Our Clients' Views

". . .My sister had been hospitalized for swelling in one of her legs and... left the hospital a paraplegic relegated to a board and care home... I interviewed with five different attorneys and was told that really nothing could be done.

[Dr. Heimberg] was able to help us recover injuries for [my sister] and to provide for her a home where she can live without being in an institution.

If Steve had not really looked at this case and listened to us this woman could have spent the rest of her life in an institution and never had the independence and care that she gets today."

- Suzanne Eckhardt

"Max came into the world a hard way. He was suffering from oxygen deprivation while he was in utero... so he was born with extensive brain damage... I didn't want to go through the litigation process, but thank goodness we did. The verdict that we were awarded... was at the time the largest verdict [in California] for a case involving a brain damaged baby... and we're going to need every cent of it. Max's care costs about $30,000 a month, and 95 percent of that is not covered by insurance. He requires almost 24/7 nursing care, physical therapy six times a week, all kinds of equipment... [Money] can't undo the injuries that have occurred, but it certainly can help the quality of life."

- Kelly Akins

"The money wasn't part of the equation. It was just a tool to provide her with the best possible treatment. . .And [Steve's handling of his wife's case] definitely affected her in a positive way.

She confirmed that Steven, besides being a fantastic attorney, was also a good friend and someone who was also taking care of her."

- Dr. Genaro de Paiva

"My brother had a mental illness and ended up in a hospital where he was hurt. [Dr. Heimberg] looked beyond [the mental illness] and saw... the importance of Bill and his meaning in our life.

... Through [Dr. Heimberg's] investigation. . .[he] found out that there was ... some medical mismanagement that actually led to my brother ending up in the hospital... it helped us not only put the puzzle together about what happened to Bill, but also let us hold people accountable [who] needed to be held accountable...

I really feel that... for once... justice happened."

- Karen Brady

"Steve Heimberg is not your stereotypical lawyer. He's not in the business he's in for the money. He's in the business he's in to right wrongs, to protect patients who have had bad experiences with physicians, to protect consumers.

He's personable; he's just very, very determined. His low-key sort of manner on the one hand is very open and friendly, but it's deceiving because... being a doctor he can explain things to juries in a very simple way where they will understand and not get thrown by the medical terminology."

- Mary Margaret Brady

E-mail this page | Print this page | Text size:

Verdicts & Settlements* (partial listing)

$17,000,000+

VERDICT for a baby’s birth injuries during labor and delivery caused by a doctor’s failure to respond to fetal distress, causing severe brain damage.
The largest medical verdict in the history of California and Los Angeles County.

$10,550,000

SETTLEMENT for negligent misdiagnosis and improper recommendation of a caesarian section delivery of triplets 25 weeks into the pregnancy, resulting in the death of one infant and the other two having severe birth injuries due to prematurity.
The largest medical settlement in the history of California and Los Angeles County.

$4,000,000

SETTLEMENT for a medical malpractice case involving a 17-year-old high school boy and athlete who was brought to an urgent care facility after experiencing dizziness. The boy suffered a heart attack while being examined. Resuscitation was not provided or available, resulting in severe brain damage. The largest medical settlement in the history of Riverside County.

$3,285,000

VERDICT for a five-year-old leukemia patient who was paralyzed due to negligent administration of chemotherapy.
The largest medical jury verdict  in the history of Santa Barbara County.

$3,200,000

SETTLEMENT for failure to diagnosis in a timely manner an epidural abscess in a 57 year old woman, leading to her becoming a quadriplegic.
The largest medical settlement in the history of Kern County

$2,250,000

SETTLEMENT for a baby’s birth injuries during labor and delivery caused by a doctor’s failure to respond to fetal distress, causing severe brain damage.
The largest settlement, at its time, in the history of Ventura County

$1,550,000

VERDICT in a pure medical malpractice case in which MICRA was held not to be applicable, resulting in the $800,000 in non-economic damages not being reduced.
Case law was made.

