Top Rated Personal Injury Attorney in Seattle, WA

Honors/Awards

• Established in 1993, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum (which includes the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum) is one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States.  Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. There are over 5000 members throughout the country.  Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members., Member, Million Dollar Advocates Forum
• Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. , Washington Super Lawyer List, Super Lawyers
• Highest rating by AVVO - 10.0

Bar/Professional Activity

• Washington State Association for Justice (WSAJ), Eagle Member
• American Association for Justice, member
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, Admitted to Practice, 2000
• U.S. District Court Western District of Washington, Admitted to Practice, 1994

Educational Background

• Graduated from Seattle University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, 1989
• Graduated from the University of Puget Sound School of Law, 1993

Verdicts/Settlements

• $7 million dollar settlement for a young child who was permanently injured on playground equipment, 2009
• $2.1 million for a young girl injured in a single car collision sustaining a severe brain injury.
• One million dollar settlement for a construction worker who was injured on the first day on the job when a large truss beam fell off of the framing because it was not secured before other beams were being placed into the framing causing serious facial fractures and brain trauma.
• $1.9 million settlement for a medical negligence wrongful death claim against Sono Bello and Dr. Marco Sobrino for the death of a 28 year old woman, Aura Javellana. Ms. Javellana died May 27, 2009 as a result of acute lidocaine toxicity from a tumescent liposuction surgery performed the day before, 2011
• One million dollar result for a man who was seriously injured, suffering extensive brain damage when he was buried under a massive, heavy fishing net due to the manufacturer's failure to properly place warnings and instructions on how to properly and safely transport the net.
• Over a half million dollar settlement by holding a construction company responsible for the wrongful death of the only child (a son) of an immigrant family. Although the son was an adult, and Washington law limits damages for the wrongful death of a child over the age of 18, she was able to prove the parents were substantially financially dependant upon their son for support at the time of his death. This allowed the case to be settled and allowed the parents to obtain damages for parental grief, for the loss of their son's companionship, and for the destruction of the parent-child relationship.

Scholarly Lectures/Writings

• Teaching, Deposition Skills, National Institute for Trial Advocacy at Seattle University School of Law, Teacher, Deposition Skills, 2015
• Speaker, WSAJ New Member Committee Seminar, Winning Your Case and Staying on Budget, ‘Up and Running: What You Can and Can’t Live Without When Preparing for Trial’, March 2014, Speaker, Up and Running: What You Can and Can’t Live Without When Preparing for Trial, 2014
• Medical negligence in the "Office-Based Surgery Center" setting, Author, Medical negligence in the "Office-Based Surgery Center" setting leads to death of 28-year-old woman, WSAJ Trial News, 2011
• Speaker, National Business Institute CLE How to Successfully Resolve Automobile Injury Cases, Seattle, August 2008, Speaker, How to Successfully Resolve Automobile Injury Cases, 2008
• Speaker, WSAJ Legal Education Seminar, Nuts and Bolts of Wrongful Death Claims, March 2012, Speaker, Nuts and Bolts of Wrongful Death Claims, 2012