$6.3M Verdict: Snowboarder Loses Leg Mobility to Medical Malpractice @HighImpactLegalExhibits

Uploaded September 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago

Jim Puga and Molly Greenblatt obtained a $6.3M medical malpractice verdict for a former snowboarder and New Zealand slopestyle coach who lost massive mobility in his left leg after doctors failed to diagnose and treat Acute Compartment Syndrome following an injury on the slopes.

The athlete has since become an inspirational story across the world, having taught himself to sit-ski while being heavily involved in coaching the New Zealand slopestyle team to the 2018 Winter Olympics. The BBC’s Ed Leigh interviewed the Plaintiff in the video below about his recovery and long-term goals.

Mr. Puga and Ms. Greenblatt needed a visual presentation that would show jurors how blood flows through the lower leg and how Acute Compartment Syndrome chokes off that blood flow to muscle tissue, resulting in the loss of normal leg function. We built the following Medical Illustration and Medical Animation to help them achieve their visual objectives.

$6.3M Verdict: Snowboarder Loses Leg Mobility to Medical Malpractice

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$$35M Verdict Animating Former-UCLA Lineman’s Amputation A former lineman for UCLA lost his leg after a taxi cab collided with his motorcycle at a poorly designed intersection with a line-of-sight obstruction. Because the intense level of damage heavily outweighed the cab driver’s insurance policy limits, Garo Mardirossian, Esq., needed to show why California’s Department of Transportation, Caltran, shared liability for his client’s injury, surgery, and destructive impact to his career as a fitness instructor. Mr. Mardirossian argued that Caltran failed to address a dangerously flawed intersection design - despite receiving complaints about the line of sight problem in the vicinity of the intersection. The Defense argued that the intersection was not dangerous and that Caltran shouldn’t be held responsible because there had never been a “fatal accident” at the intersection in decades. Mr. Mardirossian countered those arguments with witnesses who testified that while no “fatal” accidents had occurred, Caltran had been notified of several wrecks at the intersection, and also received complaints - one made directly to the mayor - warning the government agency of the risks. The highest amount Caltran would offer was $2.9M, but Mr. Mardirossian believed his client deserved much more compensation for his painful suffering and the enormous obstacles he would now face in his career. He tasked our team with creating a Digital Injury Summary (DIS) that would anchor his argument with graphic visuals of his client’s injury, surgeries, and current condition. The DIS included: Injury Illustration to convey the graphic destruction of his client’s leg after the incident. Surgery Animation to show the many procedures needed to amputate the plaintiff’s lower leg and reduce his fractured femur. The following exhibits helped jurors see why the former Division 1 athlete deserved much more compensation for his damages, and they delivered it in the form of a $35M verdict - 30 percent from the taxi driver, and 70 percent from Caltran. This trial footage above from the Courtroom View Network shows how Mr. Mardirossian presented the surgery animations in his closing. You can also watch how the entire trial unfolded on the Courtroom View Network website, where its now featured in CVNs online video archive of high-stakes civil trials. You can see all the exhibits in the full case study, here: http://highimpact.com/case-studies/35m-verdict-illustrating-ex-ucla-linemans-amputation$

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