Practice Areas: Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Products Liability; view more
Licensed in California since: 1982
Education: University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2007 - 2025 Details
Robert F. Vaage is the founding attorney of the Law Offices of Robert Vaage in San Diego, California. While Mr. Vaage has developed a considerable presence in the San Diego area as a formidable medical malpractice attorney, he has also expanded his practice to encompass a wide variety of civil trial matters, including serious personal injury, product liability, wrongful death, employment discrimination and elder abuse. Before forming his own practice, he worked at both a litigation defense firm and a personal injury litigation firm, gleaning experience on both sides of the docket and honing his skills as a personal injury trial attorney.
A dedicated attorney who takes great pride in representing individuals and families throughout California with integrity and a results-minded approach, Mr. Vaage has an impressive record of successfully trying cases to verdict and obtaining arbitration awards. His firm has never lost a Kaiser arbitration. His successes include an $8.9 million settlement for a bariatric patient with undiagnosed complications, a $15 million settlement for an engineer who was burned from a burst steam pipe, a $5 million arbitration award against Kaiser for failing to timely identify and treat a developing stroke, a $3 million verdict against a medical device manufacturer for conspiring to commit fraud, and a $3 million settlement for a physician injured in an automobile accident.
Mr. Vaage has been honored with Martindale-Hubbell's AV-Preeminent* rating. He is admitted to practice before all state courts in California as well as the U.S. District Court for all Districts of California and the 4th District Court of Appeal. Mr. Vaage is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California, the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, the American Association for Justice, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the San Diego Trial Lawyers Association, and Super Lawyers. He is a Senior Life Fellow with the American Board of Trial Advocates, an elite organization of trial lawyers with stringent criteria for membership. He has received the Trial Lawyer of the Year, Outstanding Advocate, and Outstanding Trial Lawyer awards from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.
*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 fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.
Practice areas
Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Products: PlaintiffFocus areas
Birth Injury, Brain Injury, Delayed or Incorrect Diagnosis, Informed Consent, Medical Devices, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Defects, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Pharmaceutical, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Slip and Fall, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 60% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 20% Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff
- 20% Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1982, California
Professional Webpage: https://www.vaagelaw.com/robert-vaage/
- Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), 1997
- American Association of Justice (AAJ, formerly ATLA), 1997
- U.S. Court of Appeal 4th District, 1982
- U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1982
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1982
- Consumer Attorneys of San Diego (CASD)
- San Diego Trial Lawyers Association (SDTLA)
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 1982
- Arbitration Award of $25,638,058.93 for failure to diagnose and treat bowel obstruction leading to perforation, sepsis, and brain injury in an infant., 2022
- Jury Verdict of $12,617,674 against the County of San Diego for failure to provide medical services to a detainee, interference with ambulance personnel prior to arrest, resulting in a brain injury., 2019
- Jury Verdict of $3,550,000 for conscious sedation overdose at pediatric dental office. $900,000 settlement with dentist., 2023
- $13 million settlement for wrongful death/personal injury from a head-on automobile collision. Other driver crossed over the double yellow lines., 2017
- Neurologist Injured In Auto Accident ($3.1 Million Settlement)
- Failure to Diagnose and Treat Active Pneumonia and Pleural Effusions ($543,923 Arbitration Award Against Kaiser)
- Mri of Patient With Pacemaker Causes Death ($250,000 Settlement)
- Motor Home Goes Down 110-Foot Embankment Injuring Passengers ($700,000 Settlement)
- Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Ovarian Cancer ($750,000 Settlement)
- Failure to Timely Treat Postoperative Hematoma ($1.3 Million total Settlement)
- Dural Tear During Back Surgery; Defective Nerve Monitoring Device ($2,490,251.98 Settlement)
- Death of 40-Year-Old Following Prolonged Diarrhea and Internal Bleeding ($1.1 Million Settlement)
- Child Given Wrong Chemotherapy Drug ($558,000 Arbitration Award)
- Death of 50-Year-Old Following Overdose of Chemotherapy Drug 5Fu ($1,358,000 Settlement)
- Failure to Diagnose and Timely Treat CAD, Results In Heart Attack ($1.175 Million Settlement)
- Retaliation For Supporting Gender Discrimination Claims ($966,500 Settlement)
- Surgeon Removes Wrong Rib ($1,024,614 Jury Verdict)
- Failure to monitor intracranial pressure leads to blindness ($2,250,000 settlement)
