Tag Archive for: News

Hollingsworth Kelly Wins $3.5 Million Verdict in Child Abuse Case

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The father of a fatally abused toddler was awarded $3.5 million in Santa Cruz County after a jury found the child’s maternal grandfather, step-grandmother, and biological mother negligently contributed to his death. The father was represented by Tucson personal injury attorneys Louis Hollingsworth and Michael Kelly.

The defendant grandfather, a practicing physician in Nogales, Sonora, was sued for his participation in negligently directing the child’s healthcare into Mexico, where doctors who examined him were personal friends or acquaintances of his, and who did not make any contemporaneous medical reports of the consultations.

Plaintiff, a young father, and his girlfriend had broken up in August 2010, and she and the couple’s 18-month-old son moved in with her father and his wife, who lived in Rio Rico, Arizona. Three months later around Thanksgiving, the child began to suffer suspicious injuries, including a subgaleal hematoma behind the right ear and a black eye.

In January 2011, the child suffered a suspicious horizontal cut of the left wrist, which the defendant grandfather bandaged. By early February 2011 the child had suffered a spiral fracture of the left tibia, suspicious for child abuse. Shortly after this injury, Plaintiff father called CPS, initiating an investigation which resulted in a finding of no abuse.

Soon after, the mother moved with the child to Mexico with her new boyfriend. After suffering additional injuries, including a broken right tibia and a refracturing of his left tibia, on April 20, 2011, the child suffered fatal injuries to the skull. Evidence suggests the mother’s new boyfriend may have been responsible for the injuries.

“Our theory of the case involved the grandfather’s statutory duty to report suspected child abuse based on the fact that he rendered treatment to the child, and the fact that the child was living under his care,” said Mr. Hollingsworth. “These factors required reporting of suspicious injury to CPS or law enforcement.”

The jury found the doctor to be 60 percent liable, his wife, a paid caregiver of the child, was found 30 percent liable, and the mother of the child was found 10 percent liable. No liability was found against the abuser boyfriend, and in fact no evidence was presented of any wrongdoing on his part.

The mother of the child and the boyfriend are serving prison sentences in Nogales, Sonora.

 

Michael Kelly Certified by State Bar of Arizona

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Hollingsworth Kelly is pleased to announce that Michael F. Kelly has been certified by the State Bar of Arizona as a specialist in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death.

To become a certified specialist, the State Bar requires an attorney to have demonstrated experience in the specialized area of law including:

– Admission to the practice of law for five years;
– Admission to the State Bar of Arizona for two years immediately preceding submission of the certification application;
– Devotion of at least fifty percent of a full-time practice to the specialty area;
– Substantial involvement in the certification area for four of the six years immediately preceding submission of the application;
– And submit to peer review and pass a written examination.

“Mike is a highly skilled attorney and he became a certified specialist in personal injury and wrongful death more quickly than anyone else I know,” said founding partner Louis Hollingsworth.

Mr. Kelly’s practice focuses exclusively on personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death.

Prior to becoming a personal injury attorney, Mr. Kelly was a deputy county attorney for the Pima County Attorney’s Office, concentrating on homicide and gang prosecutions.

Mr. Kelly received his J.D. from the James E. Rogers College of Law and B.S., magna cum laude, from the University of Arizona.

Louis Hollingsworth Listed in 2014 Best Lawyers in America

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Louis Hollingsworth was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2014 in the field of Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs (Copyright 2012 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 50,000 leading attorneys cast nearly five million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed.

Mr. Hollingsworth has been selected as a Best Lawyer since 2010.

Arizona Court of Appeals, Div. 2, Interprets Pre-Judgment Interest Rate in Metzler v. BCI Coca-Cola

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In an opinion published today in Metzler v. BCI Coca-Cola, the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 2, determined that a plaintiff who beats her Rule 68 offer to confess judgment is still entitled to 10 percent interest on the amount of her unliquidated claims, contrary to the defense bar and insurance companies’ interpretation of the law.

In July 2011, the State Legislature amended A.R.S. 44-1201, the statute governing interest rates applicable to legal matters, and changed the interest rate from 10% to 1% plus the prime rate (currently 4.25%) for “interest on any judgment.” Since then, the defense community has argued at the trial court level, often with success, that this change in the law applied to the interest rate applicable to Rule 68 offers. Plaintiff Metzler and her attorneys have always maintained that the amendment did not apply to Rule 68 offers because prejudgment interest is not interest on a judgment.

In today’s opinion, the Court of Appeals issued its third decision on the Metzler case (the first coming in 2011 and the second in 2012), finding that Rule 68 prejudgment interest is an “obligation” that falls under subsection (A) of A.R.S. 44-1201 and is therefore still subject to 10 percent interest, even after the 2011 amendment.

In May 2005, plaintiff Metzler was injured when she slipped and fell on a puddle of water leaking out of a Coca-Cola refrigerator inside a Fry’s grocery store. In May 2007, she offered to settle her case against BCI Coca-Cola for $150,000 via a Rule 68 offer to confess judgment. BCI Coca-Cola refused to settle. In August 2009, a jury awarded Metzler $1.5 million and found Coca-Cola 100% at fault.  

“This is a significant decision for all injured persons in the State of Arizona, and for all plaintiffs’ attorneys who utilize Rule 68 offers to confess judgment,” said Metzler’s attorney, Louis Hollingsworth of Hollingsworth Kelly, PLLC.

“Our law firm has been battling the defense bar and often the judiciary in Pima County for over two years on the Rule 68 prejudgment interest rate,” said Michael Kelly, who also represents Metzler.  “We have always maintained that when a plaintiff beats her offer to confess judgment, she is entitled to 10 percent prejudgment interest on the amount of the damages award, dating back to the date of the offer. We are very pleased with the Court’s favorable opinion in this matter, which now resolves the issue for all personal injury lawsuits in Arizona.”

Listed in Best Lawyers

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Louis Hollingsworth was once again selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2013 in the field of Personal Injury Litigation (Copyright 2012 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 36,000 leading attorneys cast almost 4.4 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.

Recognized Experience

For more than 20 years our attorneys have successfully represented people injured in catastrophic injury and wrongful death, obtaining millions of dollars for their pain and suffering. Former prosecutors Louis Hollingsworth and Michael Kelly are successful trial lawyers who put their courtroom experience to work for their injured clients. Retired Superior Court Judge John Kelly lends his almost 22 years experience on the bench to helping seriously injured clients achieve justice through the successful resolution of their cases.

$250,000 Verdict in Car Accident Case

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Today a Pima County jury awarded $250,000 to a 70-year-old woman who was hit by a car while she was in a crosswalk in Safford, Arizona. The driver who caused the car accident was the Plaintiff’s friend and “Bridge Buddy.”

Attorney Michael Kelly represented the Plaintiff, who suffered a mild traumatic brain injury, and orthopedic injuries including pelvic trauma and toe fractures. The friend who caused the accident claimed the Plaintiff continued to play bridge without any problems. An expert for the defense testified the Plaintiff scored extremely high on a neuropsychological examination. An expert for the Plaintiff, who performed a SPECT scan of the Plaintiff’s brain, testified that she had definite signs of injury, particularly in the temporal and frontal lobes. The Plaintiff testified on the witness stand that the injury “caused her to be forgetful.”

Settlement Offer

The client rejected a $150,000 offer to settle the case before trial.

“We’re excited that today our client received justice for her pain and suffering,” said Kelly. “She feels vindicated by the jury’s verdict.”