Callahan & Blaine

Los Angeles Police Officer William J. Skett was convicted this week for hitting two pedestrians and leaving the scene of the accident. Skett was off duty when he struck the pedestrians with his Hummer while backing up in a parking lot. Skett abandoned his vehicle and left the scene of the crime on foot. One victim suffered broken ribs and collapsed lungs while the other had less serious injuries. Skett is currently on leave, but is still a member of the LAPD.

Though Skett denied he was driving the car when the accident occurred, the Los Angeles County Superior Court jury deliberated only two and a half days before returning a guilty verdict for the hit and run charges. The sentencing will not occur until January 2010, but Skett faces up to six years in jail for his felony conviction.

The jury was divided on whether the DUI charge was proven by the prosecutor, and Skett was acquitted on that count. The jury was not satisfied that Skett had not consumed alcohol while at home because there was a time delay between the time of the accident and the time of his arrest. At the time of his arrest, Skett’s blood alcohol content was measured at .08%.

A trail for the same charges in April ended in a mistrial, when the jury became deadlocked.

Callahan & Blaine, California’s premier litigation firm, is one of the leading catastrophic injury firms in the state of California. In fact, in the last five years alone our lawyers have obtained over $1.2 billion in verdicts and settlements, including a $7 million settlement for a cyclist who was left with a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a newspaper delivery truck, and a $7.25 million settlement in a case when a man was run over trying to board a city bus in Orange County, California.

Our success in litigating and negotiating personal injury cases comes from our uncommon approach; we handle each personal injury case as though it were a complex business litigation case, attacking it from every angle possible. While our firm is located in Orange County, California, we handle serious personal injury, wrongful death and product liability cases nationwide.

If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of an accident, please contact our California law firm for expert legal counsel.