Over $200,000,000 In Client Compensation

Shlesinger & deVilleneuve Attorneys has been fighting for the rights of Oregonians and protecting their welfare in injury cases for decades. During that time, we have tried, arbitrated and settled thousands of cases and secured well over $200,000,000 in compensation for our clients. Below is a sampling of our previous and more recent cases and the results we obtained for our clients:

PICK UP VS. MOTORCYCLE – SETTLEMENT – $6,000,000
Our client was riding his motorcycle when the pickup in front of him made an illegal U-turn causing the two vehicles to crash. Our client sustained multiple injuries including a traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures to several areas of his body, partial amputation to his foot and several other wounds. His treatment was extensive requiring multiple surgeries and prolonged therapy. Unfortunately, some of his injuries became permanent preventing him from being able to return to work. This was a complicated case with several legal issues to be carefully reconciled and multiple experts to ensure all areas were thoroughly addressed. After more than two years our litigation team was able to secure a $6,000,000 settlement for our client.

HEAD ON CRASH WITH SEMI – JURY VERDICT – $2,730,000
Our client was driving his pickup truck on an icy highway near Klamath Falls when struck head-on by a semi-truck driving the opposite direction. Another semi-truck came upon the scene and due to the icy roads was unable to stop and struck the rear of our client’s vehicle. Client suffered facial and leg fractures. Client had multiple surgeries including the amputation of his big toe. Client was unable to return to his Military Reserve responsibilities and unable to work for over a year. The insurance company for the first semi claimed that our client crossed over the center line. We filed suit. We entered into a Mary-Carter agreement with the insurance company for the second semi. Multiple expert witnesses, accident reconstructionists, biomechanical experts, and doctors testified concerning speed, icy roads, and damage causation between the two impacts. The trial lasted 2 weeks. During jury deliberations, defendant insurance company number one offered one million dollars to settle, which was above their policy limits. The offer was rejected, and the jury returned a verdict of $2.73 million dollars and allocated defendant number one to be 99% liable, and defendant number 2 to be 1% liable.

HEAD ON CRASH – WRONGFUL DEATH – $1,695,000
Our clients were a couple returning home from a shopping in Grants Pass Oregon when a vehicle traveling the opposite direction crossed the center line and struck them head on. The wife was killed upon impact and the husband suffered multiple injuries resulting in over a hundred thousand dollars in medical bills. The driver that crossed the center line was killed in the accident. Through diligent investigation we learned that the vehicle he was operating was a rental vehicle. Based on evidence at the scene of the accident, we were quickly able to secure a policy limit offer from his personal car insurance. However, we also discovered that the rental car was rented with a company credit card. We made a claim to the defendant’s employer, a global software development corporation, who subsequently denied that the driver was on the job at the time of the accident. We knew this would be a fight. Our team was determined not to leave any stone unturned. We retrieved the driver’s lap top that was in the vehicle at the time of the accident, obtained 5 years of business expense reports that the driver would submit monthly to his employer, and we took multiple depositions from coworkers around the country and in other countries. The employer resisted in providing many documents and motions to compel were pursued and orders to compel were obtained. We reviewed thousands of pages of records and hundreds of emails between the deceased driver and his coworkers. We were able to determine from these records that defendant driver had a routine where he would drive to the Medford Airport from his home and he would fly to various customers to provide software services. Because he had died, we were not able to depose him. We were sure that he was likely in route to the airport for work purposes, but we were being stoned walled by the corporation and the airlines concerning any scheduled airplane flights that defendant was driving to at the Medford Airport. After further diligence and motions to compel, we were able to obtain the reservations for the flight that defendant had scheduled. The timing of his drive would have brought him to the airport at the time of the ticket. We were also able to establish that defendant driver maintained a substantial part of his employment was performed at his home office and therefore we could argue that he was traveling between work office sites. Shortly after receiving and presenting all the patterns of work of the driver, his airline ticket, and his emails, the defendant corporation entered into mediation where the case successfully settled for $1.695 million dollars.

WRONGFUL DEATH – CHILD – SETTLEMENT – $1,400,000
The flat-bed trailer of a semi swung across opposing lane on a sweeping turn near Grants Pass, Oregon. The trailer collided with a vehicle with 3 occupants. A two year old child was killed. The others in the vehicle suffered minor injuries. Our investigation revealed that a heavy duty brace on the flat-bed trailer had not been properly maintained and as a result broke and led to the collision. The defense argued that the child was not restrained in a child seat at the time of the collision. The case settled for $1.4 million dollars.

PRODUCT LIABLITY: JUDGMENT – $1,001,987.17
We sued seller of a dangerously defective whip cream dispenser. Our client was injured when the product exploded while being used in the normal course. Our client sustained serious injuries including a traumatic brain injury with crushed skull, hematoma and blood loss. We successfully prosecuted the claim and obtained a court judgment against the seller for $1,001,987.17.

