Facts

On Nov. 5, 2008, at 12:20 p.m. on State Route 330, plaintiff Richard Martinez was stopped for construction when Defendant's semi trailer failed to stop, causing a chain reaction between three vehicles, the last being Martinez's 2006 Honda Civic.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant told the investigating police officer he was traveling down the hill at 35-40 mph and saw traffic slowing, but when he tried to apply the brakes his foot became lodged in between the gas pedal and the brake pedal, depressing both the gas and brake pedal at the same time. He claimed his foot was jarred free when he hit the other vehicle.

Specials in Evidence

$146,847

Injuries

Plaintiff injured his neck. He underwent a set of epidural injections, which gave him relief for a period of nine months but the pain returned. He underwent a second set of epidural injections, which again gave him relief for nine months. But the pain still returned. Plaintiff's doctor opined that the subject accident has turned an asymptomatic underlying condition into a symptomatic intractable condition and recommended a two-level anterior cervical discectomy at the C5-6 and C6-7 levels with interbody graft and plate arthrodesis. Plaintiff underwent evaluation and testing by an internist to find out if there is any chance he could clear to undergo the surgery however after a thorough work and physical examination the internist found him still to be high risk for surgery due to low platelet counts, elevated PT, and history of liver problems which cumulatively create a higher chance of bleeding during and after surgery. Thus Plaintiff argued that he would require pain management for the remainder of his life.

Result

The case settled for $800,000.

Other Information

FILING DATE: Sept. 28, 2010.