Attorney Victor George Fights For Victims
The Passionate Underdog Has Set Records for Wrongful Death Verdicts
In one of the last jury awards before Los Angeles-area courtrooms shut down due to the coronavirus, a federal jury awarded $500,000 in punitive and compensatory damages to a former Wells Fargo employee who was maliciously fired after she returned from medical leave.
For her high-profile attorney — Torrance-based Victor George, who also seeks $2.3 million in attorney fees — it was just another surprising and impressive move for an attorney who has made a career of such feats.
“It’s all about being a good storyteller,” says George, who recently received the 2019 Loyola Law School Champions of Justice Award for his ethics, advocacy and professionalism. “Once a jury learns how the victims were seriously injured because of someone’s else negligence, or how employees were wronged by unlawful acts in the workplace, they will do the right thing.”
Since opening the Law Offices of Victor George in 1990, George has completed dozens of trials through jury verdict. During one 10-year stretch, George did not lose a trial.
Following a seven-week wrongful-death trial in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2016, George won a $26-million verdict — the largest wrongful death jury verdict awarded to a minor in the country.
“The work I do is for victims,” George says. “It’s for the people who work hard and live the best life they can until something terrible happens.”
Victor George’s Modest, West Virginia Upbringing Helps Him Relate to Victims
George grew up in a rural part of West Virginia where he watched hard-working coal and steel workers get chewed up by the system pretty much every day.
“I don’t think the mine owners ever put the miners first,” says George who, like his parents, became a dad of five. “Growing up there, you kind of get an idea whose side you’re on.”
These afflictions included extremely hazardous working conditions, black lung, pit disasters and a company store that took wages from generations of miners in exchange for basic necessities.
“It’s the kind of place where you become empathetic and pull for the workers,” George adds. “Becoming a lawyer was an opportunity for me to help people get a fair shake.”
After getting accepted to Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, he drove across the country and settled in Southern California. It was the land of sunshine and movie stars — but his clients’ stories of discrimination and serious work injuries reminded him of things back home.
Before he opened his own practice as a plaintiffs’ attorney, George spent a few years in personal injury defense firms before changing course. “I felt that I could make much more of an impact by working for justice on behalf of victims who really needed a hand,” George said.
He thrives working as an underdog.
“I have many jury trials, but my client has only one trial. There’s no second chance,” George said.”
Victor George’s Tour-Bus Victory Set A Record for Wrongful-Death Verdicts
His landmark case Zizette v Starline Tours et al achieved a $26-million verdict for the wrongful death of Mason Zizette, who died riding atop a double-decker tour bus during his 16th birthday party. Since Zizette had no medical bills and was not yet earning an income, the only damages his bereaved parents could pursue for his death were for “loss of love.”
The case received wide local and national media coverage and brought legislation that forced the tour bus industry to make buses safer to ride.
“It changed a lot of laws for what needs to be done on those double-decker buses,” George said.
A Crusader for Victims of Harassment and Discrimination
George recently prevailed with a $4.25-million jury verdict in Mackey v. Helinet Aviation Services, where his client, a single mom selling helicopter equipment, was sexually harassed and assaulted by a high-ranking member of the FBI.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated for less than a day before finding that 47-year-old Doreen Olson Mackey was a victim of sexual harassment and retaliation by the then-FBI employee. George collected $1.86 million in compensatory damages, $1.4 million in attorneys fees and $1 million in punitive damages.
In 2008, George earned a $5.4-million verdict in Leontaritis v. Taverna Tony, one of his biggest gender discrimination victories. The plaintiff, a hostess, was sexually harassed at an A-list Malibu restaurant.
In 2007, he won a $7-million jury verdict for a Palestinian plaintiff who sued his employer for breach of contract and fraud. Omari v. Kindred Health Care was one of the country’s first post-9/11 discrimination trial victories for a Muslim.
“I was surrounded by people all my life of all ethnicities and never thought to judge anyone based on skin color or religion,” says George. “In West Virginia, it’s like, Who’s nice? Who’s honest?”
Victor George Continues The Equal Rights Work During the #MeToo Movement
George says he’s passionate about representing women partially because he wants his four daughters to grow up in a world that’s kinder and fairer to them than the world some of his clients have endured. He says that although #MeToo has helped expose more women’s causes, too many women still don’t have enough access to justice.
“Too many men still ignore the rights women have fought so long for,” George said.
George says the most important legal need for women today is pay equity, citing the Lily Ledbetter Act. It exposed that women were doing the same job as men for different pay.
George works on the executive board of the California Women’s Law Center. It addresses the legal needs of women and girls and engages in litigation, advocacy and education. George also sits on the board of the Western Justice Center, an organization dedicated to teaching students and teachers best ways to resolve conflicts. He is an emeritus member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of California.
George tries jury trials throughout the state of California, and is licensed to practice before all Courts in the State of California, the Central District of California, the Southern District of California, the Northern District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
