$55 Million Jury Verdict for Four Year Old Catastrophically Injured by A Government Worker

2007 – GUTIERREZ v. U.S. GOVERNMENT

Leilani Gutierrez was four years old when she was involved in a major car crash that changed her life forever.

At a fateful intersection, with Leilani securely in her carseat, Leilani and her mother were violently struck by another vehicle which caused their car to spin out of control and slam against a utility pole. The pole then fell and crushed their car.

Although Leilani and her mother both survived the crash, Leilani was rendered a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down, and her mother suffered from PTSD.

Aitken Aitken Cohn fought on behalf of Leilani and her mother as they went up against the U.S. Government, proving the defendant driver (who ran the red light) was in the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident, achieving the largest Federal Tort Claims Act personal injury verdict in U.S. history.

RESULT: After five years of litigation, Aitken Aitken Cohn secured a verdict of over $55 million.