PASSANGER IN CAR – SETTLEMENT -$1,000,000
Our client, a young man in his twenties, was a passenger in a car that was struck by the at fault driver. This was a hard impact crash resulting in our client sustaining numerous injuries including multiple fractures, traumatic brain injury, and coma. After extensive litigation we were able to prove to the insurance company of the at-fault driver that they were responsible for their insured’s action and we obtained the maximum limits of $1,000,000.

INTERSECTION AUTO ACCIDENT – SETTLEMENT – $940,000
Our clients were a mother and son. Son was the driver of the vehicle that was struck in an intersection on a country road by the defendant driving a large pickup. Mother sustained serious injuries including spinal fracture, rotator cuff tear, pulmonary embolism and meniscal tear. Son also sustained multiple injuries including rib fractures, labral tear of the right shoulder requiring surgical repair, disk herniation, multiple lacerations and abrasions. The insurance company for the at-fault driver refused to accept liability or make any settlement offers. Our team wasted no time in filing a lawsuit, engaged in extensive document discovery and multiple depositions. We also lined up our experts to prove liability completely rested with the other driver. Just before trial, we participated in a settlement with the judge and were able to settle the cases for a total of $940,000.

AUTO VS PEDESTRIAN – SETTLEMENT- $850,000
Our client was a fourteen-year old teenager who was legally crossing a main street after activating the flashing yellow lights at the designated cross walk. The at fault driver failed to stop and struck our client flinging him several feet in the air before landing violently on the roadway. Our client suffered a traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures, abrasions, contusion and road rash. After months of treatment and therapy he was able to recover from most of his injuries with some lingering residuals. After a two-year fight, we were able to secure a settlement for him in the sum of $850,000.

SEMI VS PEDESTRIAN – SETTLEMENT -$675,000
Our client was on job as a parking lot security attendant. She was inspecting the tags in the rear of one semi-trailer when another truck came up behind her and failed to come to a complete stop allowing his truck to roll forward and strike our client pinning her between the two trucks. As a result, our client sustained multiple injuries including a laceration to her liver, rib fractures, pelvic fracture, and multiple fractures to her right leg. Prior to filing a lawsuit, the other insurance company requested a mediation where we were able to successfully settle the claim for $675,000.

SNOW/ICE LOSS CONTROL – MULTIPLE SETTLEMENTS -$600,000
We represented a client who was a passenger in her family’s car, which at time of the accident was driven by husband. Husband lost control in snow and ice on a mountain pass car came to a stop. After client and her husband got out of their car, another car crashed into them, trapping our client between her car and the guard rail. She sustained significant injuries resulting in her leg being amputated. Prior to retaining our firm, client had settled with the at-fault driver’s insurance for $25,000. After an exhaustive review of all her options we were able to negotiate a settlement of the maximum $300,000 policy limits on her underinsurance liability coverage. On top of that we were able to negotiate with her husband’s liability coverage for the maximum limits of another $300,000.

DEER ON FREEWAY, REAR-END BY SEMI – $518,000
Our client was northbound in the I-5. She observed a deer crossing the freeway and stopping in her lane. As she approached the deer she quickly decelerated to avoid crashing into the deer. The deer continued to cross and our client immediately accelerated to return to freeway speed. The driver of a semi was following our client too closely and in excess of posted speed limit. He struck our client’s vehicle pushing her off the freeway and into the shoulder where she came to a stop only after hitting a tree. The insurance company for the semi was uncooperative. We knew this would be a fight and immediately retained an accident reconstructionist to investigate. The expert inspected the vehicle and took extensive videos and photographs. He also secured the airbag control module from our client’s vehicle which stored important information regarding our client’s speed and distance before, during and after the accident. Utilizing this information. we were able to prove the semi driver was negligent and culpable. Our client sustained multiple injuries including fracture to her left femur, right heel and left knee. After a two-year struggle, and after drafting our complaint we were able to convince the insurance company for the semi-driver to take responsibility and settled the claim for $518,000.

SEMI VS. SEMI – SETTLEMENT -$500,000
We represented a client who was operating a semi-truck and was rear-ended by another semi-truck at a high rate of speed. The traumatic impact caused our client multiple injuries, primarily to his upper body, resulting in his needing to undergo extensive medical treatment including neck surgery. One of the challenges in this case was determining the correct defendant due to the multiple potential corporate entities having stake in it. We initially filed suit against 10 different entities and after litigation were able to resolve the claim for with the correct entity for $500,000.

FIREARM ACCESS – VERDICT – $405,045
We represented a family in a wrongful death case involving a claim that defendant negligently provided access to a firearm facilitating a suicide. The case went to trial and we won. We obtained judgment in the amount of $405,045.