Case Studies.
The laws which apply to bodily injury, civil rights violations and employment discrimination are intended to provide compensation for those individuals who have suffered injuries due to the wrongful conduct of other individuals or entities.
For decades, Mr. Haas has helped injured people get compensation for their harms and losses which can include the cost of medical care, past and future loss of earnings and emotional and physical suffering, among others.
Haas represents victims of:
• medical malpractice,
• motor vehicle accidents,
• industrial accidents,
• civil rights violations, and
• employment discrimination.
Read more about some of the cases Mr. Haas has won for this clients below.
Failure to Diagnose Prostate Cancer
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Bodily Injury
Brian Wraxall and Joan Wraxall v. Family Doctor Medical Group et al
Contra Costa County Superior Court
Plaintiff Brian Wraxall, a nationally recognized forensic DNA expert, had a routine Prostate Specific Antigen(PSA) test ordered by his personal physician, Eric Swann, MD, an employee and shareholder of Family Doctors Medical Group, Inc. Despite an elevated PSA, Dr. Swann failed to diagnose and treat prostate cancer. Plaintiff believed his PSA was normal. During the litigation, it became apparent that Dr. Swann had never seen the PSA result, purportedly because it had not been delivered to him by staff. Dr. Swann had not initialed the result, as required.
Plaintiffs brought various claims including one for direct negligence against Family Doctor Medical Group arising from its failure to properly educate staff and enforce policies designed to insure that blood tests would not be lost and to insist that Dr. Swann meet minimum standards.
The direct negligence claim was crucial to the ultimate resolution of this case. Relying on Lathrop v. Healthcare Partners Medical Group, plaintiffs argued that because Family Doctor Medical Group was unlicensed, it was not entitled to the protection of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act(MICRA) for the consequences of its direct negligence. Under MICRA, a claim for general damages is limited to $250,000 Without the benefit of MICRA, there is no limitation.
The Lathrop case, which had been tried in San Francisco by plaintiffs' counsel, had resulted in a $2.7 million verdict. One of the defendants appealed. The Court of Appeal held that an unlicensed medical group is not a healthcare provider under MICRA and, to the extent that an unlicensed medical group is found directly liable for plaintiff's injuries, MICRA does not apply.
Resolution: In November 2009, the case was mediated with Daniel J. Kelly, Esq. and resolved for a confidential sum.
Misdiagnosis of a Brain Aneurysm
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Bodily Injury, Brain/Head Injury
Timothy Justice v. Humana Hospital
Alaska Superior Court, Anchorage Alaska
Timothy Justice suffered a brain aneurysm which was misdiagnosed at Humana Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska and later at the USC Medical Center in Los Angeles. Before a lawsuit was filed, USC Medical Center settled the case in California, but the Alaska defendants decided to go to trial. After a lengthy, contentious trial and extended deliberation, the jury returned a record verdict for Mr. Justice. The $1.3 million verdict was reported at the time to be the largest medical malpractice verdict in the history of Alaska.
Prior to this case, Alaska juries had returned few verdicts for victims of medical malpractice. After the Alaska trial court entered judgment for nearly $1.9 million, the litigation was concluded resulting in a global settlement of $2.3 million.
Resolution: $2.3 Million
Articles Related to this Case:
Verdict Report
Man Awarded $1 Million
Online Literature Search Pivotal in Effective Cross Examination During Malpractice Trial
Failure to Diagnose Brain Injury
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Bodily Injury, Brain/Head Injury
Michael Cathey, DVM v. Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society
Alaska Superior Court-Anchorage
After completing an emergency surgery on an injured canine in Kodiak, Alaska, Dr. Cathey fell, fracturing his skull. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital operated by Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society. Dr. Cathey's personal physician, Robert Johnson, MD, issued orders to the hospital personnel without examining plaintiff. Despite the signs and symptoms of an evolving epidural hematoma, the diagnosis was missed. It was not until several hours later, when Dr. Cathey's condition deteriorated, that a brain injury was considered and that a medical evacuation was ordered.
