Eric J. Ratinoff
Top rated personal injury attorney in Sacramento, California
Eric Ratinoff Law Corp
Practice Areas: Personal injury, Insurance coverage, Medical malpractice; view more
Licensed in California since: 1993
Education: University of California Davis School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2010 - 2023 Call today:
916-970-9100
Free Consultation Eric Ratinoff Law Corp
401 Watt AvenueSacramento, CA 95864 Visit website
Details
I started my firm because I wanted to provide my clients with my own brand of excellent legal representation, consistent with my unique human qualities of compassion, strength, caring and integrity. I have represented injured people for twenty five years. While I have very successfully tried and settled many cases over the years, I take nothing for granted. For that reason, I work very hard – harder than most. I do it because I love what I do and I am constantly striving to improve, learn new ways of doing things, better ways of connecting with juries. My clients deserve no less.
I am proud of all of the great work that my team and I have done for our clients. Some of the cases in which I have made the biggest difference for my clients have included traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, motorcycle accidents, trucking and car accidents, medical malpractice cases, insurance bad faith cases, wildfire litigation, and product liability lawsuits.
One of my trial victories involves what is believed to be the largest medical malpractice jury verdict in Sacramento County history. With a former law partner, I recovered $7.6 million on behalf of a young woman rendered T4 paraplegic due to a Medical Center’s failure to diagnose a mass on her spine.
Since 2015, I have personally represented hundreds of families and business owners who lost everything due to preventable wildfires throughout California. My team and I have recovered millions of dollars on their behalf, and as we continue to battle wildfires across the state, we are committed to rebuilding California’s beautiful landscape and infrastructure.
Awards and Accomplishments
- Northern California Super Lawyer — 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010
- Northern California Super Lawyer Top 100 List - 2021, 2018, 2015
- Sacramento Super Lawyers Top 25 List - 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
- Sacramento Business Journal Best of the Bar - 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
- Sacramento Magazine Top Lawyer - 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
- Martindale-Hubbell AV-Rated Attorney
- CCTLA Mort Friedman Humanitarian of the Year Award 2013
- Faculty teacher at Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College
- Former Member of the Board of Directors, Brain Injury Association of California (BIACAL)
- Former Member of the Board of Directors, Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC)
- Former President, Secretary and Vice President, Capitol City Trial Lawyers Association (formerly Sacramento Consumer Attorneys)
- Member National Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
- Member Insurance Bad Faith Trial Lawyers Association
- Member Cien Amigos
- Former President and member of the Board of Directors, Sierra Forever Families
- Former member of the Northern California Board, AIPAC
EDUCATION
- B.A., University of California, Santa Cruz, 1989
- J.D., University of California, Davis, 1993
- Spence Trial Lawyers College
*AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings
Practice areas
Personal injury - general: plaintiff, Insurance coverage, Personal injury - medical malpractice: plaintiffFocus areas
Animal bites, Motor vehicle accidents, Personal injury - plaintiff, Slip and fall, Wrongful death, Construction accident, Brain injury, Trucking accidents, Premises liability - plaintiff, Bad faith insurance, Dental malpractice, Medical malpractice, Birth injury, Delayed or incorrect diagnosis
- 60% Personal injury - general: plaintiff
- 20% Insurance coverage
- 20% Personal injury - medical malpractice: plaintiff
First Admitted: 1993, California
Professional Webpage: https://www.ericratinoff.com/our-team/eric-ratinoff/
Special Licenses/Certifications:
- Licensed Educator for the California Department of Insurance
Educational Background:
- Spence Trial Lawyers College
- University of California, Santa Cruz, B.A., 1989
- J.D., University of California, Davis, 1993
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- Frequent Speaker, Numerous seminars on the subjects of personal injury litigation, automobile accident litigation, trial practice and evidence
- "Telling the Truth: Our Most Important Trial Skill" , www.plaintiffmagazine.com, Plaintiff Magazine, Plaintiff's Trial Lawyers, 2012
