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Kevin Coluccio's Case Archive
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Auto Product Defect, Medical Negligence
Doe v. Auto Manufacturer & Medical Facility
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s counsel: Peter O’Neil, Kevin Coluccio, Paul
W. Whelan
A Washington woman was severely burned when her truck’s gas tank
caught fire after it was struck in a collision. The woman in the other
vehicle had just checked out of a major medical facility while still
impaired by medications. The legal team brought the product liability
case against the truck manufacturer and got a good settlement. Then
they turned their attention to the medical facility and got the facility’s
expert to admit the driver of the other car was too intoxicated from
medications to drive safely.
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Aviation Incident
Doe
Estate v. Tour Corporations
Confidential settlement
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Keith L. Kessler, Brad J. Moore, Kevin
Coluccio
Ms.
Doe taught her students about the Mayan ruins of the Yucatan Peninsula
but had never seen them firsthand. Aboard a Caribbean cruise she signed
up for a shore excursion flight to Chichen Itza. The return flight from
the ruins lifted off and reached 600 feet when one of the twin turbo
engines failed, and the plane rapidly plummeted to a field below. All
on board, including Ms. Doe, died in the crash. Mexican authorities
found pilot negligence in failing to properly respond to engine failure.
Our legal team also charged the tour company for its negligence in choosing
an unsafe airline, and the cruise line for negligence in assessing the
tour company’s operation. The cruise line, tour company and charter
airline all contributed to the settlement.
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Negligence – Failure to Supervise
Schultz and Underdahl v. State of Washington
$8.8 million settlement
Plaintiffs’ counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Peter O’Neil, Kevin
Coluccio
Level 3 sex offender Gary Wayne Puckett murdered a woman on a jogging
trail and attacked another woman halfway across the country –
all while violating his parole conditions. Representing the plaintiffs,
Paul showed that the Department of Corrections was negligent in supervising
this dangerous parolee.
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Injuries at Sea
Settlements and verdicts in recent years:
$675,000 for a seaman whose arm was crushed by a boom on a vessel
$675,000 on behalf of the estate of a seaman who was killed when he
fell off a crab vessel in Alaska
$400,000 to a longshoreman who broke his hip during mooring operations
on a vessel
$885,000 for two brothers who were shipwrecked in the Bering Sea
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Medical Negligence
Marvin v. Hospital
$8.5 million settlement
Plaintiff’s counsel: Paul W. Whelan, Kevin Coluccio, Reed Schifferman
When a skilled carpenter went to the hospital for shoulder surgery,
his anesthesia was mishandled. He experienced serious brain injury and
had difficulty getting around when he finally went home after a 20-day
hospital stay. Settlement was made with the hospital and the physician.
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Motorcycle Collision
Chris Peck v. King County
$1 million settlement
Plaintiff’s counsel: Paul L. Stritmatter, Michael E. Withey, Kevin
Coluccio, Garth L. Jones
Chris Peck, an active 32-year-old, was riding a motorcycle when he was
struck and injured by a King County Sheriff’s officer. The County
conceded responsibility for the accident. However, it denied liability
for the chronic inflammatory problems Chris had in his limbs following
an unusual reaction to the tetanus shot. The County appealed and Chris’
legal team successfully settled the case on Chris’ behalf.
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Premises Liability
Carpenter v. North Thurston School District
$2 million settlement
Plaintiff’s counsel: Paul L. Stritmatter, Kevin Coluccio
A student doing chin ups on a soccer goal received a significant brain
injury when the goal structure fell on him. Our legal team represented
the student athlete against the soccer goal manufacturer and the school
district for defects in the goal structure.
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Product Liability
Smith, et. al. v. Behr Process Corporation
$67.5 million class action verdict
Plaintiffs’ counsel: Paul L. Stritmatter, Michael E. Withey, Kevin
Coluccio
Paul learned that several Western Washington homeowners and business
people had mildew on their exterior wood walls after using a Behr clear
coating, a product the manufacturer claimed would prevent mildew growth.
Paul pulled together the class-action case on behalf of nine plaintiffs,
and Behr was charged with breach of warranty and Consumer Protection
Act violations. The initial case grew to national status, and in an
October 2002 settlement, Behr agreed to compensate consumers more than
$107 million. In addition, some 5,000 Western Washington homeowners
shared an additional $55 million to repair their mildew-damaged homes.
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Highway Design
Triol,
et. al. v. State of Washington and Discount Tire
$1.65 million partial summary judgment
Plaintiff’s co-counsel: Keith L. Kessler, Kevin Coluccio
Three male students were passengers in a Ford Bronco when it lost the
right rear wheel and spun into a cable guard rail, snagged a guard rail
post and flipped onto its top. Our legal team contended that the tires
were installed with improper wheel bearings, causing the wheel to break
off. We also showed that the State’s guard rail of flexible cable
and “strong posts” no longer met state or national standards
and actually created a hazard for motorists. Only after our clients’
collision did the state replace the cable guard rails with safer alternatives.
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