In Anchorage, Dr. Cathey was taken to surgery for an evacuation of an epidural hematoma. Dr. Cathey recovered but was left with a significant cognitive disability.
Because there was a pivotal issue concerning causation, plaintiff retained the services of noted British neurosurgeon, A. David Mendelow, from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Dr. Mendelow had recently completed studies of the consequences of a delayed response to an epidural hematoma of the brain.
On the first day of trial, the case against Dr. Johnson was settled for his policy limit of $200,000. After several weeks of trial, while the jury deliberated its verdict, the case against Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society was settled for $1.2 million.
Resolution: $1.4 Million
Misdiagnosed Cervical Cancer
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death
Katchatag v. United States of America
United States District Court, Anchorage, Alaska
Elena Katchatag died from cervical cancer which had been misdiagnosed at a U.S. government operated medical facility. She left behind three young children in a small village in western Alaska. At the pretrial settlement conference, the attorney for the government told Haas that "a dead native was worth no more than $300,000."
Unconvinced, angry and inspired, Mr. Haas flew to Nome, Alaska where he transferred to a smaller plane, fitted with skis, for the flight to Shaktoolik. After landing on an icy runway below a dark winter sky, he was met by villagers with a dog sled pulled by a snowmobile for the trip into town to meet Mrs. Katchatag's family.
Haas was introduced to many of the 180 or so inhabitants of the town and learned about Mrs. Katchatag and the Alaska Native culture. The villagers told him about whaling in small boats and how they preserved salmon to get through the long, cold winter months. By day's end, Haas was determined to prove the government trial attorney's disrespectful statement incorrect.
When the villagers arrived in federal court in colorful native dress to testify about Mrs. Katchatag, the court had no choice but to listen. And when the government attorney called for a small sum, the judge rejected it and awarded over $1 million to the Katchatag family.
Resolution: $1 Million
Articles Related to this Case:
Dead Woman's Kin Awarded $1 Million
Cervical Cancer: The Million-Dollar Message
Failure to Diagnose Cervical Cancer
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Bodily Injury
Doe Plaintiff and Roe Healthcare Providers
The plaintiff visited various healthcare providers with signs and symptoms indicating that she had cancer of her cervix. Although a PAP test was administered and reported by the laboratory as abnormal, the document was misplaced.
As a result of the malpractice in connection with managing the clinical presentation as well as the laboratory result, the providers failed to follow up and the diagnosis of cancer was missed. Undetected, the cancer spread out of the plaintiff's cervix and was incurable at the time of trial.
This case settled shortly before trial for $1.1 million.
Resolution: $1.1 Million
Misdiagnosed Breast Cancer
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Bodily Injury
Lathrop v. Healthcare Partners Medical Group
San Francisco Superior Court
Terry Lathrop, who had a misdiagnosed breast cancer, and her husband were awarded nearly $2.7 million by a San Francisco jury. The Lathrop case is unusual because the trial court refused to apply the $250,000 cap to the defendant upon finding that it was not a licensed healthcare provider.
Under the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), non-economic damages caused by licensed health care providers are limited to $250,000. In the Lathrop case, the trial court determined that Healthcare Partners was not a licensed health care provider and refused to reduce the verdict.
After the court's decision, the other defendants settled. Healthcare Partners appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeals. For the first time, the Court of Appeals held that an unlicensed medical group is not a health care provider under MICRA and, to the extent that an unlicensed medical group is found to be directly liable for plaintiff's injury, MICRA does not apply.
Resolution: Confidential
Articles Related to this Case:
Couple Awarded $2.7M for Failure to Diagnose Cancer
Claims Outside of MICRA Against Medical Groups in Light of Lathrop v. Healthcare Partners
Does Tort Reform Protect Groups, Too?