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Member, National Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
- Former President and Member, Board of Directors, Sierra Forever Families
- American Bar Association
- America's Top 100 Attorneys, 2016
- Former President, Secretary and Vice President, Capitol City Trial Lawyers Association (formerly Sacramento Consumer Attorneys)
- Member, Cien Amigos With the mission statement of “Working for California and Mexico”, Cien Amigos hopes to establish a platform for collective planning and concrete action to encourage the mutual prosperity of both Mexico and California. Initial objectives of Cien Amigos are as follows: 1. Create a strategic vision to foster and improve the dynamic relationship between California and Mexico; 2. Continue to educate policy makers on the significant contribution people of Mexican ancestry have made to California’s growth and development; 3. Promote and cultivate a more accurate, comprehensive and positive image of Mexico in California and California in Mexico. Members represent a broad cross-section of independent community leaders, including entrepreneurs, lawyers, educators, corporate executives, legislative advocates, representatives of civic organizations, professionals and local elected officials. Cien Amigos has been formed to support mutually beneficial bilateral initiatives and to reinforce individual and institutional bonds between California and Mexico., 2013
- The State Bar of California
- Board Member, Consumer Attorneys of California
- Member, Insurance Bad Faith Trial Lawyers Association
- Former Member, Northern California Board, AIPAC
- Former Board Member, Brain Injury Association of California
Verdicts/Settlements:
- A local jury returned a verdict of $7.6 million for an Elk Grove woman after a hard won case* fought by Sacramento personal injury attorneys Brooks Cutter, Eric Ratinoff and their legal team at Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff. It is believed to be the largest medical malpractice jury verdict in Sacramento County history. In 2003, the young woman was only fourteen years old when she was admitted at U.C. Davis Medical Center for weakness in her legs. An MRI study was done that showed an abnormal mass in her thoracic spine, but the radiology department at U.C. Davis Medical Center reported the woman's spine as "normal." As a result, treating doctors at U.C. Davis Medical Center diagnosed her with Guillain Barre Syndrome, and she was discharged from the hospital after a week of treatment for that condition. Unidentified and untreated for over four years, the mass eventually bled out and caused a permanent spinal cord injury in February 2008, when the woman was 18. As a result, the woman was rendered a paraplegic from the chest down, requiring medical and attendant care for the rest of her life. The trial focused on the breach of the standard of care by the Radiology department in failing to take the proper views and failing to identify the mass that was there. UC Davis's expert conceded the mass was there but said it was within the standard of care to miss it. UC Davis postulated that the views hadn't been done because the patient was uncomfortable in the machine but the evidence showed that she was sedated and had no difficulty with the study. UC Davis also blamed the girl's parents for going to her pediatrician instead of back to the neurology department at Davis after discharge, notwithstanding having been instructed to return. They argued that had she returned with her continuing symptoms they would have eventually figured out the misdiagnosis. After three days of deliberation, the jury found that the young woman's injuries were caused by the U.C. Davis Medical Center's Radiology Department's negligence, and awarded a verdict of $200,000 for past non economic loss; $1,000,000 for future non economic loss; $5,519,415 for future medical care; and $904,903 in lost earnings, for a total of $7,624,318. Because of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA), the non economic damages will be reduced to $250,000, pointing out the fundamental inequity of this cap which has been in place, unindexed, for over 30 years. Attorney Eric Ratinoff added, "It is great that a Sacramento jury has stood up for our courageous young client, and in doing so has stood up for the basic idea that in our community we expect our doctors and hospitals to put patients first." *Case #34-2009-00032610 "Hairston v. Regents" in Sacramento County Superior Court, 2011
- $680,000 Jury Verdict for Sacramento woman injured in car accident, 2013
- $7.6 Million Spinal Cord Injury Failure to Diagnose Spinal Tumor Jury Verdict
- $1.1 million in a chiropractic malpractice case in which the plaintiff's chiropractor failed to diagnose Cauda Equina Syndrome, resulting in permanent paralysis.
