Facts

On Oct. 19, 2009, at 3:30 a.m., decedent's vehicle was stopped in the number one lane of westbound I-60 with no lights on when defendant struck decedent's vehicle from behind. Decedent was a 33 year old graduate chemistry student was days away from earning his Ph.D. Plaintiff, Na Zhang, is the widow of decedent.

Defendant admitted to exceeding the posted speed limit and violating the California Vehicle Code.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that decedent's vehicle malfunctioned or died through no fault of the decedent and that the decedent was attempting to restart his vehicle when it was hit by defendant's vehicle. Plaintiff contended that defendant was traveling too fast for the conditions and, as a result, was unable to avoid decedent's vehicle. Witnesses to the incident and plaintiff's liability expert put defendant's speed prior to the collision in excess of 100 miles per hour.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants contended that decedent caused the collision because he stopped his vehicle on the freeway in violation of California Vehicle Code section 21718, did not activate his emergency flashers, and turned off his headlights.

Defendants further contended that decedent intentionally put his vehicle into park, removed or was not wearing a seatbelt, did not put any flares around his vehicle and that he further stopped in a dark and foggy area where there were no street lights.

Defendants claimed that decedent should have steered his vehicle over to the shoulder or, alternatively, exited his vehicle and walked over to the shoulder.

Damages

Plaintiff's expert economist calculated plaintiff's economic losses at $3,631,760.00. Defendant disputed this amount.

Result

The case settled for $3.2 million.

Other Information

FILING DATE: April 20, 2010.