Katherine M. Woodward

With more than 25 years’ experience as a litigator and trial attorney, Katherine is licensed in California, Colorado, Texas, and Arizona and has been admitted pro hac vice in about a dozen states throughout the U.S. in order to defend our clients, take and defend expert depositions, handle mediations and arbitrations, try cases, and is the fixer our clients need in catastrophic injury cases, including those previously handled by other law firms.  

• Brought in about a month prior to the scheduled trial date to try a motor vehicle case in Douglas County, Colorado and settled claim against our client for nominal sum on the eve of trial (2023)
• Brought in to try a products liability claim pending in Cook County, Illinois involving personal injury caused when a plaintiff fell from 25-foot height onto concrete parking lot and settled case with trial judge on what would have been the first day of trial (2023)
• Parachuted into case about 30 days before trial to try a premises liability case in which woman was assaulted in condo building’s parking lot; settled case after jury trial began in Denver, Colorado (2022) for less than 5% of Plaintiff’s mediation demand
• Obtained defense verdict in two week jury trial in Denver, Colorado (2021) based on premises liability claim brought by individuals shot by deranged mass murderer who attacked a reproductive health care clinic in Colorado Springs; jury found shooting was not reasonably foreseeable and not reasonably preventable
• Obtained summary judgment in DeKalb County, Georgia (2021) in premises liability case against local gymnasium in which Plaintiff fell on premises during pickleball game and immediately slipped into a coma; Plaintiff demanded more than $3 million to settle claim
• Tried case in Yolo County, California (2020) in which Plaintiff received amputation following his encounter with a forklift in a vegetable warehouse driven by a company employee; successfully obtained significant comparative fault on Plaintiff to reduce verdict against Defendant-company
• Tried three-week case in Maricopa County, Arizona (2019) in which parents of deceased student sued truck driver and truck company; Defendants admitted liability; verdict limited to $5 million in wrongful death claim, which was about $16.5 million less than pre-trial settlement demand from Plaintiffs
• Tried five-week case in Clark County, Nevada (2019) in which Plaintiffs claimed TBI following motor vehicle accident; verdict achieved was approximately $15 million less than latest settlement demand from Plaintiffs
• Tried two-week case in Marion County, Indiana (2019) in which Plaintiff claimed a below-the-knee amputation was caused by his fall at gas station; Plaintiff asked the jury for $8.5 million and jury returned a verdict of less than $300,000 and allocated 50% fault to Plaintiff
• Represented hydraulic equipment manufacturer in bridge collapse case in Riverside, California and negotiated successful resolution that represented a fraction of the demands made by a group of about a dozen injured construction workers and spouses
• On eve of trial, settled catastrophic injury case in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana involving three minor children and two parents in a trucking accident in which Plaintiffs claimed our client was vicariously liable for driver we contended was an independent contractor; settlement represented a fraction of Plaintiffs’ last settlement demand
• Provided emergency response and expertise to swimming pool facilities in drowning cases involving allegedly negligent lifeguards and management in DuPage County, Illinois; Harris County, Texas; New Castle County, Delaware; San Francisco County, California; Marin County, California; Washington, DC; St. Louis County, Missouri; Hillsborough County, Florida; and Knox County, Tennessee 
• Defended gas station owner in Clark County, Nevada against claims brought by two women injured when stranger stabbed customers; settled lawsuit for several thousand dollars in response to a multi-million demand
• Defended youth camp in Missouri in multiple sexual abuse allegation cases
• Represent excess carriers as monitoring counsel for catastrophic personal injury (often involving traumatic brain injury allegations) and wrongful death cases involving motor vehicle accidents, construction accidents, trucking accidents, premises liability accidents, and product-defect claims
• Represent defendants in officer-involved shootings and 1983 claims
• Frequently take the lead in mock trials representing plaintiff or defense positions, including mock trials in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Texas
• Routinely monitor and provide defense guidance on cases which threaten multi-million dollar excess insurance coverage 
• Routinely prepare and defend corporate 30(b)(6) representatives for depositions
• Routinely identify, prepare, and defend our expert witnesses in a variety of subjects (accident reconstruction, biomechanics, orthopedic injuries, traumatic brain injuries, neuropsychology, neuroradiology, cause of death, drowning, product liability, product warnings, professional standard of care, etc.) and depose opposing experts
• Defend premises owners against third-party criminal acts (school shootings, mass shootings, stabbings) resulting in deaths and injuries to patrons, visitors, and staff 
• Defend premises owners against dram shop claims involving allegedly intoxicated patrons

• Growing Gardens - Former Member and Vice President of Board of Trustees