Seattle Times, January 24, 2019
Asia Fields and Lewis Kamb, Seattle Times | January 24, 2019
The city of Seattle and its insurers have paid a record $65.75 million to the family of a lawyer who suffered a severe brain injury when a Seattle Fire Department ambulance collided with her car in 2016.
The settlement of accident victim Brooke Taylor’s claim represents “the largest personal injury settlement in the city’s history,” according to a spokeswoman for Seattle’s Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) Department.
The income history of Taylor — a nationally renowned commercial litigator — was “a significant factor” in determining the amount of the settlement, according to an emailed statement from the city. The settlement was first reported Wednesday by the nonprofit news site Crosscut.
The high amount of the settlement “is really because of how remarkable Brooke Taylor was as an individual and an attorney,” said her lawyer, Todd Gardner, of the Seattle law firm Swanson Gardner Meyers Cohon. “She had a national reputation and had separated herself in her field. She was probably the most accomplished attorney in her age group in this state, in addition to being a great wife and mom.”
At the time of the crash, Taylor was 38 and a partner in the law firm Susman Godfrey’s Seattle office. Her clients included T-Mobile, Zillow, and REI, according to the firm’s website. Known for her work on high-profile intellectual property cases, Taylor was featured on television news and received a number of distinctions from legal organizations and publications.
Shortly before 1 p.m. on April 24, 2016, Taylor was driving west on Seneca Street through a green light when a Seattle Fire Department aid unit heading north on Fourth Avenue plowed into her Porsche 911 Carrera, according to Taylor’s claim with the city. The aid car struck Taylor’s sports coupe in the left rear quarter panel, “causing it to go into a counterclockwise spin and collide with a traffic signal box and a tree near the northwest corner of the intersection,” according to the claim.
The city-employed driver of the aid car had activated the vehicle’s lights and siren, but “he was required by Washington law to only proceed through a red traffic light ‘after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation,’ ” Taylor’s claim states. “He did not do so.”
Taylor suffered a traumatic brain injury and was taken to Harborview Medical Center.
“The physicians at Harborview thought there was a high likelihood that she would die as a result of her injuries,” Gardner said. “They are very impressed that she has recovered the function she has. She’s just a fighter and really got great care over these last 2½ years.”
Taylor has undergone extensive brain surgery and spent months out of state at inpatient rehabilitation centers. She lives in an apartment with round-the-clock care, while her family home is being remodeled for her return, Gardner said.
Taylor and her family, who have declined to speak publicly about the case, submitted a claim for damages to the city in September 2017, seeking an unspecified amount to be determined for her recovery costs. The parties agreed to settle the case in October, with a judge approving the settlement on Dec. 27.
Gardner said Taylor probably could have obtained a larger amount, but she sought only the maximum allowed under the city’s insurance policies. He added she never sought publicity about the case, choosing instead to keep details about her claim and injuries private.
“She lives in this city with her family, she wasn’t interested in punishing the city,” Gardner said. “What the family wanted was enough to cover what will be a lifetime of care.”
The city has a $6.5 million insurance deductible and worked with its five insurance companies, which have a total of $60 million in insurance coverage, to reach the settlement, according to a statement from the city.
“This settlement does not eliminate insurance coverage for the June 1, 2015, to June 1, 2016, policy year or otherwise alter any current insurance coverage,” FAS spokeswoman Cyndi Wilder said in an email Thursday. “Insurance coverage does not begin until the city has paid out $6.5 million on a given matter. The vast majority of claims and lawsuits are settled for far less than $6.5 million.”
Since the accident, the Seattle Fire Department revised department-wide aid-car driver training and created a driver-training instructor position, according to the city’s statement.
Crosscut, January 23, 2019
David Kroman, Crosscut | January 23, 2019
Seattle and its insurers have agreed to pay $65.75 million to the family of Brooke Taylor, an amount representing the largest individual personal injury settlement in the city’s history, likely the largest in Washington state and among the largest ever in the country. The sum covers ongoing care for Taylor, as well as lost future income after she suffered a traumatic brain injury in a crash with a Seattle Fire Department ambulance in April 2016.
The enormous sum is the result of a confluence of circumstances. Taylor was 38 at the time of the crash and in the early part of what was an already decorated career with the law firm Susman Godfrey as an intellectual property litigation attorney. When she was still working, she was showered with praise, and several industry publications had counted her among the country’s best lawyers.
But Taylor’s injury was serious enough that she is no longer able to practice law. As is standard in personal injury claims, Taylor’s family — she has a husband and three children — pursued reimbursement for lost future income, which includes future raises and promotions. In Taylor’s case, the potential was near-limitless — it is understood that lawyers in her field and of her caliber routinely go on to earn well over $1 million a year.
