An RV manufacturer assembled the myriad hardware for a brand new home-on-wheels. Engine mechanisms, doors, windows, and furniture were screwed and bolted into place. One of those components called an assist bar, was meant to be screwed into a reinforced part of the vehicle. However, the manufacturer positioned it improperly. As a result, half the screws were essentially drilled into nothing, diminishing the assist bar’s safety capabilities. That RV was sold to a wife and husband, eager to spend their golden days of retirement exploring the open roads and making lasting memories. One clear, sunny afternoon in Ventura, the wife stepped out of the RV and her foot caught on the threshold. Off-balance, she stumbled out of the doorway. Reaching out instinctively for support, she grabbed the RV’s assist bar, only for it to rip away from its mount. She plunged forward, landing on the unforgiving concrete below. The impact left her with significant injuries and, eventually, the loss of vision in one eye.
Knocked unconscious, the wife suffered fractures in her wrist, cheekbone, and orbital bone. The momentum and force of impact caused concussion symptoms and a traumatic brain injury. Over the course of several surgeries, she needed her facial bones stabilized and sinus fluid drained to preserve her right eye function. Tragically, the trauma left her with permanent changes to her facial appearance. Worst of all, the injuries proved too severe, and her right eye went blind.
The woman reached out to Russ Ercolani of Westlake Injury Law. With over 20 years of personal injury litigation experience, Russ was equipped to understand the extent of her injuries and prepared to get to the bottom of what caused the fall. He developed a relationship with the couple and stayed close through the fallout of the wife’s recovery. As the case matured, though, Russ brought on Christopher Bulone of Dordick Law Corporation. Specializing in catastrophic personal injury, Chris was an ideal fit for the extra team Russ needed to drive home all of his discoveries over the years. Russ and Chris paired up knowing they were in a position to make a real difference in the woman’s life and, hopefully, the lives of anyone that could be affected.
Only one day after the fall, Russ visited the retired couple’s home to gather vital information, including crucial evidence to shape the case. He determined that the woman used the assist bar as intended. So, why did it fail her? Russ needed to bring on his arsenal of experts to understand the obstacles and shortcomings of how this RV was constructed. Seeking the cause of the fall, he measured the threshold, revealing the raised ledge created a tripping hazard. Russ and Chris also relied on RV manufacturing experts for an in-depth dive into the mechanism of the rail. They cut open the vehicle wall interior and immediately determined the screws that anchored the assist bar were not properly connected to the support frame. As a result, the assist bar clung to the connecting wall through a thin outer shell — nowhere near the stability needed to function properly.
Though it appeared clear that the RV manufacturers had installed the assist bar incorrectly, and as a result, it was flimsy and unstable, the Defense refused to settle at the outset. Opposing counsel initially downplayed the faulty design and implementation, insisting it wasn’t a big deal. Their argument centered on the fact that enough screws were in place to keep the assist bar connected to the wall. The Defense argued it was the Plaintiff who was at fault, insisting her clumsiness caused her trip, fall, and injuries. They explained the fall by accusing the woman of being haphazard and the fall being inescapable, sturdy assist bar or not.
With enough enlightenment of the poor design and installation, Russ and Chris needed one last piece of clarity that would debunk the Plaintiff being merely clumsy. They wanted to show the Defense and a potential jury the nature of the fall, the tactfulness of the Plaintiff, and the assist bar’s failure. Russ and Chris needed a convincing presentation. It had to tell their client’s tragic story and send a clear message that they were ready to try the case. Thus, the duo reached out to DK Global to recreate the Plaintiff’s injuries for visual clarity. Russ, Chris, their experts, and DK Global collaborated to create animated medical and reconstruction sequences to show three major components in the case: the mechanism of failure, the fall, and the aftermath.
The animation began with a piece-by-piece closeup of the RV’s entryway threshold and assist bar. A side panel view of the RV zoomed in to show the raised one-inch threshold laid at the doorway. The video recreated the moment the tip of the Plaintiff’s foot jammed into the raised threshold, portrayed her reaching out for the assist handle, the handle breaking, and the subsequent fall face-first onto the concrete. The animation isolated the assist bar, its screws, and its half-anchored positioning in the frame of the RV. Then, it reconstructed an internal view of the woman’s bones breaking in her wrist and face as she hit the ground. Finally, a medical animation of the surgery meant to stabilize her damaged facial bones showed the instruments used to adjust the Plaintiff’s nasal passage and cheekbone with a clear view of her facial tissue and bones.
Russ and Chris showed the Defense how they would walk the jury through every step of their client’s injuries using their DK Global visuals. Sensing the seriousness of the matter, the Defense’s unwillingness to negotiate relented. Ultimately, the parties agreed to a settlement of $8,000,000, the largest of its type in Ventura County’s history, surpassing the previous record by several million dollars.
Russ Ercolani is the managing partner and a personal injury attorney at Westlake Injury Law, a firm he founded in 2009. He has served injured individuals in Ventura County and nearby communities for more than two decades. Russ is a University of California San Francisco Hastings College of the Law graduate. His accolades include selection as a Super Lawyer in 2024, the Witkin Award for Excellence, and the Stanford University Annual Trial Competition Best Advocate award.
Christopher Bulone is a trial attorney with Dordick Law Corporation. He litigates catastrophic personal injury cases, wrongful death cases, bad faith, and employment law cases. Christopher, a University of San Francisco law school graduate, has been named a Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyer in California by the National Trial Lawyers. He has also been honored as a Super Lawyers Rising Star for four consecutive years.
