Facts

On Oct. 4, 2010, Vincent Ramirez's tractor-trailer hit the side of a vehicle driven by Tony Rouhana on the 710 freeway in Los Angeles. Rouhana filed a lawsuit against Ramirez and The America Bottling Co. Inc., the owner of the tractor-trailer.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff alleged that Ramirez's driving was careless and that The American Bottling Co. needed to be found responsible for his conduct because Ramirez was in the course and scope of his employment with the company. In particular, plaintiff argued that while driving in front of Ramirez on the freeway, Ramirez started to change lanes, but hit the side of plaintiff's car because his move was dangerous.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants argued that the injuries suffered by plaintiff did not come about due to the incident. They claimed that the force of the collision was slight and could not have caused the multiple injuries alleged by the plaintiff.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff demanded $950,000 and the defense offered $20,000.

Injuries

Plaintiff suffered herniated discs at L3-L4 and L4-5, and suffered pelvic injury and urinary dysfunction. He underwent radiculopathy and received epidural injections. Plaintiff also had diagnostic testing done.

Result

The court decided in favor of defendants because any negligence did not bring about the harms to plaintiff.