You want to win your case and create positive change for those in the same situation. We’ve shaped these reforms around the truth that justice is a system we build, not a one-time event.
Reforms
Reforms to Prohibit Risky Restraints and Excited Delirium Claims
Haddad & Sherwin LLP Partner Julia Sherwin provided key amendments to California’s new law prohibiting chokehold and prone restraints that are likely to asphyxiate people,…
$5.9M Settlement Brings Overhaul to Jail Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Practices
Haddad & Sherwin LLP obtained a $5.9 million jail suicide settlement, which included significant reforms to a County jail’s practices. The agreement obtained by Haddad…
Choke Hold and Restraint Asphyxia Reforms
We helped our two clients, the children of Humberto (“Beto”) Martinez, settle their claims for their father’s wrongful chokehold death for $7.3 million plus police…
Restraint Asphyxia Attorneys Win Settlement + Reforms for Death of Mentally Ill Man
Mendocino County, the City of Willits, and California Forensic Medical Group (CFMG) agreed make wide-ranging reforms and pay $5,000,000 to Steven Neuroth’s brother after his…
Confidential Wrongful Death Settlement for Lineman Killed in Product Liability Accident
Secured compensation for the son of an electrical lineman killed in a workplace accident, from settlement of a complex, multiple party, product liability case. The lineman was working in an aerial lift to upgrade a utility pol…
Santa Cruz Police Respond to Lawsuit with Better Training and Policies to Save Lives
The parents and young son of 32-year-old Sean Arlt brought this case seeking justice and reforms from the Santa Cruz Police Department that mismanaged his psychotic episode, unnecessarily shooting and taking the life of this gentle and beloved man. …
Family of Girl Subjected to Deadly Child Abuse Win Major Reforms from Police Department
As an integral part of the $5 million settlement from the tragic child abuse death of 3-year-old Kayleigh Slusher, the Napa Police Department has instituted major reforms. No longer will officers be allowed to ignore or fail to report suspected chil…
$150,000 Plus Police Training Reforms for Man Brutalized by Livermore Police Officer
The City of Livermore agreed to pay $150,000 to a young man who was slammed into a light pole by Officer Michael Busevac in 2013. Witnesses testified that the large officer swung the young man like a rag doll, smashing his body into a metal pole. W…
Statewide Injunction to Stop Medical Abuse of California Inmates
After week one of a ten-week trial, Haddad & Sherwin achieved the largest wrongful death settlement in a civil rights case in California history – $8.3 million – plus statewide reforms to protect all inmates from illegal healthcare by Corizon Health,…
Won Appellate Ruling Setting Precedent that Prohibits Police from Routinely Holding Non-Threatening People at Gun Point During Traffic Stops
Police in the Bay Area have routinely pointed their guns at all occupants in a car for any “high risk” traffic stop where they have reason to believe the car may be stolen. But many times, the car is not stolen, or police rush to judgment to hold i…
Sweeping Settlement Protecting LGBT Students and Free Speech Rights of Teachers
Achieved a sweeping settlement protecting the free speech rights of public school teachers and requiring a local school district to provide comprehensive training to protect students and staff from discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, ge…
Successful Fight to End Unconstitutional Street Strip Searches By the Oakland Police Department
For more than a decade, the Oakland Police Department had a practice, and eventually a written policy, allowing officers to strip search people right on the street in broad daylight. Haddad & Sherwin teamed up with John Burris to represent dozens of…
Homeless Activists Force SFPD to Change Citizen’s Arrest Policy
Successfully represented homeless activists who were arrested and treated unusually harshly by police because of their exercise of free speech rights, winning compensation for the victims and substantial policy changes from the San Francisco Police D…
New Procedures Required to Prevent Repeat of Incident Where Deputies Tased and Beat Severely Disabled Young Woman
Alameda County sheriff’s deputies were at a facility for the care of people with developmental disabilities and mental illness when those deputies intervened in a situation where trained staff were calming down a young woman in crisis. The young woma…
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
If you may have a case involving wrongful death or catastrophic physical injuries, contact us today by filling out the form below to get a free consultation with an experienced, Oakland-based police civil rights lawyer. We handle cases throughout Northern and Central California.
In order to maximize our time and resources for our current wrongful death and catastrophic injury clients, unfortunately, we cannot respond to inquiries about matters we do not handle. We handle only wrongful death and catastrophic permanent injury cases arising from law enforcement or jail misconduct. Thank you for your interest in our work.
