Confidential
Settlement – $2,400,000Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Long Beach
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Samuel D. Almon
(Makarem & Associates APLC)
Steven C. Price
(Marron Lawyers APC)
Defendant
Joseph P. Wohrle
(Gladstone Weisberg ALC)
Experts
Plaintiff
David J. Weiner M.B.A., AM
(technical)
Gerald F. Zamiski Ph.D.
(technical)
Charles A. Hunter
(medical)
Donald L. Asa
(technical)
Robert W. Crommelin
(technical)
Edward N. Jungers
(technical)
Mauricio Heilbrun
(medical)
Defendant
Allen L. Weber
(technical)
James D. Gardner
(technical)
Joyce Elaine Pickersgill
(technical)
Arnold W. Siegel
(technical)
Wayne Berry
(technical)
Marcelline Burns
(technical)
Facts
FACTS PER THE PLAINTIFF: On May 4, 1996, at approximately 8:35 p.m., on the off ramp from the northbound I-710 Long Beach freeway to Pacific Coast Highway northbound in the City of Long Beach, the decedent's Ford Sedan was disabled and stopped on the shoulder to the right of the traveled portion of the off-ramp. The decedent had his four flashing hazard lights on when the defendant's tractor and trailer, an 18 wheeler big rig came onto the off-ramp the rig passed decedent and his stopped vehicle, traveling at between 2 and 4 mph, traveling on the right turning, clover leaf off-ramp. The cab of the big rig passed the stopped vehicle with a clearance of approximately 8 feet from the right side of the tractor to the left side of the stopped, disabled vehicle. As the tractor pulled the trailer loaded with a full cargo container, the rear wheels of the trailer tracked onto the white stripe edge line delineating the traveled portion of the off-ramp from the shoulder and struck the decedent, who was standing next to the left side of his car, pulling him under the right rear wheels of the trailer and dragging and pushing the decedent 124 feet. The driver of the truck, was an employee of defendants within the course and scope of his employment. A witness was following the big rig and saw that the rear of the trailer was tracking close to the stopped vehicle on the shoulder, and the witness flashed his headlights on the right rear of the trailer as the big rig was making the right turning movement on the clover leaf off ramp. The defendant's driver did not see the flashing lights. The witness saw the rear of the trailer pull the decedent from his position standing next to his vehicle on the shoulder of the off ramp, and saw him being dragged or pushed by the right rear wheels of the slow moving trailer. That witness got the truck driver's attention, causing the driver to stop. The plaintiffs, the decedent's wife and children, brought this action against the defendants based on wrongful death and negligence. **** CONTINUATION OF FACTS
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs made a settlement demand for $3.9 million. The defendants made an offer of $950,000.
Specials in Evidence
$550,000 ($300,000 lien) $400,000
Damages
$5,000 for miscellaneous expenses including towing and funeral expenses.
Injuries
Death from being hit and dragged by a tractor-trailer. The decedent suffered injuries by being dragged and pushed by the wheels of the trailer, including a crushed pelvis, a ruptured bladder, torn urethra, avulsion of skin, muscle and other body parts from his buttocks and anterior thighs, and other severe internal injuries. The decedent survived for nine weeks following the accident, and died as a result of those injuries suffered in the accident.
Result
***** FACTS PER THE DEFENDANT: The defendants were not negligent. The decedent was intoxicated at the time of the accident, impairing his judgment, ability to perceive, and ability to react. Just before the accident, because of his intoxication, the decedent slammed the left front wheel of his vehicle into the left curb of the off-ramp, destroying the left front wheel and axle of his vehicle, rendering it non-driveable. Nevertheless, he apparently decided to change the left front tire of his vehicle. He parked his vehicle on the right shoulder of off-ramp, immediately adjacent to the line separating the shoulder from the travelway. As the driver approached the decedent's vehicle, the decedent was not visible either to the driver or to the witness. As the driver approached the decedent's vehicle, the cab of the defendant vehicle was vibrating because of its slow speed and taut suspension. This is the "jerk" that the defendant driver felt. The driver did not tell the CHP officer that he felt as though he had "run over something;" the CHP officer could not recall the driver saying so. (The CHP found the decedent to be the sole cause of the accident). One to two seconds before the impact between the defendant's vehicle and the decedent, the witness saw the decedent standing next to the decedent's car, with his back to traffic and his back to the defendant's vehicle. Due to his intoxication, the decedent failed to react to the defendant's vehicle as is passed the decedent's vehicle. The right rear wheels of the defendant's vehicle did not cross the line separating the shoulder from the travelway; the decedent was in the travelway at the time of the impact. Had the defendant's vehicle crossed the line separating the shoulder from the travelway, the decedent's vehicle would have been hit by the defendant's vehicle, but was not, according to the witness and even plaintiff's experts. The defendant driver had formal and informal training and experience regarding the "off-tracking" phenomenon and safe driving generally. He knew about the off-tracking phenomenon, and so testified in his depositions.
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately two years and nine months after the case was filed. The case settled on the day of trial. Two mediations were held before retired judge Victor T. Barrera resulting in no settlement.
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