Bisnar Chase 2019 attorneys

H. Gavin Long - California Personal Injury Attorney

The Thrill of Fighting for What's Right

For Gavin Long, the courtroom is a place of justice for those injured at the fault of another.

Whether it's a fortune 500 company or a drunk driver that caused catastrophic injury to his client, Gavin is a champion for personal injury law.

"We have good laws here in California," he says. "The challenge for personal injury attorneys is to make sure people and corporations follow those laws."

Gavin has a wide range of jury trial experience in cases from murder and fraud to medical malpractice in state and federal courts. For example, just in the last year, has taken seven personal injury cases to trial and has obtained verdicts above the defendant's offer in all seven trials, beat the plaintiff's CCP 998 in four of the trials and "busted" the defendant's insurance policy in three of the trials.

Professional Legal Accomplishments

Gavin Long: OCTLA Trial Lawyer of the Year

Gavin was also appointed to the Consumer Attorneys of California's (CAOC) Board of Governors and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association.

Gavin is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an honor bestowed only on the most elite group of lawyers in the nation.

Avvo 5 Star Rated attorney specializing in personal injury, dog attacks, brain injuries, car accidents and wrongful death cases. Mr. Long was a legal presenter for Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association.

Gavin is also awarded the 2019 Lawyers of Distinction honor and in May 2019 secured an $11 million dollar jury verdict for a negligence case resulting in a wrongful death. The opposing side offered less than $500K.

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
  • Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs

Gavin is a member of the top 1 percent of attorneys in the nation who are members in this oldest and most prestigious organization in the country. Gavin has also won the honor ofTop Gun, Trial Lawyer of the Year 2016 with the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association.

Fighting the Insurance Companies

During his time at Bisnar Chase, since April 2012, Gavin has handled a large number of auto accident cases, taking a number of those cases to a jury trial and winning an overwhelming majority of those cases. This year alone, Gavin has helped clients secure about $16 million in total recovery.

What Gavin absolutely relishes about the process is fighting and winning against unscrupulous insurance companies - corporations that have absolutely no problems playing hardball with injured victims who are trying to get their lives back on track after a traumatic, life-altering event.

"When I expose these insurance companies and their tricks, I just love that," Gavin says. "I love taking the insurance companies down. People diligently pay their premiums to insurance companies thinking that they'll get compensated during a time of need. But, instead, they find out after an accident that they have to jump through hoops. And after all that, they may not get anything."

It's wrong to assume that the insurance company is your friend, Gavin says."In the cases I've handled, the insurance companies just didn't care. When you get hurt, you're not a person. As far as the insurance company is concerned, you're just a file. You could be severely injured, you could be in a wheelchair, but to them, you're just a file."

Fighting and Winning Cases

But Gavin knows how to put up a fight. In a recent case, Gavin was able to secure a $127,347 jury verdict for an auto accident victim when her insurance company had refused to pay $15,000. The injured woman had to undergo shoulder surgery. But her insurer, Fred Loya Insurance, denied payment questioning the need for surgery. They even argued that the woman did not yield the right-of-way when in fact it was the other driver who was making a left turn and was required to yield.

"In this case, the insurance company could've paid our client $15,000, which was the insurance limit," he said. "But they refused and ended up paying more than eight times that amount. This is the length to which insurance companies will go just to prevent a payout."

But Gavin is fighting the good fight - and winning. When all was said and done, Fred Loya Insurance paid a total judgment of $149,461 with CCP 998 costs and interest included. In 2015 alone, Gavin took 8 cases to trial by July 2015. Three of those he exceeded policy limits and won the highest amount possible for his clients.

Early Life and Education

Gavin is an Orange County native. He graduated from Servite High School in Anaheim where he was a star football player. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1996 and from Whittier Law School in 1999. He was a recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for securing the highest grades in his study of Torts and Evidence. Gavin worked with nationally renowned trial attorney Herbert Hafif under whom he handled all phases of litigation and trial preparation work in cases involving catastrophic personal injury, complex business litigation, federal False Claim Act cases and insurance bad faith.

Some of Gavin Long's Case Results
Award AmountType of Case
$11,000.000Jury verdict in facility negligence case
$6,685.000Auto v. Auto +defect
$3,000,000Jury verdict in auto v. pedestrian case
$1,950,000Auto v. Auto
$1,150,000Auto v. Pedestrian
$1,000,000Premise Liability
$600,000Auto v. Auto
$555,000Auto v. Auto
$500,000Auto v. Auto
$500,000Auto v. Auto
$450,000Auto v. Auto
$360,000Auto v. Auto
$243,000Jury verdict motorcycle accident
$160,000Jury verdict auto v. auto case
$155,000Jury verdict auto v. auto case
$145,000Jury verdict auto v. auto case
$135,000Auto v. Auto

A Valuable Team Member

Brian Chase, senior partner and experienced trial lawyer at Bisnar Chase says Gavin is an extremely valuable member of his team. "Gavin is tremendously motivated and passionate about what he does. His results demonstrate the superior caliber of his work, skills and abilities. We are fortunate to have him on the Bisnar Chase team."

Personal Side of Mr. Long

Gavin has been happily married for 20 years. Gavin met his wife, Rebekah, when she was 19 years old and she has stood firmly by his side through this incredible life journey. Rebekah continues to be Gavin's inspiration and his best friend - he could not ask for a better life partner.

Contact H. Gavin Long

To schedule a free consultation with Mr. Long, please call 949-203-3814.

Gavin's State Bar Profile

Have a question that wasn't answered here?