John N. Demas

Bar / Professional Activity

• California, 1992
• Settlement Conference Judge Pro Tem, Sacramento County
• Board Member, Consumer Attorneys of California
• Member, American Association of Justice
• Arbitrator, Sacramento County
• Past-President, Capitol City Trial Lawyers Association
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, 1992
• Mediator, Placer & El Dorado County

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

• $32,160,957 wrongful death verdict against the City of Sacramento was awarded on behalf of two children whose father was killed while helping his brother with a disabled vehicle on Interstate 5. A Sacramento police detective’s vehicle crossed onto the shoulder and struck both men. Through family testimony, photographs, and videos, the trial team demonstrated the profound loss of the father’s love, care, and guidance. After deliberating for just over an hour, the jury returned a $32,160,957 verdict recognizing the lifelong impact of that loss on his children., 2026
• $11 Million Settlement: Car Accident Resulting in Arm AmputationAttorney John Demas and Demas Law Group secured an $11 million settlement for Jessica and her family after a driver ran a stop sign and broadsided their SUV in Citrus Heights, Sacramento County. Jessica was traveling with her husband and two young children when the impact overturned their vehicle, trapping her arm beneath the roof. Despite nine surgeries and extensive efforts to save her arm, she ultimately required a below-the-elbow amputation and skin grafting. She spent nearly a month hospitalized and faced a difficult recovery, relearning everyday tasks and adapting to caring for her children with one hand. Following prolonged litigation, John and the Demas Law Group team obtained the settlement, addressing the lasting consequences of Jessica’s injuries and their profound impact on her family., 2025
• $10.2 Million Jury Verdict for a Bicycle Collision Resulting in a Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney John Demas of Demas Law Group secured a $10.2 million jury verdict for Carol K. and Ken K., who were injured while riding a tandem bicycle on the American River Bike Trail in Folsom. After Ken rang his bell, two pedestrians moved apart. One then instructed the other to cross directly into the bicycle’s path, causing the collision. Both cyclists wore helmets, but Carol suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. She spent several days in a coma and months hospitalized, with lasting cognitive impairments. The defendants disputed responsibility and damages. John assembled specialists in brain injuries, accident reconstruction, life care planning, and economics to explain the collision and document Carol’s long-term needs. The trial lasted more than three weeks and included 20 witnesses. One pedestrian settled during trial; the case continued against the other. Following a $150,000 insurance company offer, the jury awarded $10.2 million in damages, recognizing the profound consequences of Carol’s injuries., 2019
• $9,750,000: Largest settlement in California for the wrongful death of a baby against the City of Sacramento, 2017
• $6.68 Million Jury Verdict: Rear-End Collision Resulting in Lumbar FusionAttorney John Demas of Demas Law Group secured a $6,678,026 jury verdict following a nearly three-week trial in Stanislaus County for a woman injured in a three-vehicle collision on Interstate 5 near Patterson. The client was a passenger in a stopped vehicle when a distracted driver rear-ended it, pushing it into another car. She suffered a lumbar disc herniation that required spinal fusion after conservative treatment and injections failed to relieve her pain. Although the defense admitted responsibility for the collision, it disputed the cause of her ongoing back problems, attributing them to stress, repetitive lifting, and age-related changes. John presented the impact of the injuries on her daily life, mobility, and future medical needs. The defense offered $800,000 before trial, later increasing its offer to $1 million on the first day of trial. The jury ultimately awarded nearly $6.68 million, including approximately $5.7 million in noneconomic damages for the lasting personal consequences of her injuries., 2021
• $5 Million Policy-Limits Settlement: Wrongful Death in a Tractor-Trailer CollisionAttorney John Demas of Demas Law Group secured a $5 million wrongful death settlement for the family of M.P., a 50-year-old husband and father killed while driving home from work in San Joaquin County. A commercial tractor-trailer hauling grapes entered an intersection and struck the driver’s side of his car. The truck driver fled and attempted to conceal his involvement by hiding the damaged tractor in a barn. Investigators followed a trail of leaking fuel and ultimately obtained his confession to leaving the scene. John and the Demas Law Group team pursued claims against the driver, the owners of the tractor and trailer, and the winery whose grapes were being transported. By developing liability claims against multiple parties, the firm secured the insurance policy limits from all named defendants, totaling $5 million, on behalf of a family who had lost a devoted parent and provider., 2022
