Top Plaintiffs' Verdict by Impact: Newland v. County of Los Angeles

Rahul Ravipudi's $13.9 million vehicle collision lawsuit against Los Angeles County was a drawn-out, four-month affair, but it paid off in the end. His client suffered severe head trauma and fractured ribs as a result of being struck by a car while walking on a sidewalk. A county public defender made an illegal left turn, crashing into a car which then hit Ravipudi's client. Despite the public defender, Donald Prigo, admitting that he was at fault in the accident while on county time, the county still tried to shift liability to the driver of the other car.

"It ended up being a very long trial," said Ravipudi, a Panish Shea & Boyle LLP attorney who specializes in catastrophic injury cases. "I think part of it had to do with how the county defended the case. They were over-litigating every single issue. I think the county was taking a position we shouldn't be responsible for anything."

The trial was bifurcated and the jury first found the county vicariously liable for the driver's negligence in the car accident under the state's vehicle use exception. Even though Prigo was driving his own car, the county was responsible for his actions because he was considered within the scope of employment, said Ravipudi.

CONTRERAS	SCHULTZ

During the second phase of the trial, the county attempted to shift the blame to the driver of the other car involved in the accident, arguing Ravipudi's client made a full recovery from insignificant injuries. The jury disagreed, finding Prigo, as well as the county, 100 percent liable and awarded the plaintiff $13.9 million.

The verdict included about $122,000 in past medical expenses, $770,000 in future medical expenses, $545,000 in future lost earnings, $3.2 million in past pain and suffering and $9.2 million in future pain and suffering. The county's pretrial settlement was $110,000, Ravipudi said.

"Being obstructive and in denial is not uncommon for defendants," he said. "I think it is upsetting as a governmental entity defending liability."

? Justin Kloczko