- Physician Implants Pain Pump After Failed Trial; Undisclosed Financial Interest In Pharmacy Providing Narcotics ($2,050,000 Settlement)
- Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Thyroid Cancer ($900,000 Mediated Settlement)
- Slip and Fall on Wet Floor at Restaurant ($500,000 Settlement)
- Overdose of Insulin and Glucose Lead to Brain Injury ($4,043,728 Settlement)
- Army Veteran Overdosed on Heparin Leading to Stroke ($420,878 Judgment)
- Engineer Severely Burned When 30-Inch Reheat Steam Pipe Bursts ($15 Million Settlement)
- Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Prostate Cancer ($550,000 Settlement)
- Child Dies After Given Norpace and Inderal ($1.2 Million Jury Verdict)
- Elder Dies From Multiple Infected Bed Sores ($750,000 Settlement)
- Military Doctor Refuses Request For C-Section ($1,259,970 Judgment)
- Cardiac Arrest After Administration of Succinylcholine ($400,000 Settlement)
- Retaliation For Complaining of Pregnancy Discrimination ($150,000 Jury Verdict Plus $273,481 In Attorney's Fees and Costs)
- Delay In Diagnosis of Colon Cancer ($825,000 Settlement)
- Overly aggressive sinus surgery/battery ($370,000 settlement)
- Kitrosser v. Nuvasive, Inc. ($3.099 Million Verdict) - upheld on appeal
- Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Symptoms of Tia, Resulting In Stroke ($5 Million Arbitration Award Against Kaiser)
- Failure to Treat Chronic A-Fib Leads to Stroke ($865,000 Settlement Plus $15,000 For Future Wrongful Death)
- Slip and Fall At Open House ($290,000 Settlement)
- Failure to Follow Up on Elevated PSA and Enlarged Prostate ($400,000 Settlement)
- Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Rectal Cancer ($850,000 Settlement)
- 16-Year-Old Dies After State-Mandated Physical Fitness Test ($400,000 Jury Verdict)
- Death of 55-Year-Old From Laceration of Heart During Hernia Repair ($260,000 Settlement)
- Massive Staph Infection Destroys Hip and L3-4 Disc Space ($345,000)
- Elder Abuse and Neglect Lead to Death of A 94-Year-Old ($700,000 Settlement)
- Delay In Treatment of Postop Hematoma Leads to Permanent Paralysis ($800,000 Arbitration Award and Confidential Settlement)
- Failure to Timely Diagnose Lung Cancer Leads to Death ($500,000 (Settlement)
- Misplaced Feeding Tube Kills 89-Year-Old ($110,000 Settlement)
- Failure to Refer to Urologist Despite Elevated Psa ($850,000 Settlement)
- Failure to treat complications from bariatric surgery ($8,999,998 settlement)
- Kitrosser v. The Regents of The University of California, William Taylor, M.D. ($1.750 Million Settlement)
- Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Symptoms of Tia Leads to Stroke ($1,237,321 + $30,000 Arbitration Award Against Kaiser)
- Delay In C-Section of Baby In Fetal Distress ($1.3 Million Settlement)
- Kirwan v. Jose Perez, Nick's Dairy Commodities, et al.
- Lindburg, et al. v. Unnamed Hospital, Roe Dr. 1, Roe Dr.
- Palacios v. Alan Horowitch, M.D.
- Plaintiff vs. Doe Hospital
- Jones v. Fernald Wentzell, M.D.
- Weamer v. Samuel C. Hon, MD.
- Amrine v. Koll Center, et al.
- Jane Doe v. Public Entity
- Garrett v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, et al.
- Minor Doe v. County of Riverside, et al.
- Lobb, et al. v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, et al.
- Doe Parents v. Roe Medical Group
- Long v. Ervin Wheeler, M.D.
- Velasquez v. U.S.A.
- Waldal v. Charles Campbell, M.D. and Scripps Memorial Hospital
- Klug v. Roe Hospital and Roe Inc (settlement), James F. Marino, M.D. (arbitration)
- Sobczak, et al. v. Motlagh, M.D.; Knauf, M.D.; Scripps Hospital East County
- Ryan v. S.D. Hospital Assoc. dba Sharp HealthCare and AIG Life Ins Co.
- Crosthwaite v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, et al.
- Paul Adkins and Katie Adkins v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals
- Prafke v. Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, et al.
- Brown v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.
- Rubidoux, et al. v. Country Hills Health Care Center, Jassmann, M.D., et al.
- John Doe v. Roe Company, et al.
- Jensen v. Mark Stern, M.D.
- Outstanding Trial Lawyer, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego
- The board of directors of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego voted to present the Outstanding Advocate Award to Robert F. Vaage for his work in the Weiss v. Wang and Lew v. Wang. Both plaintiffs claimed that they were injured by former UCLA spine surgeon, Jeffrey Wang, M.D., who failed to inform them of his extensive financial and research ties to the manufacturers of the medical devices he implanted in them. The Regents of the University of California settled with Mr. Lew for $4.2 million and with Mr. and Mrs. Weiss for $4.25 million. Mr. Lew reached a separate confidential settlement with the device manufacturer. Mr. Vaage is emphatic that patients have a right to know if their physician receives compensation from a medical device company or pharmaceutical company. “It’s not up to the physician to decide whether he/she has a conflict of interest; that decision should be left up to the patient.”, Consumer Advocate of the Year, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, 2017
- The Best Lawyers in America
- Outstanding Trial Advocate, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego
- "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, a Nationwide Legal Publication
- University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 1982
- University of California, San Diego, California, B.S. in History, 1979
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2007 - 2025
