Brian D. Witzer has been practicing law and trying cases to juries for more than 30 years. Mr. Witzer's private law practice was founded in 1989. The Law Offices of Brian D. Witzer, Inc. has developed from a boutique practice specializing in medical malpractice and premises liability actions to a nationally recognized formidable force in the burgeoning field of toxic mold litigation. In addition to the above, the firm continues to specialize in construction defect cases, entertainment litigation, insurance bad faith, business litigation and complex personal injury matters. Although the firm is located in Los Angeles, California, the Witzer Firm has prosecuted claims throughout the state and has also successfully handled cases in other states such as Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. The firm has established an international practice by way of its having successfully litigated matters for clients who reside outside the United States including countries representing every continent around the globe.
Brian D. Witzer, as the founding member of the Law Offices of Brian D. Witzer, Inc., began his legal career in 1977 at the District Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he spent six years as a trial attorney in the Trial Division and Investigations Division. Mr. Witzer also spent three additional years as an Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice where he prosecuted high-profile groundbreaking criminal cases for the State of Pennsylvania. While at the District Attorney's Office Mr. Witzer's public service work extended beyond the courtroom where he received recognition for founding a juvenile rehabilitation program which was entirely funded by private corporate sponsors.
In 1985, after trying hundreds of cases for the District Attorney's Office over a period of years, Mr. Witzer, who was Philadelphia born and bred, decided to relocate and broaden his experience to include Los Angeles. After spending several years trying cases with premier medical malpractice plaintiff and defense firms, including a period of time under the tutelage of one of the pre-eminent lawyers in CA, Robert D. Walker, Esq. Mr. Witzer commenced his own private practice devoted exclusively towards representing injured or victimized individuals (i.e. plaintiffs only) in the Century City area of Los Angeles in 1989.
While the Witzer office was in Century City, Mr. Witzer achieved his first of multiple million dollar plus verdicts. That case, (Jiminez v. Green), was a wrongful death premises liability case which had been rejected by many other firms due to its complexity. The plaintiff's family sought compensation for the loss of their husband/father of five who was killed when an explosion occurred while he was in the bathroom getting ready to go to work in the morning. The husband lit a cigarette while sitting on the toilet in his bathroom and the explosion occurred immediately. The defendants claimed that the explosion was caused by hazardous particles on the husband's work clothing since the husband worked with chemicals at a t-shirt tie-dye factory. The plaintiffs claimed that the explosion was due to a dangerous condition on the defendant’s property. During the case, the plaintiffs' investigator determined that one of the defendant's other tenants stored gasoline in a Sparklett's container in the garage that was adjacent to the plaintiff’s bathroom. Through the utilization of ground breaking video animation techniques, the Witzer Firm established that volatile fumes were able to leak from the garage into the bathroom thus creating the dangerous condition. Interestingly, Mr. Witzer's trial cross-examination caused the local Fire Chief and Captain to reverse their previous conclusions while on the stand. This dramatic reversal of their official report is often regarded as a classic courtroom demonstration of how to break down harmful official testimony to the benefit of Witzer's client -- in effect acceptance of plaintiff's theory of the case.
It was during the work-up and investigation in this case that the Witzer firm began to establish its reputation as a firm that combines an extremely high level of trial preparation, exhaustive and creative investigation together with an ability to incorporate novel legal theories. Thus, the case that many regarded as worthless and too complex proved to be a life changing event for the clients who were taken care of for the rest of their lives. A wife who lost her husband was now financially stable with an ability to keep and raise her children. Children who were fatherless now had funds set up for them to go to college and to live a decent life.
After a series of successful cases in the premises liability, medical malpractice and business litigation areas, the Witzer Firm moved to Beverly Hills, California. While in Beverly Hills, Mr. Witzer was joined by Andrew Spielberger, Esq. Mr. Spielberger brought to the firm a background in appellate work, entertainment litigation, business litigation, construction defect litigation and complex personal injury matters.