• $4.5 Million Jury Verdict Against Sacramento County for a Back Injury After a Car Accident  John Demas of Demas Law Group secured a $4.5 million jury verdict for Tim F., a construction estimator who suffered a disabling back injury when a Sacramento County Sheriff’s officer rear-ended his vehicle in stopped freeway traffic. Although Tim had undergone previous back surgeries, his most recent procedure had been more than a decade before the collision. Following the crash, conservative treatment and another surgery failed to resolve his pain. He attempted to return to work but ultimately could not continue. The defense argued that Tim could resume working if he underwent spinal fusion surgery—a more complicated procedure carrying additional risks. At trial, John demonstrated that the collision had left Tim unable to work and that his decision to decline another surgery was reasonable. Before trial, Sacramento County offered $1 million to settle. The jury ultimately awarded $4.5 million—more than four times that offer. The result recognized the lasting impact of Tim’s injuries on his livelihood and supported the reasonableness of his decision not to undergo further surgery.
• Over $4,000,000: Confidential Product Liability Settlement
• $3 Million Policy-Limit Settlement: Bicycle Collision with a Commercial Van Resulting in Traumatic Brain InjuryAttorney John Demas of Demas Law Group secured a $3 million settlement for George H., a bicyclist who suffered a skull fracture and traumatic brain injury when a commercial van entered a Sacramento County intersection unsafely and struck him. The defense disputed responsibility, arguing that George was riding on the wrong side of the road and that his lack of a bicycle helmet contributed to his injuries. The insurer also attributed his ongoing cognitive difficulties to a history of substance use rather than the collision. John retained a helmet and head-trauma expert whose analysis demonstrated that the location of the impact would have resulted in a significant head injury even with a helmet. A brain-injury specialist further established that George’s cognitive impairments resulted from the crash. Despite these contested issues and the challenges George faced while experiencing homelessness, the firm pursued his claim through litigation and obtained the defendant’s full $3 million insurance policy limit at mediation shortly before trial.  , 2013
• $2.5 Million: Jury Verdict In Wrongful Death Case "Mr. Demas recently obtained what is believed to be the largest personal injury verdict ever in Tuolumne County. We represented the heirs of Mr. & Mrs. Hueso who were killed in an auto v. truck collision involving one of the largest employers in Tuolumne County, Diestel Turkey Ranch. Mr. Demas was referred the case only six weeks before trial. The defendants never offered anything to settle the case and were confident of a defense verdict. We were able to prove that the defendants were responsible for causing the collision despite an initial CHP investigation that found our client was responsible."
• $1.6 Million: Jury Verdict "We represented a tow truck driver called to defendant's house for a jump start. He was injured when defendant helped pushed his vehicle despite being told not to which caused plaintiff to be pinned between the garage door frame and the vehicle. Defendant denied liability and never made a settlement offer. Defendant's attorney indicated that he would win this case "over 90%" of the time. We offered to settle throughout the pendency of the case for less than $500,000. At trial we proved that defendant was responsible and obtained a jury verdict of $1.6 million in a very conservative county."
• $1.5 Million: Wrongful Death "The decedent was on his first week of work as a truck driver when he was struck and killed by another truck in a freeway accident. The decedent had pulled to the shoulder of the freeway and exited his vehicle to adjust his load prior to being struck. The defendant trucking company alleged that decedent was out on the roadway at the time he was hit. We filed suit on behalf of the drivers widow and 2 children and were able to prove that the deceased was lawfully inside the "gore point" of the freeway shoulder when the accident occurred. Defendants settlement offer increased dramatically during jury selection."
• $1.3 Million Wrongful Death Settlement After Child’s Electrocution at a Car Wash Demas Law Group represented the parents of a nine-year-old girl who was fatally electrocuted after touching an ungrounded light pole at a car wash. The car wash owner denied negligence, arguing that he was unaware of the electrical hazard and relied on an electrical contractor for maintenance. The contractor maintained that the pole had been properly grounded when he last serviced it more than two years earlier. The defendants also alleged that the child’s mother had inadequately supervised her.Demas Law Group uncovered evidence that the owner knew the light pole differed from the others on the property but failed to investigate. The firm also discovered that the electrical contractor had lacked a valid contractor’s license for years and that a reasonably competent contractor would have identified and repaired the hazardous condition. The wrongful death case settled for $1.3 million shortly before trial.
• $1.4 million: Products Liability "Man had dominant arm degloving injury from a grain auger/conveyor at work, when he placed his arm into the equipment to unclog a jammed item in the line. We sued the product manufacturer and the installer, even though the device was built and installed years ago, with no prior injury history. The defect allegations were for failure to guard and failure to have proper electrical safety mechanisms. We proved the device was defectively built and installed which resulted in a significant settlement for the claimant."
• $1,000,000: (Policy limits) "We represented a 79 year old who was stopped at a light and rear-ended by a commercial van. Our client was taken by ambulance to the hospital and had neck surgery. The defense contested the need for the surgery and claimed the surgeon should simply have applied a neck collar. We proved the surgery was reasonable in light of the injuries suffered by hiring the best expert witnesses and the defendants paid their policy limits shortly before trial. "

