Five-week trial results in one of San Francisco’s largest traumatic brain injury jury verdicts involving a construction company.
SAN FRANCISCO – California personal injury trial law firm Feher Law secured a $20.7 million jury verdict for Vanessa Oliveira, an East Coast physician assistant who was in San Francisco when a metal stud fell from scaffolding and struck her as she sat outside the Courtyard by Marriott San Francisco Downtown/Second Street during the hotel’s renovation.
Following a five-week trial, a San Francisco Superior Court jury found that the scaffolding contractor responsible for the hotel renovation failed to adequately protect members of the public from falling debris. The jury awarded Oliveira $2.5 million in past noneconomic damages, $2.2 million in future medical expenses and $16 million in future noneconomic damages, underscoring the jury’s determination that Oliveira will continue to experience the effects of her injuries for the rest of her life.
“Vanessa was celebrating a promotion and had an incredibly promising future as a physician assistant. In an instant, that future was forever changed by an incident that never should have happened,” said Thomas Feher, founder and trial attorney at Feher Law. “After years of litigation, a mistrial and a five-week retrial, the jury recognized the evidence for what it was and held the construction company accountable for failing to protect the public from falling debris. We hope this verdict sends a clear message that public safety must never be treated as an afterthought.”
The defense vigorously contested both liability and whether Oliveira had sustained a traumatic brain injury, despite extensive medical testimony presented throughout the trial. The jury ultimately rejected those arguments and awarded a $20.7 million verdict in Oliveira’s favor. The verdict comes nearly seven years after the 2019 incident that forever changed Oliveira’s life.
Background Information
Oliveira filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court on October 8, 2021, alleging the entities responsible for the Courtyard by Marriott San Francisco Downtown/Second Street renovation failed to adequately protect members of the public from falling construction debris following the October 12, 2019 incident. The lawsuit named Marriott International, Inc., Scaffold Solutions, Inc., Skanska USA Building, Inc. and David Schmidt Construction, though Marriott was later dismissed from the case before trial. After years of discovery, extensive expert testimony and a mistrial, the case was retried beginning July 15, 2026. On July 22, 2026, a San Francisco Superior Court jury found the construction companies responsible for failing to adequately protect the public during the hotel’s renovation and awarded Oliveira $20.7 million in damages.
About Feher law, APC
Feher Law, APC is a California trial law firm representing individuals and families in catastrophic injury, wrongful death and employment matters. The firm is known for handling complex, high-stakes litigation involving traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, paralysis and other life-altering injuries, as well as workplace disputes. Through meticulous preparation and aggressive courtroom advocacy, Feher Law is committed to holding negligent individuals, corporations and employers accountable while securing meaningful results for clients throughout California.
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