Highest Known Workers' Compensation Settlement in California History - Los Angeles Attorney Scores Record $8.9 Million Settlement, Rebukes Legal System in Major Brain Injury Case

LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Christopher Asvar (www.asvarlaw.com) has just secured the highest known workers' compensation insurance settlement in California history, totaling $8.9 million on behalf of his young client who suffered a workplace traumatic brain injury.

"This settlement is the highest anyone is aware of for a California workers' compensation award," stated Steve Chapman, a well-known structured settlement specialist involved with the case. Three years ago, Mr. Asvar who specializes in workplace and civil brain injury litigation, substituted into his client's case, who five years before had sustained a twenty-foot fall from a scaffold while employed as a painter.

When Mr. Asvar commenced his representation, his client was suffering from severe depression, cognitive deficits, anxiety, psychosis, self-mutilation and perhaps most interestingly, a psychiatric diagnosis of multiple personality disorder. Despite the fact that there was no objective evidence of a traumatic brain injury (negative MRI and CT scans), Mr. Asvar prevailed in his contention that his client's symptoms related to what the medical experts in the case ultimately came to regard as a "mild" traumatic brain injury.

In describing this class of traumatic brain injury, Asvar states, "The term 'mild' is an absolute misnomer given the severity of possible life-long complications and repercussions for those injured. We have a duty to educate the general public and members of the medical and legal community about the profound impact these injuries have in the individual lives of those affected and their families, whether they are employed as a construction worker or an NFL player.

Attorney Asvar's approach to the representation of his small number of clients is a sharp rebuke to the volume driven business model – averaging 300-500 cases per attorney – often seen in the "applicant mills" of workers' compensation. Asvar recalls his days as a defense attorney with some remorse: "I took too many depositions of seriously-injured people whose attorneys had never met them or even read their file. With serious injuries, especially those 'hidden' cognitive deficits related to brain injuries, our current legal system can set one adrift for a lifetime."

Asvar recalls being warned by more senior attorneys that his client-focused approach would ultimately fail. "The real gratification here is knowing that you have done the best you could for your client...and that the approach works."

Mr. Asvar's practice is primarily civil and workers' compensation plaintiff litigation, specializing in brain injury litigation. He received his J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. Mr. Asvar's areas of practice have included insurance defense, employment and business litigation and workplace injury. Mr. Asvar was recognized by the Los Angeles magazine's list of Super Lawyers, featuring "Outstanding Young Lawyers in Southern California" for four consecutive years, 2009-2012.

Asvar Law, APC is located at 11900 Olympic Blvd., Suite 470, Los Angeles, CA 90064. See more at: http://www.asvarlaw.com.

Case Number:  ADJ2137779
Court: Los Angeles Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

Kelila Shapiro
ShapiroPR
P: 323-951-9300
E: [email protected]

SOURCE Asvar Law, APC

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