at the Anniversary Gala and Celebration Dinner on November 19. Judge Chin entertained the crowd with stories from numerous cases he presided over during 15 years on the U.S. District Court (S.D. N.Y.) bench, including the trial and sentencing of financier Bernard Madoff.

The annual NAPABA Judges Panel featured three AAPI Supreme Court Justices: Justice Ming Chin (California Supreme Court); Justice FernandeDuffly (Massachusetts Supreme Court); and Justice Sabrina McKenna (Hawai’i Supreme Court). California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu also offered special remarks to the capacity crowd regarding his journey to the State high court. The esteemed panelists shared stories from their diverse experiences and dispensed vital tips for oral advocates (“Answer the question asked!”).

Minami Tamaki Partner Dale Minami (right) with, from left, Attorney General of Hawaii David Louie, California Supreme Court Associate Justice Goodwin Liu and Congresswoman Mazie Hirono.

The Convention also included Plenary Session remarks by Yale Law Professor and best-selling author Amy Chua. Professor Chua’s entertaining and engaging speech ranged from recounting the media firestorm around her book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” to providing advice to young AAPI lawyers and law students on how to succeed in legal practice.

The 2011 Convention reinforced Minami Tamaki’s commitment to NAPABA, and our goal of mentoring and supporting members engaged in civil rights, social justice, and small firm practice. We look forward to participating in the 2012 NAPABA Conference in Washington, D.C.