Videos

• Two big-data studies predicted a verdict between $13 and $16 million. John Demas trusted his instincts and walked out of a Sacramento courtroom with $32 million. The case: An on-duty city detective swerved onto the freeway shoulder and killed two brothers, leaving two children without a father. John joins host Dan Ambrose to break down how he turned down a $15 million pre-close offer, spent 95% of voir dire on an "outside the box" damages framework, and opened with a Fleetwood Mac montage that had half the jury in tears. Episode Snapshot: John’s family emigrated from Greece to Sacramento in the early '70s; his earliest memories are selling fruits and vegetables at flea markets every weekend and summer through law school. His parents steered him toward dental school so he could eventually practice in Greece, but a constitutional law class in his second year of undergrad flipped a switch. After being laid off nine months into his first job, John opened his own firm at age 24 with a law school buddy. The $32 million verdict was against the City of Sacramento after an on-duty police detective swerved from a freeway lane onto the shoulder, killing two brothers. John ran an in-person focus group of 12 people to practice voir dire, recording it to get reps on the "outside the box" framework and the core wrongful death issues before setting foot in the courtroom. In voir dire, John drew a physical box on an easel labeled "full value of the loss," then walked jurors through every outside-the-box concern — city impact, the officer's job, making kids rich, money not bringing anyone back — and addressed each one head-on. In rebuttal, after the defense called the loss "immeasurable," John wrote that word on his easel and revealed that the city's suggested damages worked out to $1.50 an hour. “This is what the city thinks this loss is worth,” he told the jury., Skip navigation john demas Create 9+ Avatar image John Demas’s $32,000,000 One Day Wrongful Death Speed Trial, Personal Injury Attorney, 2026
• 1:40 / 3:23 There Is No Easy Route For Us | Demas Law Group, P.C., Personal Injury, 2020
• John Demas - Abused Teen Lawsuit KOVR CBS13 5pm Sac, CA 02 09 2011, Personal Injury, 2011
• Insurance companies are in a business to do one thing, and that is to make money. And the way they make money is by collecting as much as possible in the premiums and paying out as little as possible when they have a claim. It's simple economics, the more they collect and the less they pay out, the more money they make. Their only incentive then, when someone makes a claim, is to pay out as little as possible. And the only way to equalize the field and to level the playing field, is to have someone on your side that knows how to obtain fair and equitable compensation for you. Many times insurance companies will often play, especially close in time to the collision, the good guy. Pretend that they're on your side to get you to give them a recorded statement or to get our clients to turn over some valuable documents or evidence to them. And the reason they do this is because they know when the person is not represented they are more likely to get this information than when they are. And the only reason that they do this is to get evidence to hurt the claimant's case., Insurance companies are in a business to do one thing, and that is to make money, Personal Injury
• Sacramento Accident Attorney, Demas Law Group, Sacramento Accident Attorney, Demas Law Group, Personal Injury, 2012
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=npvfOr9jUv0