Taylor’s injury caused both physical and mental impairments, according to her family’s attorney, Todd Gardner of Swanson Gardner Meyers Cohon. She has a full-time medical attendant and currently lives in an assisted-care facility near her family’s home. Gardner said she’s transitioning to move home, almost three years after the accident.
Gardner said the family preferred not to speak publicly about the case.
The $65.75 million is likely the largest amount paid to an individual in Washington state history, Gardner said, although some settlements are kept confidential. Attorney Tim Tesh, who has worked with Gardner in the past but was not involved in Taylor’s case, said he believed the previous high was a $28 million settlement paid by the Washington Department of Transportation last October to a woman who was paralyzed in a crash in 2013.
A spokesperson for the city’s Finance and Administrative Services Department confirmed the individual settlement was the largest in Seattle’s history.
The final amount was tailored to recoup what the family felt was fair to Taylor, while also minimizing the impact on the city’s finances, Gardner said. In a given case, the city’s five insurers cover up to a combined $60 million in expenses after a $6.5 million out-of-pocket deductible.
“They had no interest in punishing the city,” Gardner said of the family, adding that he believes the claim could have been much higher. “They did not wish to put the city in the position of spending its resources on them” rather than its citizens, he said.
The settlement was agreed to in principle in October and was approved in King County Superior Court on Dec. 27. The city and its insurers already have paid the Taylors.
In a statement, a city spokesperson called the accident “tragic.”
“Since the accident, the Seattle Fire Department has thoroughly reviewed its driver training program,” the statement said. “The department has added a driver training instructor position to its training division and revised department-wide aid car driver training.”
Fire Chief Harold Scoggins said in his own statement, “We are deeply sorry for the impact that this event has had on Ms. Taylor and her family.”
The crash occurred on April 24, 2016, at about 1:25 p.m. Taylor was driving westbound on Seneca Street downtown in a black Porsche Carrera, according to accounts from multiple police reports. At the same time, a Seattle Fire Department ambulance was driving northbound on Fourth Avenue with its lights and sirens on. The ambulance entered the intersection at Seneca and Fourth through a red light at the same time as Taylor. The driver of the ambulance told officers that he “either stopped or slowed” at the intersection and believed it was clear before entering.
About halfway through the intersection, the ambulance hit Taylor’s Porsche on the driver’s side, spinning it around, up onto the sidewalk, and up against a tree, according to police reports.
Taylor was knocked unconscious and sent to a Harborview Medical Center operating room in “very critical” condition. No one in the ambulance was seriously injured.
“She’s strong and she’s still doing everything she can to continue to recover, even though it’s been 2 1/2 years now,” Gardner said.
Seattle has struggled in recent years with its judgment and claims budget — what it sets aside to pay for claim settlements. Expenses exceeded the city’s 2017 budget by $13 million. The city has set out to change how it calculates its claim budget to better adapt to large claims.
A city spokesperson said insurance coverage for other settlements would be unaffected as the “vast majority” fall below the city’s $6.5 million deductible.
Above The Law, January 29, 2019
Staci Zaretsky, Above the Law | January 29, 2019
What happens when your legal mind is far superior to all others, but it’s been catastrophically injured in a tragic accident? You win tens of millions of dollars in a personal injury settlement — a settlement so large that it’s likely the most that’s ever been paid to an individual in state history, and among the largest ever paid to an individual in the United States.
Meet Brooke A.M. Taylor, who at just 38 years old had already become a renowned partner in the Seattle, Washington, office of leading litigation boutique Susman Godfrey. A member of the firm’s executive committee, she was considered a rising star in the world IP litigation, but in April 2016, her seemingly limitless opportunities for success were cut short through no fault of her own in a horrific car accident.
Crosscut has the details on the accident that rendered Taylor unable to practice law:
“The crash occurred April 24, 2016, at about 1:25 p.m. Taylor was driving westbound on Seneca Street downtown in a black Porsche Carrera, according to accounts from multiple police reports. At the same time, a Seattle Fire Department ambulance was driving northbound on Fourth Avenue with its lights and sirens on. The ambulance entered the intersection at Seneca and Fourth through a red light at the same time as Taylor. The driver of the ambulance told officers that he “either stopped or slowed” at the intersection and believed it was clear before entering.”
About halfway through the intersection, the ambulance hit Taylor’s Porsche on the driver’s side, spinning it around, up onto the sidewalk, and up against a tree, according to police reports.
Taylor was knocked unconscious and sent to a Harborview Medical Center operating room in “very critical” condition. No one in the ambulance was seriously injured.
Taylor suffered such a traumatic brain injury that her treating physicians thought she would likely die. However, over the course of the past two and a half years, she has gone through extensive brain surgery, spending months out of state at inpatient rehabilitation centers for her injuries. She receives round-the-clock care, and her family is eagerly awaiting her return to the home they’ve been forced to remodel so she can continue to receive the care she needs due to the extent of her injuries.
