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largest elder abuse verdict against a skilled nursing facility in the history of the Sacramento/Greater San Francisco Bay Area region ($30.1 million)

largest elder abuse verdict against an assisted living facility in the history of the United States ($42.5 million)

Ed Dudensing is the most successful elder abuse trial attorney in the history of the state of California.

How Ed Dudensing’s verdicts stack up against other elder abuse verdicts

The first, second, and third largest elder abuse verdicts in the history of the Sacramento/Greater Bay Area region

Largest assisted living facility verdict in the history of the United States

The only currently practicing attorney in the United States with more than one eight figure (e.g., more $10 million or more) elder abuse verdict

The only attorney in the history of the United States with three eight figure elder abuse verdicts

Why Verdicts Matter

Most litigation cases resolve before a trial or jury verdict. Given this, you may ask why Mr. Dudensing’s record-breaking verdicts should matter to you. First, while most cases resolve short of a jury verdict, if your case does not (which is something that is largely out of your or your attorney’s control) you will need an attorney who is capable of trying a complex case of elder abuse before a jury of your peers. This is a very specialized skill that most elder abuse attorneys do not possess. Mr. Dudensing is not only capable of trying elder abuse cases but he has an unparalleled track record of successful outcomes. Second, and equally importantly, Mr. Dudensing’s proven record of trial success drives settlement results as well. The reason is simple – defendants and their insurance companies are sophisticated and they too know “who is who” amongst elder abuse attorneys. The greatest fear (and for good reason) of elder care defendants and their insurance companies is suffering a large, public jury verdict. If they believe that your attorney does not have the experience, skill set, and track record to secure a large jury verdict (which applies to most attorneys), naturally they will view their risk of significant financial exposure as much lower and accordingly will offer less to settle the case before trial. Conversely, if they believe your attorney has the ability to secure a large jury verdict, they will pay more to avoid this risk. The bottom line is that a past record of large jury verdicts by your attorney matters, whether or not your case ends up in trial or is resolved before then.

Why Mr. Dudensing’s Experience As A Criminal Prosecutor Matters

Before beginning his work as an attorney on behalf of victims of elder abuse, Mr. Dudensing spent numerous years as a criminal prosecutor in the Sacramento District Attorneys’ office. In that position, he tried scores of cases, including complex cases of murder, attempted murder, child molest, gang crimes, and elder abuse. These years allowed Mr. Dudensing to hone his skills as a trial lawyer in a way that is very difficult to do in the civil arena because trials are far less frequent in civil law. Performing trials is sometimes compared to learning how to drive or ride a bike. Do you remember the first time you drove a vehicle in traffic? Everything seemed so chaotic and scary! But later as you gained more experience, driving became second nature. The same applies to trials. Trials are demanding experiences, and it takes many, many trials before attorneys are able to be effective in such a high pressure setting. Experienced trial attorneys make trying cases look relatively easy, but they are not! Mr. Dudensing has been through years and years of trial work both in the criminal and civil arenas. He has tried well over fifty cases to verdict. This trial work uniquely suits him to represent victims of elder abuse in civil litigation.

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These case studies represent a fraction of Ed Dudensing’s successes. For more, visit our news section, where you can read press coverage of his most notable accomplishments over the past 20 years.

Read press coverage

“Ed’s a nice guy and you can rely on what he says. He does his paperwork. We went to the deposition, and that night he called me and said, it didn’t upset you did it? And I said, no you didn’t let them upset me. He knew stuff, and he studied my papers, and he got them from the attorney and the doctor. He did his job; I didn’t have to do any of it. He worked hard on it.”

Bill Hobbs

“They helped me tremendously throughout this whole process. Everyone that works for him, they are very caring individuals. It’s just a whole different atmosphere than what you would expect. I was very glad that I had those kinds of people working for me.”

Judi Goldman

When I met with him I felt very comfortable with him. I felt like he was being straightforward with me. I’m not litigious. I wasn’t doing it to get any money, I wanted it brought to light that my father wasn’t taken care of, so I felt comfortable with Ed and I actually liked the fact that he screened me also to make sure I wasn’t a lunatic. So that made me feel confident that he was on the up and up and that I could trust him with my case.

Michelle Starke

“Dearest Ed, Thank you, thank you, thank you! It still hasn’t sunk in that this ordeal is finally over. You rocked and Della and I know how lucky we are to have found you. I know this phase was about money, but I feel like you were all in it for all the other right reasons. Thank you. We spread Dad’s ashes on Thursday before we left and I know he’s proud of all the hard work we’ve all done. He’s now one with the ocean water and the ships he loved that sail through the bay.”

Nicole DeSaix-Sheridan

“I cannot say enough good things about Ed Dudensing and his wonderful staff. During a very difficult time, Ed Dudensing proved to be more than just an attorney but also an advocate for the elderly when they cannot speak for themselves. He gave our case individual time and care, and when the case was over he and his staff were more than just legal advisors, they were friends. I would highly recommend the experienced and professional law office of Ed Dudensing to anyone seeking justice for themselves or a loved one.”

Laura Walker

“What eventually made me choose Ed was his approach, his success rate, his candor, his honesty.”

Alan Tomiyama

“Mr. Dudensing is incredibly competent at what he does. His expertise and knowledge of the law is quite an amazing thing to witness. He’s a true artist at what he does.”

Dave Kear

“They lied, they all lied, and Ed proved it.”

Betty Pao