Failure to Diagnose Thyroid Cancer
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Bodily Injury
Doe Plaintiff v. Roe Medical Providers
The plaintiff visited her personal physician, who worked for a medical clinic, with signs and symptoms that were consistent with thyroid cancer. Before the doctor could work up the patient's case or advise the plaintiff of a potential diagnosis, the clinic terminated the plaintiff as a patient of the group.
Notably, the clinic's office manager had determined that there was an outstanding bill and, without first consulting with either the plaintiff or the physician, summarily notified the plaintiff that she had been terminated as a patient. After protesting the action, the plaintiff was lost to follow up. Ultimately, a biopsy was performed but misread. As a result, the cancer spread outside of the thyroid and was incurable.
Haas and his co-counsel, Cliff Weingus, argued that because the office manager was not a licensed health care provider, and her conduct had caused the injury, the $250,000 limit on non-economic damages set forth in the Medical Injury Compensation Refore Act (MICRA) did not apply. The case was settled before trial for $1.3 million.
Resolution: $1.3 Million
Improperly Applied Leg Ulcer Treatment
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Bodily Injury
Glassman v. The Regents of the University of California; Bischoff's Medical Supplies
San Francisco Superior Court
The plaintiff, an 86 year old woman, was being treated for skin ulcerations on her legs due to inadequate blood supply. She was prescribed compression stockings by the UCSF dermatology clinic, which was the wrong treatment for her circulation problem. The plaintiff took the compression stockings to Bischoff's Medical Supplies, where a store employee manager put the compression stockings on her legs. As a result, the plaintiff suffered a severe decrease in the blood supply to her legs causing irreversible damage and underwent multiple surgeries to avoid amputations.
UCSF claimed that the plaintiff had misunderstood the prescription and that Bischoff's should have known not to put the compression stockings on her legs. The case settled shortly before plaintiff's death for a total of $1.4 million, with Bischoff's and UCSF each contributing $700,000.
Resolution: $1.4 Million
Articles Related to this Case:
Store Manager Improperly Applied Leg Ulcer Treatment
Wrongful Life
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Bodily Injury
Doe Plaintiffs v. Roe Defendants
After becoming pregnant, a mother initially decided to terminate her pregnancy, but later changed her mind and presented for medical care including a rubella test. Although the result of the rubella test indicated that the mother might have been exposed to rubella during her first trimester, the information was not given to her and no additional tests were ordered. She continued on with the pregnancy and gave birth to a disabled child.
This case was hotly contested due, in part, to the nature of the claim and also on account of the uncertainty of the medical science relating to issues of both liability and causation. Although there was no offer to settle it before trial, case was sent out to trial and thereafter resolved for a complex structured settlement with a present value of $1.2 million.
Resolution: $1.2 Million
Failure to Diagnose and Treat Necrotizing Fasciitis
Practice Area: Medical Malpractice, Bodily Injury
Doe v. Roe Hospital
The plaintiff underwent what was seemingly an uneventful hysterectomy operation. However she was slow to recover and during her post operative course, the plaintiff manifested signs and symptoms that were consistent with the development of necrotizing fasciitis. Despite the progression of these symptoms, the plaintiff was misdiagnosed.
As a consequence of the misdiagnosis, the necrotizing fasciitis(also referred to as flesh eating bacteria) spread to other parts of the body. Ultimately, a diagnosis was made and proper treatment was instituted but not before plaintiff suffered disfiguring cosmetic injury and disability. This case was settled before trial for $1 million.
Resolution: $1 Million
Wrongful Death from Misdiagnosis of Strep Throat
Practice Area: Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice
Doe v. Roes Corporate Defendants
A man went to an urgent care facility complaining of a sore throat. After being misdiagnosed by a physician's assistant, who failed to order a simple test for strep throat, the man died after his strep throat developed into Scarlet Fever. There was no doctor present to supervise the physician's assistant who was employed by the medical group staffing the clinic.
The urgent care facility was owned by a subsidiary of a major healthcare corporation. Haas and his co-counsel, Cliff Weingus, argued that the corporate subsidiary and the medical group were directly liable for the death because they approved the decision to operate the urgent care facility without a doctor being present. They further argued that because the medical group and corporate subsidiary were not licensed health care providers the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) did not apply.
