L&W is pleased to announce our latest high profile win at trial — Shawn Porio v. County of Orange. Plaintiff Porio was arrested by law enforcement for driving under the influence. In reality, he had suffered a stroke.

At the Orange County Jail, medical staff also found Porio to be intoxicated — and they sent Porio to a sobering cell to “sleep it off”. Over the following 22 hours, Porio’s condition continued to deteriorate, as he suffered additional strokes.

Ultimately, Porio was sent to a hospital emergency room, where his stroke condition was confirmed by brain scan. Porio claimed permanent brain damage, and his attorney suggested at trial that he should be awarded $40M — $1M for each year of his remaining life expectancy.

L&W’s trial team — led by Shel Harrell, Craig Smith and Lacey Sipsey — skillfully utilized jail video, and the latest trial technology, to forcefully rebut Plaintiff’s case. Specifically, L&W demonstrated that Porio exhibited none of the classic symptoms unique to stroke and that medical staff otherwise acted appropriately in assessing Plaintiff based on what they knew when they were required to act.

A Los Angeles federal jury agreed and they rendered a unanimous defense verdict for Orange County. Needless to say, this is a high profile victory for government employees in a marque Constitutional case, and it exemplifies L&W’s ongoing stand-out work for our many governmental clients.