Confidential
Settlement – $1,000,000Court
Fresno Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Richard H. Martha
(Horton, Oberrecht, Kirkpatrick & Martha APC)
Experts
Plaintiff
Rick A. Sarkisian
(technical)
James E. Flynn
(technical)
Stephanie R. Rizzardi-Pearson
(technical)
Harvey L. Edmonds
(medical)
Defendant
Robert Jasinski
(technical)
Facts
Plaintiff Juan Maldonado was employed as a foreman by Jensen Packing. Defendant HCM Group Cold Storage operated a cold storage facility within the same building. The defendant's forklift drivers were assigned to remove pallets loaded with boxes of packed fruit from areas adjacent to Jensen's packing lines and take them into the cold storage area. Fully stacked pallets measured 40 inches by 48 inches by seven feet tall. On the morning of the accident, the plaintiff was walking from one packing area to another when he stepped from between two fully-stacked pallets into an aisle way used by the forklifts. As he did so, his left foot was run over by the front tire of an HMC forklift traveling in the aisle.
Specials in Evidence
$85,811 $98,169 $827,167 $340,400
Injuries
The plaintiff's left great toe and second toe were severely crushed and fractured. He suffered from secondary development of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which spread over the entire left side of his body. Juan is permanently and totally disabled by CRPS. His wife, Rebecca, sued for loss of consortium.
Result
Prior to trial, the plaintiffs gave the defendant a covenant not to enforce judgment in exchange for $1 million. The workers' compensation carrier intervener dismissed its complaint-in-intervention with prejudice. The matter proceeded to trial for the purpose of determining total damages and the allocation of fault. The Court found special damages of $1,351,547 and general damages of $2,000,000. Total damages: $3,351,547. The Court apportioned fault as follows: 5 percent (plaintiff); 35 percent (defendant); 60 percent (Jensen Packing).
Other Information
The workers' compensation carrier must continue paying compensation until it meets its threshold of nearly $2,011,000.
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