At trial, the defendants filed numerous pre-trial motions before the trial court attempting to obtain a ruling that MICRA applied to this case. They wanted MICRA to apply so that, among other things, noneconomic losses would be limited to $250,000. Haas and Weingus argued that, since the defendants were unlicensed and directly liable, the opinion in one of their previous cases entitled Lathrop v. Healthcare Partners Medical Group would not allow for the application of MICRA. After the court deferred ruling on the MICRA issue, the defendants sought and obtained an intra-trial mediation at which the case was settled for $2 Million.
Resolution: $2 Million
Negligent Fire Fighting
Practice Area: Bodily Injury/Property Damage
Bykers, Inc. v. Municipality of Anchorage
Alaska Superior Court-Anchorage
A small fire broke out in a clothing store owned and operated by Bykers, Inc in downtown Anchorage. The Anchorage Fire Department responded promptly to extinguish it. However, during the salvage and overhaul, arson inspectors moved smoldering material away from the firefighters and into another area of the building. Inexplicably, the inspectors abruptly departed without first overhauling the embers.
After smoldering for several hours, the fire rekindled. Although a report of the second fire was received by the Anchorage Fire Department, there was a long delay in responding to the rekindled fire. By the time the firefighters arrived, the building was engulfed in flames which could be seen from blocks away. After the building and its contents were destroyed, there was an effort to cover up the misconduct which included a misplaced dispatch log and an attempt to implicate the owners of Bykers, Inc.
The plaintiff filed suit for negligent inspection and negligent firefighting. The Municipality of Anchorage claimed immunity. The court granted summary judgment as to the negligent inspection but permitted the negligent firefighting claim to proceed to jury trial.
Shortly before trial, the cases were settled for $1.6 million of which $400,000 was paid by the Alaska Insurance Guaranty Association due to the insolvency of Integrity Insurance Company, defendant's excess carrier. In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Chief Larry Langston reported the settlement as the largest in the history of the department.
Resolution: $1.6 Million
Articles Related to this Case:
1985 Fire Nets $1.5 Million City Settles Claim
Auto Accident Wrongful Death
Practice Area: Motor Vehicle Accident, Bodily Injury, Wrongful Death
Jarvinen v. Gilliam
San Francisco County Superior Court
A husband and wife were traveling north on Highway 1, near Gualala, California for a Valentine's Day getaway when their vehicle was hit head-on by defendant Gilliam, a drunk driver whose vehicle had crossed the center line. The wife was killed and the husband injured. Gilliam, who was traveling home from a business meeting, was arrested after the accident with a blood alcohol level of 0.23 percent, nearly three times the legal limit.
The deceased wife had been employed as a hospital radiology technician supervisor. She was very active both in her church and community. She was survived by her husband and four adult children, all of whom brought suit against Gilliam and his employer.
Gilliam's insurance policy only provided a maximum of $200,000 in coverage for this accident. However, his employer had insurance policies with coverage totaling $4 million. The plaintiffs contended that the employer's insurance was available to compensate the family because the accident happened while Gilliam was within the course and scope of his employment. The employer denied that Gilliam was within the course of his employment because he was going home at the time of the accident and was intoxicated.
Shortly before trial, and after the court concluded that the jury would determine whether Gilliam was in the course of his employment, the case settled for cash and periodic payments having a present value of $4 million.
Resolution: $4 Million
Articles Related to this Case:
Wife dead, husband injured after crash with drunk driver
Small Business Owner and State Liquor Enforcement Officer Take on the Mob
Practice Area: Civil Rights
Anderson v. Janovich
United States District Court-Seattle, Washington
Journey v. Janovich
United States District Court-Seattle, Washington
Chase v. Janovich
United States District Court-Seattle Washington
Norm Anderson, owner of the Back Forty Tavern, contacted Haas complaining of harassment by the local Pierce County law enforcement. As it turns out, Anderson had refused to sell the tavern to the Carbone Mob family who wanted the business for its criminal enterprise. After several intimidating visits by the local Sheriff and the fire inspector, the crime family arranged for an arsonist to torch the tavern.