$9,000,000

VERDICT in a medical malpractice case for failure to diagnose and treat a brain abcess in a 37-year-old woman.

$7,100,000

VERDICT for the birth injuries of twins who were delivered unnecessarily at 30 weeks, resulting in both babies suffering severe brain damage.

$6,200,000

SETTLEMENT for catastrophic injuries suffered in a complex automotive accident case.

$6,000,000

VERDICT for injuries suffered by a child in a school yard accident.

$3,800,000

SETTLEMENT in a medical malpractice case brought by a 48-year-old woman who was brought to a hospital's emergency room with severe anxiety. The woman had a critical reaction to the medication given, which wasn't monitored appropriately or treated in a timely manner causing her extensive brain damage.

$3,800,000

SETTLEMENT for the birth injuries of a baby caused by the needless delay of a caesarian section needed by the infant’s 27-year-old mother.

 $3,750,000

SETTLEMENT for birth injuries and permanent disabilities caused by the negligent delay in the delivery of a baby in distress.

$3,500,000

SETTLEMENT for the birth injuries caused to an infant of a 21-year-old woman due to the needless delay of a caesarian section.

$2,999,999

SETTLEMENT for negligent reduction in anti-psychotic medication and failure to monitor a male psychiatric patient with suicidal tendencies resulting in his attempting suicide, causing severe permanent brain damage.

$2,985,000

SETTLEMENT for severe birth injuries caused by the doctors’ failure to appropriately monitor the fetus during labor and delivery, for failure to recognize obvious evidence of fetal distress, and failure to intervene earlier via a caesarian section delivery.

$2,250,000

SETTLEMENT for a baby’s birth injuries due to the doctors’ failure to recognize fetal distress during labor and delivery and for delaying a cesarean section delivery, resulting in the baby suffering severe brain damage.

$2,250,000

SETTLEMENT in a medical malpractice case in which a 26-year-old man was misdiagnosed and not transferred to another hospital that could have provided the tests he needed to detect an epidural abscess pressing against his spinal column that caused him to suffer spinal cord injuries.

$2,022,500

SETTLEMENT failure to properly intubate an 18-year-old man during brain surgery, resulting in severe brain damage.

$1,500,000

SETTLEMENT for the wrongful death of a 37-year-old man due to the failure of the doctor and hospital to diagnosis and to treat a rare blood disorder.

$1,700,000

SETTLEMENT for a baby who suffered birth injuries resulting in severe spastic quadriplegia, causing profound motor and speech impairments.

$1,650,000

SETTLEMENT in a medical malpractice case for alleged failure to diagnose and to treat in a timely manner an epidural spinal abscess, resulting in paraplegia and incontinence in a 54-year-old man.

$1,700,000

SETTLEMENT for alleged negligent placement of a central venous line into the wrong vessel following surgery for colon cancer, causing a stroke in a 71-year-old woman.

$1,560,000

SETTLEMENT for a baby’s brain injuries during a breech delivery.

$1,600,000+

SETTLEMENT in a medical malpractice case for failure to diagnose in a timely manner and to treat a thoracic level spinal fracture resulting in paraplegia after a 22-year-old woman was in a car accident.

$1,575,000

SETTLEMENT failure to monitor, diagnose and treat a blood disorder in a 37-year-old man, leading to his death.

$1,050,000

SETTLEMENT for failure to treat blood clots resulting from hormone therapy in a 47-year-old woman, resulting in an above-the-knee amputation.

$1,500,000

SETTLEMENT for severe brain damage suffered by a 36-year-old man during surgery when equipment was improperly used causing an aortic aneurysm.

$1,650,000

SETTLEMENT in a medical malpractice case in which a 72-year-old woman went into the hospital for a knee manipulation and came out of surgery with extensive brain damage due to the doctors’ failure to monitor her during and after her receiving an epidural anesthesia.

* This does not constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.

Dollar amounts are listed in "present value," meaning how much the jury actually awarded, versus future value, which is how much is to be paid over the client's lifetime.