- $596,834 Jury Verdict for motorcyclist injured in auto accident, 2013
Pro bono/Community Service:
- #Network4Cause started as an online charity campaign via Facebook in 2010, in which each month we’d donate to a different organization, and we tied a specific dollar amount to our page likes, comments, or other engagements. It was a lot of fun, and we’ve been able to support some great organizations, including Sierra Forever Families, Wind Youth Services, Mustard Seed School, BIACAL, Soil Born Farms, Sacramento Food Bank, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Make a Wish of Northern California… the list goes on and on! In 2013, we took our giving campaign offline in order to interact with organizations and our Facebook friends in person. So in addition to our Facebook campaign, we've hosted monthly mixers at Mayahuel in downtown Sacramento, who have graciously donated drink proceeds to the community organizations we've supported each month. , 2013
- The Brain Injury Support Center of California is an online directory of California resources for brain injury survivors, their caregivers and loved ones. It began out of Eric's desire have a place where his brain injured clients could find every option available to make the fullest recovery possible. While attending a meeting for brain injury professionals in Sacramento, Eric met a young graduate student who was creating a local (Sacramento) offline directory as her master's project. The two talked about expanding her work to include resources throughout California, and Eric offered to turn it into an online resource center. A year later, the project was complete and the Brain Injury Support Center was born., 2014
Videos:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhmT0ZCudlk Sacramento personal injury lawyer Eric Ratinoff discusses the concept of the personal injury calculator, or "personal injury settlement calculator." What type of data gets considered in a personal injury lawsuit? How do personal injury settlements get determined? Eric answers these questions and explains what really matters in a personal injury settlement.Eric Ratinoff is a partner at Sacramento personal injury law firm Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff. He has been successfully representing plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits for over twenty years. Eric also serves on the Board of Directors of the California Brain Injury Association (BIACAL) and Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). If you have questions about a personal injury matter, please call our office toll free at 866-527-4278 For more information, visit http://www.ericratinoff.comConnect with me: http://www.facebook.com/TheLawChef / https://twitter.com/EricRatinoff, Personal Injury Calculator: How are the damages in a personal injury lawsuit calculated? , Personal Injury, 2014
- If you are filing an insurance claim after a preventable wildfire, here's some advice from insurance bad faith attorney and wildfire lawyer Eric Ratinoff. Eric has recovered millions of dollars for victims of preventable wildfires here in California, and he also has 25 years of success with insurance bad faith lawsuits. In this video, Eric is talking to a group of people who lost their homes to the Camp Fire in Paradise, California. He discusses, how to deal with your insurance company over Camp Fire claims. His advice includes: 1. Write to your insurance and request a certified copy of your insurance policy. 2. Be persistent and polite. 3. Impose a deadline. 4. Call for help. For anyone we represent in a lawsuit against the party responsible for the wildfire, we do not take any money recovered from their own insurance policies. We offer free assistance in filing claims and do not charge any fees for insurance claim help. Our goal is to help our clients achieve the maximum recovery possible so they can move on with their lives, rebuild their homes, and heal from their loss. For more information, visit: https://cawildfirelawyers.com/, Help with Insurance Claims After a Preventable Wildfire, 2018
- At Eric Ratinoff Law Corp, we fight for people. It is what fuels our drive to work every day. We love the fact that we have the power as everyday ordinary people to bring the wealthiest, most influential people in front of our friends and neighbors in every community across America and decide for all of us what's right and what's wrong. It's an amazing honor to go to work every day knowing we are fighting for this privilege., Civil Justice: Fighting to Protect the Rights of the Injured
Representative Clients:
- $2.5 million insurance bad faith recovery on behalf of a group of individuals wrongly denied benefits by a major California health insurance company., 2018
Transactions:
- $2.25 million for a cyclist who was seriously injured in an auto accident., 2019
Honors/Awards:
- Sacramento Magazine contracted with Professional Research Services to find out who are the top lawyers in the Sacramento Region. The voting for Professional Research Services' survey to determine Sacramento's top lawyers was open to all licensed attorneys in Sacramento, CA. Attorneys were asked whom they would recommend among 56 legal specialties, other than themselves, in the Sacramento area. Each attorney was allowed to recommend up to three colleagues in each given legal specialty. Once the online nominations were complete, each nominee was carefully evaluated on the basis of the survey results, the legitimacy of their license, and their current standing with The State Bar of California. Attorneys who received the highest number of votes in each specialty are reflected in the list. Eric has been highlighted in Sacramento's Top Lawyers every year since its inception in 2015., Sacramento's Top Lawyers, Sacramento Magazine, 2021
- The Sacramento Business Journal polls all lawyers in the Sacramento region to nominate their peers for the annual Best of the Bar publication. They are looking for experienced lawyers with strong ethics, someone to whom other lawyers would refer their friends or colleagues. Those who receive the highest amount of nominations are then published in the annual Best of the Bar publication. Eric has been highlighted in the Best of the Bar every year since 2014, Best of the Bar, Sacramento Business Journal, 2021
- Martindale-Hubbell AV-Rated Attorney, Martindale-Hubbell, 2022
- Top 25 List for Sacramento, Super Lawyers, 2015
- CCTLA Mort Friedman Humanitarian of the Year Award, 2013, CCTLA, 2013
Industry Groups:
- American Associaton For Justice
- Capitol City Trial Lawyers Association
- Consumer Attorneys Of California
Selections
14 Years Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers: 2010 - 2023
Top Lists
Top 25: Sacramento Super Lawyers: 2014 - 2015, 2018Additional sources of information about Eric J. Ratinoff
Find me online
- Website - www.ericratinoff.com…
- Sacramento Injury Lawyer on YouTube - www.youtube.com/user/Eric…
- Facebook - www.facebook.com/EricRati…
- Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer on Twitter - @EricRatinoff…
- Sacramento Personal Injury Attorney - www.ericratinoff.com…
- Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/ericr…
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