Personal Injury & Tort

1st District Court of Appeal, Healthcare Law, Personal Injury & Tort

Sobalvarro v. Vibra Health Care — Hospital can be negligent for not offering paralyzed patient choice of female nursing assistant; expert testimony not required for causation

automatic / March 27, 2026

First District reverses JNOV and reinstates a $1 million negligence verdict against Kentfield Hospital for failing to offer a paralyzed stroke patient the choice of a female nursing assistant for intimate care.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Yan v. City of Diamond Bar — Prior branch falls from same species of street tree are admissible to show city’s notice of dangerous condition

automatic / March 11, 2026

Second District holds that evidence of prior branch failures from same-species street trees in the same neighborhood is admissible to prove a city's notice of a dangerous condition under Government Code section 835.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

LAOSD Asbestos Cases (Chapman v. Avon Products) — $51 million asbestos verdict against Avon affirmed; appellant’s failure to recite all evidence forfeits sufficiency challenge

automatic / March 4, 2026

Second District affirms a $51 million asbestos-talc verdict against Avon Products and holds that Avon's appellate brief forfeited its sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge by failing to fairly summarize the trial evidence.

4th District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Fisher v. Fisher — Wrongful-Death Verdict Affirmed Where Brothers’ False Police Report Caused Recovering-Alcoholic Brother’s Fatal Relapse

automatic / February 26, 2026

Fourth District affirms a $9.4 million wrongful-death judgment against two brothers who falsely reported their deceased mother missing to police, triggering a phone call to a recovering-alcoholic brother whose resulting relapse caused his death.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Nichols v. Alghannam — Late-Added Pain-Pump Doctor Could Not Be Sued After Statute of Limitations; No Elder-Abuse Conduct Pleaded

automatic / February 18, 2026

Third District affirms dismissal of malpractice and elder-abuse claims against a pain-management doctor added years after the patient's overdose death, holding the negligence claims were time-barred and the complaint did not allege elder-abuse-level conduct.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Tavares v. Zipcar — Remote Rental-Car Company Owes No Duty to Inquire Whether App-Based Renter Is Impaired at Time of Rental

automatic / January 30, 2026

Third District affirms summary judgment for Zipcar in a serious personal-injury case, holding that a remote, app-based rental car company has no duty to inquire whether a member appears impaired at the time of rental.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Matthews v. Ryan — Section 998 Settlement Offer Conditioned on Insurer Consent Was Valid; Trial Court Must Reconsider Prejudgment Interest

automatic / January 28, 2026

Second District holds a personal-injury plaintiff's pretrial settlement offer conditioned on the defendant's insurer's consent was a valid Code of Civil Procedure section 998 offer, because insurer consent is a necessary condition of any insured-defendant settlement whether stated or not.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Vallejo City Unified School District v. Superior Court — School District Statutorily Immune for Off-Campus Student Suicide, but Not for On-Campus Pre-Death Harm

automatic / January 27, 2026

First District grants writ relief in part, holding the school district is immune under Education Code section 44808 for the death damages tied to a student's off-campus suicide during winter break, but allowing the parents' survival claim for on-campus harm to proceed.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Hu v. XPO Logistics, LLC — Freight Broker Owes No Duty of Care to Carrier’s Employee Injured in Truck Crash

automatic / January 16, 2026

Second District affirms summary judgment for freight broker XPO Logistics in a personal-injury suit by an injured trucker employed by the carrier XPO had hired, holding the broker did not actually exercise control over the transportation and thus owed no duty of care to the carrier's employee.