$18M Jury Verdict for Daughter in Calabasas Wrongful Death Case

Yijing Chen v. Nicole Hershel

Yijing Chen was legally crossing the roadway on a green light while holding the hand of her mother, Hong Fen Shen, when they were struck by a pickup truck driven by Nicole Hershel. Yijing suffered a fractured leg, and her mother later died from her injuries.

There were no independent witnesses to the collision. Evidence presented at trial showed that after the crash, Hershel moved her vehicle, moved Hong Fen while she was unconscious, and gave misleading statements to investigating officers about how she came upon the scene.

Other attorneys declined to pursue the case, but El Dabe Ritter continued litigating and proved that Hershel caused the collision.

At trial, El Dabe Ritter was able to prove that Hershel staged the scene which caused additional emotional distress to Yijing.

The jury found malice and awarded $18,000,000 in damages.