Daniel Adkins v. North County Materials, H.G. Fenton Co., Scott Lewis
Published: Jun. 17, 2000 | Result Date: May 26, 2000 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: N078032 Verdict – $0
Judge
Court
San Diego Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Paul A. Buckley
(Taylor Anderson LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
Roberta J. Spoon
(technical)
Donald L. Asa
(technical)
Walter Strausser
(medical)
Charles F. Landers
(medical)
Gerald F. Zamiski Ph.D.
(technical)
Jerry L. Hildreth
(technical)
Jeffrey M. Schiffman
(medical)
Jon B. Landerville P.E.
(technical)
Richard D. Jones
(Jones Mayer)
(technical)
Robert J. Neborsky
(medical)
Michael A. Lobatz
(medical)
Defendant
Rick Barrett
(technical)
Dominick Addario
(medical)
John A. Aalbers
(medical)
Dino Perugino
(technical)
Robert B. Hall Ph.D.
(technical)
John B. McDowell
(technical)
Cary P. Mack
(technical)
Facts
On May 13, 1997, plaintiff, a 26-year-old laborer for Lusardi Construction, was using a vibrator to
smooth out concrete on a construction site. Lusardi, the general contractor, was placing concrete tilt-up panels.
DefendantÆs concrete truck was driven by Scott Lewis and was signaled by a chute man employed by Lusardi.
The chute man directed the truck backward toward the area where they intended to pour the footings for trash
enclosure panels. The truck was traveling backward at approximately 1-2 mph when the end of the chute hit
the 5000-pound concrete tilt-up panel, knocking it onto and crushing plaintiff, who was standing on the other
side. Plaintiff was trapped underneath the 5,000-pound wall until a skycrane could remove it.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff demanded $2,750,000 before trial, reduced to $2 million during trial. The defendants offered $1,175,000 before trial, raised to $1.5 million before closing argument.
Specials in Evidence
$600,000 $35,000 $728,000 $450,000
Injuries
The plaintiff was in a drug induced coma for approximately one month because of respiratory complications. After he came out of the coma, he was on a tracheostomy for another four weeks. He suffered pulmonary contusions, fracture of the left femur and pelvis, concussion, ARDS, chronic pleuritic pain of the left chest, heterotopic bone formation in the femur and thighs, deformity of the sacrum, permanent neurological injuries from S1-S4, fractured ribs, knee pain, atrophy in his foot, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, nightmares, bowel and bladder dysfunction secondary to sacral nerve damage, sexual dysfunction including extreme pain upon erection, left lateral cutaneous neuropathy, cervical strain, sinusitis, and toxic metabolic encelopathy. Plaintiff underwent three orthopedic surgeries. Plaintiff was taking 120 mg of morphine per day and claimed he could never return to work.
Deliberation
one day
Poll
9-3
Length
24 days
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