LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carney R. Shegerian, an employee rights attorney and founder of Shegerian & Associates, a Santa Monica-based litigation law firm representing employees, disclosed an $8,500,000 jury verdict for discrimination reached on Thursday afternoon in the Los Angeles Superior Court in downtown. Along with the renowned civil rights attorney Irving Meyer, Esq. of the Law Offices of Irving Meyer in Los Angeles, their client Michele Daniel obtained the verdict against the Texas-based oil refinery, Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company.
The lawsuit involved Michele Daniel’s claims for disability discrimination against Tesoro’s local facility in Wilmington where she had worked for 18 years. In the last years of her employment, Daniel suffered an on-the-job injury to her knee requiring surgery and other medical treatment. Following temporary accommodations from a predecessor corporation, Daniel was not accommodated and terminated by Tesoro’s management.
On June 21st, a jury of 12 found that Tesoro had violated the laws as against Daniel in three different ways and awarded her $8,500,000 in compensatory damages. Shegerian reports, “It seems as though Tesoro, while a federal contractor required by law to affirmatively recruit and hire disabled people, did the very opposite. It shunned them. Tesoro pulled a blind eye to California law, the federal ADA and seriously injured Ms. Daniel on so many levels. She lost her career of 18 years, her home and has been unemployable for almost five years. Tesoro’s own retained psychologist testified that his own testing of Ms. Daniel showed she suffered ‘extreme depression,’ years after the termination. It is really very sad the effect that corporate discriminatory attitudes can have on its victims.”
An experienced trial attorney, Shegerian has tried many jury trials to verdict in both state and federal court, always representing individuals that have suffered financial or emotional losses and have been wronged by employers, including major corporations. Shegerian has built a remarkable career on helping those who have been wronged in the workplace. He remains undefeated in federal jury trials and has won 18 seven figure verdicts representing employees.
Located in the City of Santa Monica, Shegerian & Associates is a law firm specifically focused on protecting the rights of employees who have been wronged by their employers. Richly experienced in labor and employment law and possessing an unparalleled success record as litigators, Shegerian & Associates is passionately dedicated to serving the needs of its clients. For more information, visit www.ShegerianLaw.com.