Wingert Grebing is pleased to announce that lead attorney Mark Amador, associate Shawheen Khodapanah, and paralegal Olivya Nunez obtained a powerful defense result in a stipulated-liability personal injury case where the plaintiff asked the jury to award over $1.4 million in damages.

Although the defendant accepted responsibility for the accident itself, the central issue at trial was whether the plaintiff’s claimed injuries, treatment, and non-economic damages were actually caused by this incident. Lead attorney Mark Amador, a veteran of over 100 trials, maintained that the plaintiff’s damages presentation was overstated, that the claimed medical picture did not match the facts of the accident, and that the jury should use their common sense to carefully separate sympathy from proof.

The jury agreed.

After hearing the evidence, the jury returned a verdict of only $90,000—far below the plaintiff’s seven-figure request and less than the defendants’ $100,000 offer to compromise under Code of Civil Procedure section 998.

The outcome represents a significant strategic victory for the defense. In a case where liability was not contested, the defense team succeeded in narrowing the dispute to medical causation, reasonable damages, and credibility. By effectively challenging the relationship between the accident and the plaintiff’s claimed injuries, the defense prevented a seven-figure recovery and secured a verdict below its statutory settlement offer.

This result reflects a disciplined and focused trial strategy: concede what could not reasonably be contested, contest what mattered most, and give the jury a clear damages framework grounded in the evidence rather than the plaintiff’s inflated demand.