Representative Clients

• $9.75 Million Wrongful Death Settlement Reached During Trial Against the City of Sacramento Attorney John Demas of Demas Law Group secured a $9.75 million settlement for the parents of Raiden S., a nine-month-old baby who died after a collision involving a Sacramento police officer. The officer, driving an unmarked vehicle on Interstate 80, struck the family’s stopped car from behind at nearly 65 mph, triggering a multivehicle collision. Raiden was properly secured in his infant car seat but suffered fatal injuries and died five days later. The City of Sacramento disputed responsibility, arguing that the officer was not on duty when the collision occurred. Through extensive investigation and case preparation, John established the City’s legal responsibility for the officer’s actions. He worked with accident reconstruction and medical experts to document the collision and present the family’s case. After three years of litigation and unsuccessful settlement discussions, the case resolved on the second day of trial for $9.75 million. Demas Law Group reports the result as California’s largest wrongful death settlement involving an infant., 2017

Transactions

• $5.475 Million Settlement: Car Collision Resulting in Head and Neck InjuriesDemas Law Group secured a $5,475,000 mediated settlement for Ken H., an active 75-year-old man who suffered a head injury and a fractured neck vertebra requiring surgery after a driver ran a red light and struck his vehicle in Sacramento County. Before the collision, Ken raced motorcycles and worked part-time; his injuries substantially affected his health and independence. The firm’s investigation recovered the other vehicle’s “black box,” despite being told the vehicle had been destroyed. Its data established that the driver was traveling at 45 mph at impact, while witnesses confirmed she had entered against a red light. Expert analysis also demonstrated that Ken’s injuries would not have been reduced by wearing a seat belt. Working with medical specialists, a rehabilitation consultant, and an economist, the firm documented his future care needs and the lasting effects on his life. A detailed video presentation incorporating witness interviews and family footage helped communicate those losses at mediation, where Ken’s claim resolved for $5.475 million., 2015

Educational Background

• University of the Pacific, B.A. in Political Science, 1989

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• Frequent Lecturer and Guest Speaker at State and local seminars and conferences.
• Frequent Lecturer and Speaker at Attorney Seminars and Conventions

Honors

• Trial Lawyer/Advocate of the Year, Capitol City Trial Lawyers Association, 2005
• Numerous Academic Awards & Scholarships
• Law Journal Editor, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
• Trial Lawyer President of the Year
• Recipient of American Jurisprudence Awards
• Presidential Award for Merit, Consumer Attorneys of California
• International Moot Court Honors Board

Awards

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Avvo Client's Choice Award: This award is granted to attorneys with at least 5 reviews with 4+ stars in a given year on Avvo.com

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Silver: This award is granted to attorneys who have received at least 3 client reviews, and have an average review score of 4.0 or higher.

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AV Preeminent®: This elite award is granted to attorneys who have been recognized by their peers for their very high ethical standards, with an average peer review score of 4.5 or higher.

“Mr. Demas was president of the Capital City Trial Lawyers Association (CCTLA) in 2007. He was given the Advocate of the Year award by CCTLA in 2005, in part due to trial work that year and in part due to his service to the legal community. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Consumer Attorneys of California. In 2008, he obtained one of the largest verdicts in recent memory in Sacramento for a case of its kind, getting a $4.5 million verdict in a rear end auto collision with a resulting back surgery and disability.”