Taylor’s family sought the usual compensation in their case against the city for her injuries, including reimbursement for lost future income, which for an attorney of her ilk, was boundless. After all, Susman Godfrey’s website boasts of having recently “achieved the highest profit-per-partner results in the nation” (i.e., more than $1 million per year, and likely even higher than that thanks to the firm’s success).
Thanks to the handiwork of her lawyer, Todd Gardner of Swanson Gardner Meyers Cohon, Taylor received a settlement of $65.75 million from the city of Seattle, the largest settlement of its kind in the city and likely state history. A city spokesperson said her income history was a “significant factor” in the settlement amount, but in an interview with the Seattle Times, Gardner said it was “really because of how remarkable Brooke Taylor was as an individual and an attorney. She had a national reputation and had separated herself in her field. She was probably the most accomplished attorney in her age group in this state, in addition to being a great wife and mom.”
Taylor is readying herself for her transition home, and Gardner says her doctors are “very impressed that she has recovered the function she has.” We here at Above the Law wish Brooke A.M. Taylor continued success in her recovery from her injuries. As her lawyer notes, “She’s just a fighter.” Keep up the fight and keep holding out hope.
EMSWorld, January 25, 2019
Asia Fields and Lewis Kamb, EMSWorld | January 25, 2019
The city of Seattle and its insurers have paid a record $65.75 million to the family of a lawyer who suffered a severe brain injury when a Seattle Fire Department ambulance collided with her car in 2016.
The settlement of accident victim Brooke Taylor’s claim represents “the largest personal injury settlement in the city’s history,” according to a spokeswoman for Seattle’s Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) Department.
The income history of Taylor—a nationally renowned commercial litigator—was “a significant factor” in determining the amount of the settlement, according to an emailed statement from the city. The settlement was first reported Wednesday by the nonprofit news site Crosscut.
The high amount of the settlement “is really because of how remarkable Brooke Taylor was as an individual and an attorney,” said her lawyer, Todd Gardner, of the Seattle law firm Swanson Gardner Meyers Cohon. “She had a national reputation and had separated herself in her field. She was probably the most accomplished attorney in her age group in this state, in addition to being a great wife and mom.”
At the time of the crash, Taylor was 38 and a partner in the law firm Susman Godfrey’s Seattle office. Her clients included T-Mobile, Zillow, and REI, according to the firm’s website. Known for her work on high-profile intellectual property cases, Taylor was featured on television news and received a number of distinctions from legal organizations and publications.
Shortly before 1 p.m. on April 24, 2016, Taylor was driving west on Seneca Street through a green light when a Seattle Fire Department aid unit heading north on Fourth Avenue plowed into her Porsche 911 Carrera, according to Taylor’s claim with the city. The aid car struck Taylor’s sports coupe in the left rear quarter panel, “causing it to go into a counterclockwise spin and collide with a traffic signal box and a tree near the northwest corner of the intersection,” according to the claim.
The city-employed driver of the aid car had activated the vehicle’s lights and siren, but “he was required by Washington law to only proceed through a red traffic light ‘after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation,’ ” Taylor’s claim states. “He did not do so.”
Taylor suffered a traumatic brain injury and was taken to Harborview Medical Center.
“The physicians at Harborview thought there was a high likelihood that she would die as a result of her injuries,” Gardner said. “They are very impressed that she has recovered the function she has. She’s just a fighter and really got great care over these last 2 1/2 years.”
Taylor has undergone extensive brain surgery and spent months out of state at inpatient rehabilitation centers. She lives in an apartment with round-the-clock care, while her family home is being remodeled for her return, Gardner said.
Taylor and her family, who have declined to speak publicly about the case, submitted a claim for damages to the city in September 2017, seeking an unspecified amount to be determined for her recovery costs. The parties agreed to settle the case in October, with a judge approving the settlement on Dec. 27.
Gardner said Taylor probably could have obtained a larger amount, but she sought only the maximum allowed under the city’s insurance policies. He added she never sought publicity about the case, choosing instead to keep details about her claim and injuries private.
“She lives in this city with her family, she wasn’t interested in punishing the city,” Gardner said. “What the family wanted was enough to cover what will be a lifetime of care.”
The city has a $6.5 million insurance deductible and worked with its five insurance companies, which have a total of $60 million in insurance coverage, to reach the settlement, according to a statement from the city.
“This settlement does not eliminate insurance coverage for the June 1, 2015, to June 1, 2016, policy year or otherwise alter any current insurance coverage,” FAS spokeswoman Cyndi Wilder said in an email Thursday. “Insurance coverage does not begin until the city has paid out $6.5 million on a given matter.
The vast majority of claims and lawsuits are settled for far less than $6.5 million.”
Since the accident, the Seattle Fire Department revised department-wide aid-car driver training and created a driver-training instructor position, according to the city’s statement.