Specializing in catastrophic injury, brain and spinal trauma and trucking collisions, he has obtained landmark results in high-profile cases across California.
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Khail A. Parris is a trial lawyer who represents people whose lives have been changed by catastrophic injury. Since joining PARRIS in 2015, Khail has won more than $500 million in verdicts and settlements for his clients.
His practice focuses on catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, and product defect cases, with particular experience representing people who have suffered life-altering brain and spinal injuries. Khail routinely leads trial teams in cases arising from automobile, commercial trucking, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian collisions, as well as dangerous property conditions and workplace injuries.
A Record in the Courtroom
Khail's results include numerous eight-figure and nine-figure verdicts and judgments, among them $120 million, $77.1 million, $58.4 million, $56.5 million, $52.1 million, $49.6 million, $41.6 million, and $32.8 million.
Those numbers tell only part of the story.
Another law firm brought Khail in on a case in which a man was catastrophically injured due to a driver running a stop sign while talking on her cell phone. During discovery, Khail proved to the trial judge that the Defendant consciously chose to hide her cell phone records and that her lawyers were changing her under-oath responses to fit her insurance company’s goals. This resulted in the trial judge taking the rare but warranted step of precluding the Defendant from presenting any defense at trial. Khail, subsequently led the two firms to trial and secured a verdict of $120 million.
In one case involving a catastrophically injured motorcyclist, Khail led the PARRIS trial team and obtained a $77.1 million jury verdict following a head-on collision. The Plaintiff was riding his motorcycle through a mountain pass when the Defendant crossed the double yellow lane and hit the Plaintiff head-on. The Defendant admitted to the investigating officer that he crossed the double yellow line. But, at deposition and trial, the Defendant changed his story claiming that the investigating officer pressured the Defendant into accepting responsibility. The Defendant went on to claim that the Plaintiff actually crossed the double yellow line and hit him. After two weeks of trial, the jury rejected that account and found the defendant entirely at fault.
In another, Khail co-chaired the PARRIS trial team that obtained a historic $58.4 million verdict for a railyard worker catastrophically injured while performing electrical work atop a train car. There, the Defendant claimed that the Plaintiff was an employee and therefore, he could not sue. After digging through thousands of pages of documents, it became clear that the Defendant routinely considered injured workers, like the Plaintiff, to be employees when they were hurt on the job, but considered those same workers independent contractors when it came time to pay wages. This not only resulted in a finding that the Plaintiff could sue but also revealed the numerous injuries that occurred at the railyard. At trial, the jury awarded every dollar of compensatory damages asked for and further found that the Defendant should be punished.
Khail recently served as lead trial attorney for a Sheriff’s Deputy who was catastrophically injured in the line of duty, obtaining a $52.1 million jury verdict. A trucking company entered into a contract with the United States Postal Services for the delivery of mail. But, rather than actually delivering the mail, the trucking company subcontracted the work to another trucking company, which then subcontracted to another trucking company. Each time the companies would subcontract, they reduced the potential profit for each of the subsequent companies. This resulted in a driver delivering the mail at a rate that was well below minimum wage. In order to survive the driver worked hours well beyond the legal limit for truck drivers. At trial, the jury found that all of the companies were liable for the Plaintiff’s injuries and that they should be punished for their conduct.
Recognized by the Legal Community
Khail has been recognized by leading legal publications and peer-review organizations for both his results and his work in the courtroom.
He was named one of the Daily Journal's Top 40 Under 40 lawyers in California and has also been recognized by the publication as a Top Plaintiff Lawyer and Top 100 Lawyer. He has been selected to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America every year since 2021 and to Super Lawyers' Southern California Rising Stars every year from 2021 through 2027. He was also named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Antelope Valley Bar Association.
Khail’s trials, results, and approach to trial advocacy have been featured by the Los Angeles Times, Daily Journal, National Law Journal, Courtroom View Network, Los Angeles Business Journal, Plaintiff Magazine, Advocate, and other legal and national media.
The Los Angeles Times has described Khail as a “nationally recognized trial attorney” whose career includes “landmark results in high-profile cases.”
Teaching Trial Lawyers
Khail is frequently invited to teach other lawyers the art and strategy of trying cases and achieving exceptional results in the courtroom.
His speaking and teaching engagements have included Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, Southwestern Law School, Trial Lawyers University, Trial Guides, TBI Med Legal, Southern Trial Lawyers Association, Kentucky Bar Association, Dordick Trial College, Bridgeport Continuing Education, Case Analysis, and other national trial-advocacy programs.
He is also a frequent guest on legal and trial-advocacy podcasts, including Picking Justice with Dan Kramer and Harry Plotkin, Tip the Scales, and Trial Lawyers University, and hosts PARRIS Law Firm's Trial by Fire podcast.
Khail earned his J.D. from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. Before joining PARRIS, he worked at the Van Nuys City Attorney's Office, where, while still a law student, he tried cases to verdict and never lost a trial.
He is also a member of Mensa.
SELECTED VERDICTS & RESULTS
$120 Million
Jury verdict for the victim of a T-bone collision caused by a distracted driver.
$77.1 Million
Jury verdict for a motorcyclist who suffered catastrophic injuries in a head-on collision.
$58.4 Million
Historic jury verdict for a railyard worker catastrophically injured while performing electrical repairs atop a train car.
$56.5 Million
Judgment for two brothers who suffered life-altering injuries in a commercial trucking collision.
$52.1 Million
Jury verdict arising from a semi-truck colliding with a Sheriff Deputy.
$49.6 Million
Jury verdict for a California Highway Patrol officer catastrophically injured in the line of duty.
$41.6 Million
Jury verdict for a 27-year-old man rendered quadriplegic following a T-bone collision.
$32.8 Million
Jury verdict for a client severely injured in a rear-end collision involving a California state employee.
$9.6 Million
Jury verdict after rejected settlement offers of $370,000 and $5 million.
$7.1 Million
Jury verdict against the Los Angeles Unified School District for an elementary school student injured on a school playground.
- State Bar of California
- United States District Court for the Central District of California
- United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
Our Executives Serve Clients on a Contingency Fee Basis.
We cover the costs of fighting for you—including the costs of filing a lawsuit, performing any needed investigations, and going to trial if necessary. Once your case has been resolved, our team will obtain a percentage of the result we secured for you.
