Roberto Davila was injured while working for Navajo Pipelines on a road-widening job near Roseville, California. A longtime construction worker with an exemplary history of being a steady and hard worker, Davila was struck from behind by a skip loader operated by the lead contracting company, DaSilva Gates.“He will never return to work,” says attorney John O’Brien.
“This is a Mexican immigrant worker who came to the United States when he was 17 years old. He became a US citizen. Always worked, worked crazy hours, and just never stopped. This is a huge blow to him not being able to return to what he loved, working with all his brothers and family members in construction. It was his life,” says O’Brien.Mr. Davila suffered injuries to his knees, right shoulder, neck and lower back. He had to have three surgeries to treat his various injuries. His treating physicians say he will likely need a lumbar fusion, two knee replacements and a series of epidural steroid injections in his neck in the future.
As part of the road-widening contract, Davila’s employer, Navajo Pipelines, had agreed to excuse DaSilva Gates from all liability for any accident or injuries on the job unless DaSilva Gates was 100 percent responsible.
After Davila was injured, the two companies began pointing fingers at each other, denying liability for Davila’s injuries.
DaSilva Gates, the general contractor, admitted some liability in discovery, but not all. Furthermore, it was disputing the seriousness of the nature and extent of Davila’s injuries and argued that he could return to work in the future.
With no settlement forthcoming, attorney O’Brien stepped in and told the parties if there was no settlement on the table, they’d go to trial. And guess what? O’Brien meant it.
“Roberto Davila was a member of Laborer’s Union 185 and had made a really good living,” says O’Brien in an exclusive interview with LAS. “He worked very, very hard. A lot of overtime hours. He averaged about 2,200 hours a year - that was full-time with no vacation.
“He could have worked another 12 years (had he not been injured),” notes O’Brien. “The total wage loss past and future is $1.5 million. So that is pretty significant.
“They argued he had back problems before this incident, and he is going to have back problems after this incident; his back is really what is going to keep him from going back to work,” says O’Brien. “That was really their defense.”
This was not an easy case. “There were a lot of chess pieces to move around to make sure the jury knew what it needed to know without skirting the court’s rulings,” says O’Brien.
Clear-speaking and very astute, O’Brien was aware that immigration, particularly related to Mexico, has become an issue for some in this country. O’Brien’s remarks to the jury included a passionate statement on behalf of his client and his humble beginnings.
“I basically told the jury, no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, this is the kind of immigrant we want to come to this country. He works hard, pays taxes and raises beautiful kids. He’s respectful, and when he became a US citizen, it was one of the proudest moments of his life,” says O’Brien.
Because of the future treatment Davila requires and O’Brien’s expertise in explaining the extent and type of injuries that Davila would be dealing with, the award was topped up by about $700,000 for medical expenses. Davila also received about $2 million in non-economic damages, bringing the total to $4.25 million.