Hon. David W. Abbott, Ret.

Wrongful Term & Discrimination

• He has extensive experience handling various employment disputes, including constructive wrongful termination, defamation, retaliation, harassment, racial discrimination, failure to provide reasonable accommodations, whistleblower cases, wage and hour disputes, and other intricate employment matters.

Government Liability

• He was involved in government liability disputes, including cases involving hazardous public property conditions, negligent operation of emergency vehicles, and other related matters.

Medical Malpractice

• Failure to timely diagnose, assess, and treat a malignant bladder lesion, resulting in a terminal diagnosis of a middle-aged woman. The settlement included the potential claim for wrongful death.
• Medical malpractice alleging negligent placement of a spinal stimulator after an unsuccessful laminectomy/spinal fusion surgery.
• He handled many cases involving medical negligence, including matters involving failure to diagnose, mismanagement of psychiatric care, obstetric care, and more.

Professional Malpractice Legal

• Judge Abbott was involved in legal malpractice cases, including fraud arising from non-compliance with California Tort Claims Act, claims related to conservatorship creation, and matters involving judgment enforcement.

Real Property

• Judge Abbott presided and was involved in disputes involving homeowners' associations (HOAs) as well as commercial lease-related cases.

Catastrophic Injury

• Plaintiff was a passenger in his own vehicle, teaching the juvenile driver to do reckless maneuvers, resulting in a loss of control and side impact with a utility power pole located on a sidewalk. Plaintiff's theory was a dangerous condition of public property, claiming the pole was too close to the curb. The public entity asserted design immunity and negligence of the driver as the sole cause of injury. Injuries included traumatic brain injury, subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage, with residual cognitive deficits and left hemiplegia. Demand was in the low seven-figure range; zero offer with a motion for summary judgment pending.

General Negligence

• A dog bite injury to the plaintiff's right [major] hand, with residual degenerative changes to the medial metacarpal joint in the index finger. Plaintiff was the sole source of income for her family and worked on a commission-only basis. Keyboarding was a critical element of her job. Degenerative changes to the injured joint caused persistent pain with normal work activity. Liability was admitted. Settlement in the six-figure range was reached.

Personal Injury

• Trip and fall causing spinal and shoulder injuries and multiple surgeries. Future economic damages for income loss and medical expenses were not claimed. Workers' compensation complaint in intervention remains unresolved. The total settlement was in the mid-six-figure range.
• Plaintiffs were severely injured in a construction electrocution incident, resulting in severe burns, and loss of limbs and digits. One plaintiff was deemed negligent in the occurrence of the incident. The primary contractor defendant tendered policy limits in the seven-figure range and the parties agreed to mediate the division of the settlement proceeds.

PI Auto

• The plaintiff was struck while crossing a private road by a delivery van attempting to enter a two-lane through a roadway. Plaintiff suffered spinal injuries to her neck and low back resulting in two fusion surgeries and the probability of future fusion at adjacent levels.
• Rear-end MVA with claimed past medical expenses and future expenses, including spinal surgery. Much of the specials, including surgery, had been subject of liens. Total settlement, including loss of consortium, was in the seven-figure range.
• Traumatic brain injury and multiple internal injuries/fractures to a teenage girl, resulting from a high-speed rear-end collision. The defendant driver was under the influence of marijuana and a benzodiazepine drug. Plaintiff's father was driving and suffered less severe injuries, which included a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress.
• Three-vehicle, rear-end collision involving heavy-duty trucks. Plaintiff claimed cervical and lumbar spinal injuries that required pain management care for the cervical and spinal fusion for the lumbar. Defendants admitted liability but contested the nature and extent of the injury and the need for future care, including surgery. The total settlement was in the six-figure range, inclusive of the workers' compensation lien.
• A forklift operator collided with an automobile driven by the plaintiff, penetrating the driver's side door and inflicting blunt trauma to the plaintiff's left leg and left torso, resulting in residual loss of lung capacity and PTSD, with loss of consortium.
• Two low-speed motor vehicle accidents almost 3 years apart, producing primarily spinal injuries in an HVAC installer with a vocational rehab assessment of "unemployable." The total award against both defendants was in the six-figure range, including spouse's claim for loss of consortium.
• Rear-end motor vehicle collision resulting in permanent injury to the facet joints at two levels in claimant's lumbar spine. Damages were past and future medical care and non-economic; no income loss was claimed.
• Rear-end collision between an uninsured SUV and flatbed truck towing a trailer filled with rocks weighing thousands of pounds. Low Delta-V, but significant energy absorbed by impact. Disputed injuries included cervical disk herniation and lumbar disk injury in a cement mason operating a successful contracting business. Uninsured motorist. Damages were determined to be in the mid-six-figure range.
• Clear liability motor vehicle collision between a CHP patrol vehicle and plaintiff's car. Liability was admitted; plaintiffs' injuries and damages were disputed, including traumatic brain injury to one plaintiff.
• Motorcycle vs. auto collision causing multiple fractures, and closed head injury resulting in multiple surgeries and extended rehabilitative care. Admitted liability with economic damages in the low-seven-figure range. Settlement in the mid-seven-figure range.
• Dangerous condition of public property (a highway) involving design immunity defense, head-on collision, multiple fractures, and TBI and internal injury.

Premises Liability

• Slip and fall in a retail checkout area due to water on the floor. Plaintiff injured her hip, resulting in corrective arthroscopic repair of the joint and joint capsule. Liability was disputed.

Product Liability

• Judge Abbott handled numerous product liability cases, many of which pertained to automobiles.

Wrongful Death

• The wrongful death of a young man was caused by the negligent discharge of a shotgun while the defendant and decedent were engaged in "horseplay" with the firearm. Plaintiff was the mother of the deceased. A mid-six-figure settlement was reached.
• Wrongful death of a child on a theory of dangerous condition of public property.