O'Reilly Collins & Danko Wins $3 Million Law Suit for Hayward Resident.

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 1999--A Hayward jury has awarded a $3 million judgement to Bill Hall, 61, in a verdict against the Oakland-based construction giant, RGW Construction, Inc.

The suit arose from a July 30, 1997, accident at a freeway modification site at the intersection of Highways 680 and 237 in the South Bay. Hall, a long-time Hayward resident, was represented by the O'Reilly, Collins & Danko law firm.

Hall, an independent truck operator, had been hired to haul used 20 foot I-beams to the RGW storage yard. Victor Mitre, the RGW loader, placed seven beams on Hall's truck and then asked him to back the truck to another loading site. Unknown to Hall was that the last one-ton I-Beam had been placed on the edge of the support and was slowly shifting off the truck. As Hall walked by, the beam fell off the truck, crushing his legs.

After several surgeries, Hall lost his left leg above the knee and part of his right foot. He is unable to walk at the present time, even with an artificial leg. His medical bills exceeded $230,000 and it is expected that it will take another $800,000 to cover future bills. As an independent contractor, he had no workers' compensation insurance.

The jury heard evidence for two weeks in Department 37 of the Alameda County Superior Court presided over by Judge Ronald Sabraw before returning a total verdict of $4.1 million against RGW with a reduction of 25% for Hall's negligence.

The jury was not told that RGW's insurer, Travelers, had only offered $1.2 million to settle the case and had refused to offer any further amount in repeated settlement conferences.

"The jury showed a great deal of fairness and thought in reaching the verdict, much more than the insurer," according to Terry O'Reilly, who tried the case with partner Jim Collins. "It was a pity that Bill Hall had to suffer through the two week trial in the face of the insurer's meanness."

O'Reilly, Collins & Danko, located at 2500 Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, specializes in the practice of catastrophic personal injury law and is noted for its substantial trial verdicts against negligent entities.