Haas assembled a team of lawyers willing to take on the widespread corruption in Pierce County. By the time the case went to trial in federal court in Seattle, the lawyers represented several tavern owners who had also been victimized as well as a Washington State Liquor Enforcement Officer named Mel Journey and his family.
A contract had been put on Journey's life because he refused to cooperate with the crime organization. Journey was gunned down while backing out of his driveway while his wife and daughter looked on. Shot multiple times, Journey survived the ordeal and testified at the trial.
The trial court consolidated the liability issues from the cases for trial but kept the damages separate. After a two month trial in the liability phase, the jury returned verdicts in favor of all plaintiffs. The trial continued in the damage phase of the Anderson case and the jury returned a verdict of $1.9 Million. Pursuant to its authority under the RICO statute, the trial court increased the amount to $3 Million and was prepared to issue a substantial award for attorney fees and costs had the case not settled. Meanwhile, the trial proceeded in the damage phase of the Journey case. But before the jury could return its verdict, the defendants sought an intra-trial mediation. During a weekend marathon mediation, a global settlement was reached in all cases. The settlements are confidential.
Resolution: Confidential
Articles Related to this Case:
Back Forty Legal Fight "Worth It" in the End
Jim Jones and the People’s Temple
Practice Area: Civil Rights
Stoen vs. Stoen
San Francisco Superior Court and Jonestown, Guyana, SA
Mr. Haas became involved in what began as a child custody fight with Jim Jones and the People's Temple. The case took him on two occasions to Jonestown in Guyana where he sought to gain custody of a small boy and to help provide safe passage for those who wanted away from the widespread abuse going on in the Guyanese jungle compound.
Despite repeated warnings to Congress and the Guyanese government, including a sworn affidavit obtained from a People's Temple defector, Deborah Blakey, which would prove to be a blue print for the Jonestown Massacre, the Guyanese authorities chained the courtroom doors shut and the United States did nothing.
It was during a visit to Jonestown that Mr. Haas was accused of attempting to assassinate Jones and briefly detained. Mr. Haas had been excluded by Jones from joining Congressman Leo Ryan on the fateful trip in 1978 when the congressman and his colleagues were shot and killed.
Fortunately, his prior efforts had helped many People's Temple members to escape before the murders. After the murders in Jonestown, Mr. Haas provided testimony before the United States Congressional Committee investigating the incident and granted extensive interviews to the national media.
Related Articles and Books:
Temple Leader Accused in Custody Case - News
Congressional Investigation
Affadavit of Deborah Layton Blakey re the Threat and Possibility of Mass Suicide by Members of the People's Temple (Original)
Book: SuicideCult - The Inside Story of the Peoples Temple Sect and the Massacre in Guyana
Book: Raven - The Untold Story of The Rev. Jim Jones
Doe Employee vs. ABC Corporation
Practice Area: Wrongful Termination of Employment
The plaintiff was hired to manage some of the defendant's business interests in California. In exchange for relocating, the plaintiff was orally promised an equity position in the company in the form of stock options in addition to a written contract of employment. During the term of employment, the plaintiff was terminated. There were claims for wrongful termination and to enforce the promise of stock options, among others.
The matter was arbitrated over a period of several weeks during which the arbitrator issued key decisions. Thereafter, the case settled for $2.5 million.
Resolution: $2.5 Million
Doe Employee V. Doe Employer
Practice Area: Wrongful Termination of Employment
The plaintiff was an at-will employee in California. During a reorganization within the company, the plaintiff was placed on leave due to deteriorating health. While out on leave, the company terminated the plaintiff after efforts to negotiate a severance package failed. The case settled before trial for cash and other consideration, having a total value of $1 million.
Resolution: $1 Million