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In June 2012, the plaintiff, while working in the course and scope of his employment as a retail sales representative for Frito-Lay, was stopped at a red light on northbound El Capitan. The plaintiff was operating a van similar to a FedEx or UPS van. As his light turned green, the plaintiff proceeded into the intersection where his vehicle was struck by the defendant in a California Commercial Works' westbound pickup trick. The plaintiff's vehicle was pushed west into another pickup truck that had also entered the intersection adjacent to plaintiff. All three vehicles were totaled in the accident.
The plaintiff, who was wearing a 3-point safety belt, suffered a laceration to the left side of his head as a result of contact with a metal seat-belt bracket. The plaintiff also suffered immediate low back and pelvic pain. Although able to ambulate at the scene of the accident, the plaintiff was transported via ambulance to Community Regional Medical Center where he was treated and released the same day.
During the three months post-accident, the plaintiff worked limited duty until early September 2012, when he was placed on total temporary disability. He remained off work for six months during which time he underwent a right inguinal surgery to remove a cystocele and repair a lipoma cord hernia. The plaintiff returned to unrestricted work March 25, 2013, however, over the course of the next 16 months, he continued to suffer with increasing low back pain and emotional stress at home and at work related to the subject accident. Such stress included delays and denial of treatment within the workers' compensation system. A neuropsychologist, diagnosed PTSD and limited cognitive deficits. As a result of his injuries, plaintiff was again placed on total temporary disability in August 2014 and remained off work through the trial.
Although stipulating to liability for causing the intersection collision, the defense took the position that once defendant had returned to full-time, unrestricted work in March 2013, they were no longer responsible for economic or non-economic damages thereafter. Despite defendant admitting liability, the plaintiff called two expert witnesses, an accident re-constructionist and a biomechanist, for the purpose of demonstrating accident/injury dynamics. The accident re-constructionist determined an impact speed of 30 mph and a delta-v at the driver's position of between 16 and 19 mph.
The plaintiff made an offer to compromise for the defendants' policy limits of $750,000. The offer was not accepted. Defendants' insurance carrier, Nationwide, made a settlement offer in the sum of $200,000, which was allowed to expire with the commencement of trial.
At Maya Murphy, P.C., our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their family members and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury, whether caused by a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a defective product, or otherwise. Our attorneys are not afraid to aggressively pursue and litigate cases and have extensive experience litigating personal injury matters in both state and federal courts, and always with regard to the unique circumstances of our client and the injury he or she has sustained.
Source- Hunt v. Hoffman, 1 Trials Digest 19th 16, 2015 WL 9674736 (Dec. 18, 2015).