The first case in which Mr. Witzer and Mr. Spielberger combined their efforts was the case of Nickless v. Renzi. This medical malpractice / wrongful death case had also been rejected by numerous firms because, on its face, it appeared to be an automobile accident with only a small and inadequate policy limit. The defendant, Mr. Renzi had swerved off a perfectly straight road in Orange County, crossing six lanes of traffic directly into the vehicle driven by the plaintiffs, Mrs. Nickless and her three young children who were on their way to Holy Communion class. Mrs. Nickless was killed instantly. The children were severely injured and would require life-long medical care including neuro-cognitive follow up. Mr. Renzi only had auto insurance that covered up to $300,000. The Witzer Firm, on a pro bono basis (without charging a fee) obtained the full auto policy amount for the Nickless family but did not stop there. The Witzer Firm learned that Mr. Renzi had a diabetic condition that impacted on his ability to drive. Through an exhaustive investigation of Mr. Renzi's medical records it was revealed that Mr. Renzi's treating physicians had failed to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles about Mr. Renzi's condition. Plaintiffs alleged that the physicians had failed to properly treat Mr. Renzi during his lifetime.
The trial was bifurcated into two phases: liability and damages. Liability was hotly contested by the doctors. After a lengthy trial, plaintiffs prevailed against several of the treating physicians. Soon thereafter, a groundbreaking, record-setting settlement was effectuated for violating section 110 of the California Health and Safety Code which provided for life-long care of the Nickless children as well as significant compensation for the loss of their mother. This case helped to establish the Law Offices of Brian D. Witzer, Inc. as one of the pre-eminent law firms representing brain injured clients through qualified experts for consideration by juries.
While in Beverly Hills, the Law Offices of Brian D. Witzer, Inc. (which now consisted of Brian D. Witzer and Andrew J. Spielberger) achieved their first ten million dollar plus verdict. That case (Langston v. Radisson) was another complex case which had been rejected by many firms and which had only generated an offer of $70,000 before the Witzer Firm took over the case. In the Langston case, the plaintiff had fallen out of a fifth floor hotel window on New Years Eve. The evidence showed that the plaintiff was intoxicated and that the defendant’s security service had taken the plaintiff to his room in an inebriated state. Defendants claimed that the conduct of their staff was proper and that the plaintiff was solely responsible for his injuries. Instead of pursuing a claim of negligent security services against the hotel, the Witzer Firm alleged that the manner in which the windows at the hotel had been built were dangerous. Defendants claimed during the discovery process that they did not have construction standards for their windows in their hotels. Despite these representations, the Witzer Firm conducted independent investigation that revealed the existence of these standards. At trial, the defendants still claimed they did not have construction standards for their hotel windows until the Witzer Firm proved to the jury and the judge that such standards existed and had been deliberately hidden. The jury returned a verdict of $12 million dollars. Once again, the combination of an extremely high level of trial preparation with an application of novel legal theories led to significant success.
Many of Mr. Witzer's most notable groundbreaking settlements are confidential. Without compromising the confidentiality of the defendants, whom in many instances pay more for that benefit, we feel that we can provide the following about our firm's successes. Among Mr. Witzer's other cases include matters that from time to time have set new record highs for various county court houses for cases of their type, for example:
- Premises Liability -- Shooting Case: Mr. Witzer prosecuted a shooting case where one tenant shot another resulting in the wrongful death of a young father. That case against the landlord set a wrongful death personal injury record in Glendale for a period of time, ironically breaking a record set by Mr. Witzer's mentor in personal injury law, Mr. Robert D. Walker, now deceased.
- Assault & Battery by World Champion Prizefighter: Additionally, Mr. Witzer successfully prosecuted a personal injury claim, once again involving brain injury, to a student attending law school. While preparing for the bar exam Mr. Witzer's client was punched in the midst of a broadcast media event/press conference involving a world champion prizefighter resulting in a confidential settlement against promoters and the prizefighter for assault and battery.
- Entertainment Law/Copyright Infringement: In another case involving a major Hollywood studio (now defunct) Mr. Witzer obtained a landmark settlement for a pair of screenwriters for the theft of a screenplay/script that was expropriated for the production of a successful blockbuster film. This case established Mr. Witzer's credentials in the highly specialized field of copyright infringement.
