The sun was rising in the city of Irvine, California, while cars began their morning commute on Interstate 405. A driver traveling well above the speed limit looked to his right to change lanes, failing to notice that traffic had slowed in front of him. He slammed on the brakes, but realized it was too late. He braced for impact.
Sixty-year-old Vietnamese-American, Joseph Hoang, was on his way to work, crawling along in the sea of cars, when he was rear-ended by the Defendant at 72 miles per hour. The force of the collision shattered the glass around him, deployed the airbags, and he instantly lost consciousness. He awoke to first responders moving him out of his vehicle and into an ambulance. There, paramedics assessed his damages while his heart raced rapidly. He writhed in pain and complained of sharp and radiating aches throughout his back.
MRI’s revealed several disc bulges along Joseph’s spine and severe facet hypertrophy, a condition in which swelling of the facet joint causes nerves along the spine to come under pressure, triggering pain and discomfort. An emergent CT scan of Joseph’s brain revealed no gross evidence of abnormalities. However, Joseph’s trauma manifested days later. He suffered weakness in his right arm, tingling in his right hand, and debilitating headaches. Follow-up medical examinations indicated Joseph experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that induced his pain and anxiety.
Joseph was cleared to go back to work a month after the accident, but was forced to retire after his injuries worsened. This was a serious blow to Joseph’s confidence — he prided himself on his identity as a provider for his family. His loved ones began seeing a change in him too, noting significant mood changes, irritability, and forgetfulness. With Joseph unable to work and his life in disarray, his family called on Minh Nguyen of Nguyen Lawyers, ALC to seek compensation for the irreversible and life-altering damages Joseph suffered.
Minh prepared a letter demanding the Defense pay the $100,000 policy limit. As months went by, the Defendant’s insurance company failed to respond to his demand, opening the policy and prompting him to prepare for trial. The Defense finally responded, arguing Joseph’s injuries were overstated and needed to be examined by their retained neuropsychologist. However, because Joseph primarily spoke Vietnamese, their exam included a translator who stated Joseph was having language difficulties and could not recall his birth year or the names of his parents.
To conduct a more accurate examination, Minh searched for a neuropsychologist who spoke Joseph’s native language. After a year, Minh finally found who he was looking for: a Vietnamese-speaking doctor who agreed to examine Joseph and testify to his discovered injuries. Minh’s expert ordered several MRI’s of Joseph’s head that identified a dropout of white matter in his brain, telltale signs of a traumatic brain injury. Additionally, he confirmed that Joseph had developed memory and balance issues since the accident.
Preparing for trial, Minh teamed up with the formidable Nicholas C. Rowley of Carpenter, Zuckerman & Rowley LLP. Minh looked to tell Joseph’s story in the most compelling and captivating way possible. He enlisted the help of DK Global to create a presentation that conveyed the tragic theme of the case: the Joseph Hoang who left for work that fateful morning never returned.
During Minh and Nick’s opening statement, a top-down view of the accident was reconstructed to guide the jury along the case. The accident replayed with an inside look of Joseph’s anatomy as it is impacted at a high-speed, causing a coup-contrecoup injury. A coup-contrecoup injury occurs when both sides of the brain become damaged due to the force of rapid acceleration and deceleration.
Then, to enhance their expert’s testimony, a slideshow of Joseph’s brain injury and the resulting deficits were shown, allowing the jury to fully understand the impact of his damages. Finally, Joseph’s enriched MRI’s were displayed, detailing the location of his spinal injuries.
Minh and Nick's demonstratives replayed during their closing statement, reinforcing the facts of the case to encourage an award that would compensate Joseph for his life-changing trauma.
Minh’s hard work and perseverance paid off. After careful deliberation, the jury returned with a $1.925 million verdict to aid in Joseph's recovery.
Minh T. Nguyen is the principal lawyer at Nguyen Lawyers, ALC specializing in personal injury matters, wrongful death cases, and consumer product liability. Notably, Minh serves on the Executive Committee of the Consumer Attorney Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) and will become its first Asian-American president in 2023.
Nicholas C. Rowley of Carpenter, Zuckerman, & Rowley LLP is considered one of the most accomplished trial lawyers of his generation, attaining more than $1.5 billion in verdicts and settlements for injury survivors nationwide. In 2018, Nick was the youngest trial lawyer in history to receive CAALA’s “Attorney of the Year” for his extensive courtroom experience.
The sun was rising in the city of Irvine, California while cars began their morning commute southbound on Interstate 405. A driver traveling well above the speed limit looked to his right to change lanes, failing to notice traffic had slowed in front of him. He slammed on the brakes but realized it was too late. He braced for impact.
60-year-old Vietnamese-American Joseph Hoang was on his way to work, crawling along in the sea of cars, when he was rear-ended by the Defendant at 72 miles per hour. The force of the collision shattered the glass around him, deployed the airbags, and he instantly lost consciousness. He awoke to first responders moving him out of his vehicle and into an ambulance. There, paramedics assessed his damages while his heart raced rapidly. He writhed in pain and complained of sharp and radiating aches throughout his back.
MRI’s revealed several disc bulges along Joseph’s spine and severe facet hypertrophy, a condition in which swelling of the facet joint causes nerves along the spine to come under pressure, triggering pain and discomfort. An emergent CT scan of Joseph’s brain revealed no gross evidence of abnormalities. However, Joseph’s trauma manifested days later. He suffered weakness in his right arm, tingling in his right hand, and debilitating headaches. Follow-up medical examinations indicated Joseph experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that induced his pain and anxiety.
Joseph was cleared to go back to work a month after the accident but was forced to retire after his injuries worsened. This was a serious blow to Joseph’s confidence — he prided himself on his identity as a provider for his family. His loved ones began seeing a change in him too, noting significant mood changes, irritability, and forgetfulness. With Joseph unable to work and his life in disarray, his family called on Minh Nguyen of Nguyen Lawyers, ALC to seek compensation for the irreversible and life-altering damages Joseph suffered.
Minh prepared a letter demanding the Defense pay the $100,000 policy limit. As months went by, the Defendant’s insurance company failed to respond to his demand, opening the policy and prompting him to prepare for trial. The Defense finally responded, arguing Joseph’s injuries were overstated and needed to be examined by their retained neuropsychologist. However, because Joseph primarily spoke Vietnamese, their exam included a translator who stated Joseph was having language difficulties and could not recall his birth year or the names of his parents.
To conduct a more accurate examination, Minh searched for a neuropsychologist who spoke Joseph’s native language. After a year, Minh finally found who he was looking for: a Vietnamese-speaking doctor who agreed to examine Joseph and testify to his discovered injuries. Minh’s expert ordered several MRI’s of Joseph’s head that identified a dropout of white matter in his brain, telltale signs of a traumatic brain injury. Additionally, he confirmed that Joseph had developed memory and balance issues since the accident.
Preparing for trial, Minh teamed up with the formidable Nicholas C. Rowley of Carpenter, Zuckerman & Rowley LLP
