When a retired district attorney ran a stop sign in Redlands, CA, he struck a retired couple who had been walking across the street, injuring them both. Because the defendant had experience in litigation strategies from his former profession, he tried to use that knowledge of defense tactics to shift the blame onto the couple – even though they were both already in the crosswalk when he ran the stop sign - and therefore they had the right-of-way. 

Despite the fact that the entire incident was captured on a dashboard camera, the Defendant claimed that the shadows of the surrounding trees made it difficult to see the couple as they crossed the street, and therefore they were partially liable for the incident. He contested his liability in the incident for upwards of two years, until the couple was referred to attorney Cory R. Weck of McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP to help them achieve justice.

Cory worked hard to help the two retirees obtain compensation for their injuries, and he was able to invalidate the defendant’s false claim that they “should have been more careful.” Cory then enlisted the help of DK Global to conduct a scene inspection, which would prove that the couple was fully visible and that their injuries were caused by nothing other than the defendant’s negligence.

On the first anniversary of the incident, DK Global sent their experts to the location at the exact time of day that the couple was injured to record and document the sun’s direction and lighting. Photographs and drone footage were taken at the scene, which helped establish that there were no shadows from anything in the surrounding environment that could have hindered the defendant’s ability to see the couple walking across the street. With the evidence – or the lack thereof – illuminated and presented to the defendant and his counsel, the tides quickly changed: the defense opted to mediate the case just before trial.

After six hours of discussion with the defense counsel, Cory Weck secured a $1.5 Million settlement for the injured couple – enough to compensate them for their pain, and aid in their recovery so that they could continue to enjoy their afternoon walks downtown. 

Attorney Cory Weck, a partner at McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP, is a leading trial lawyer in the Inland Empire and is AV Distinguished rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Since 2012, Cory has been named a Super Lawyer and has been peer-selected as one of the top 5% of attorneys on the California Super Lawyers list. Cory has obtained numerous multi-million-dollar results for his deserving clients and has been listed as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in California by The National Trial Lawyers.