- Insurance Bad Faith: Mr. Witzer successfully litigated a claim against a major insurer for misrepresenting its coverage limits to a catastrophically brain injured police officer and his wife after an accident involving a motorcycle. They were traveling on the motorcycle to a Santa Barbara fundraiser when they were crushed by an eighteen wheeler. This case was precedent setting in many respects and the fraud would have gone unnoticed but for Mr. Witzer's extra-ordinary insistence during the investigation phase that senior claims personnel submit themselves to deposition. Mr. Witzer is well known for aggressive, relentless, but fair deposition techniques.
Mr. Witzer and his firm have likewise successfully handled complicated products liability and construction defect cases involving technical deficiencies associated with tractor-trailer componentry, hydraulic lifts, complicated heavy equipment, automotive design defects, and geological/soils deficiencies. Mr. Witzer's handling of a cave-in case at a major International Landmark Hotel involving the death of a construction worker likewise resulted in another record breaking settlement.
After achieving further success in a series of medical malpractice, entertainment and business litigation areas, the Witzer Firm purchased a three story premier building in West Hollywood, California. The building, known as the "Witzer Law Building" was dedicated to the memory of Mr. Witzer's dearly beloved and departed mother, Ro Witzer. The Witzer Law Building has the feel of a "Philadelphia" law office and provides ample space for the staff of 10 which help run the firm. One critical member, who joined the firm during this time is Daniel Balaban. Mr. Balaban has been a litigation assistant for the past several years whose talents have proven to be so prodigious that the Witzer Firm paid for Mr. Balaban's legal education. Mr. Balaban joined the firm as an attorney in 2006.
Over the past several years in West Hollywood, the Witzer Firm has achieved continued success in insurance bad faith litigation, medical malpractice litigation and complex personal injury matters. It was in this last category that the Witzer Firm established its national reputation. In 2000, a family of five came to the Witzer office with various health complaints which they alleged were caused by mold in their condominium. The family was being offered nothing by the defendants. Up until that point in time, the main defense in mold cases was that there was no scientific proof that mold caused injury to human beings.
The Witzer Firm went out and retained experts from around the world in the fields of toxicology, epidemiology, immunology, neuro-psychology and other fields and proved to judges through this expert testimony that the connection between toxic molds and serious physical injury is medically and scientifically generally accepted as fact. The acceptance of this testimony combined with the legal work up done by the Witzer Firm resulted in one of the largest settlements in mold cases to date in the United States. Soon thereafter, the Witzer Firm was receiving referrals from lawyers and physicians all over the United States to handle mold injury cases. The solid legal team at the Witzer Firm combined with the highly respected team of experts has resulted in numerous successes for families or individuals injured by toxic molds and/or other hazardous substances.
In addition to the mold litigation, the Witzer Firm has also established itself as one of the few firms to successfully sue promoters of rave parties on behalf of families who have lost their teenagers who were killed as a result of attending raves. Overcoming First Amendment and comparative negligence issues involved in such litigation, the Witzer Firm has been able to obtain substantial multi-million dollar settlements for these families.
Although Mr. Witzer will consider any new case from a variety of sources, including general inquires from consumers or victims, most of Mr. Witzer's referrals are brought to the firm by other lawyers or doctors who have become familiar with the Witzer firm's reputation for excellence. The firm does not engage in any direct advertising to the general public.
In actual point of fact, most cases Mr. Witzer becomes involved with are referred or brought to the firm after defendants have offered little or no money to settle the cases. The vast majority of these cases are transformed from cases where almost nothing has been offered to cases in the millions of dollars range within 30 to 60 days of Mr. Witzer's assumption of duties on the case.
The Law Offices of Brian D. Witzer, Inc. has established a reputation for an extremely high level of preparation for trial and persuasive trial presentation including the use of state of the art equipment for exhibit presentation. Mr. Witzer's firm has developed a close working relationship with other high-powered award-winning trial attorneys and presently is the recipient of many toxic/hazardous materials referrals from the state's most pre-eminent lawyers. Mr. Witzer and Mr. Spielberger are active and in good standing with the CA State Bar. If you are interested in contacting an outstanding trial law firm such as the Law Offices of Brian D. Witzer, please call (310) 777-5999 or write to:
The Witzer Law Building
8752 Holloway Drive
West Hollywood, CA 90069-2327
E-Mail Address: witzer@witzerlaw.com
