Facts

On March 14, 2012, Jung Hye Lee, an 18-year-old student at the time, was attempting to catch an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit bus in Montclair. Plaintiff waited across the street from the bus stop under an awning of a restaurant because it was raining at the time. When she saw the bus approaching the bus stop at the intersection of Moraga and LaSalle Avenues, she thought it was going to stop. She ran across three lanes of traffic against a red light, and was run over by the bus as it passed by the bus stop and through the intersection on a green light. Lee sued AC Transit and Mayra Sabas, the driver.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff alleged claims under Vehicle Code Section 17001, Government Code Section 820, and 815.2 for respondeat superior. Specifically, she claimed that the driver was acting in the course of her employment with AC Transit when she hit plaintiff and did so in a negligent or wrongful manner. Lee also claimed that AC Transit was vicariously liable for the injuries she suffered. A two-month police investigation and report found that the plaintiff was exclusively at fault for the accident, with no associated factors on AC Transit or its driver. Plaintiff also conducted its own investigation, analyses, and bus surveillance. Examination at depositions of bus employees and witnesses produced testimony demonstrating the driver's ability to see the plaintiff in time to recognize the need to stop for her.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants generally denied each allegation. Defendants claimed Lee was negligent because she was careless and therefore caused her own injuries. Further, defendant argued that Lee failed to use reasonable diligence to mitigate her injuries and that AC Transit, as a public entity, had governmental immunity from the lawsuit.

Damages

According to defendants, plaintiff already had past medical expenses of approximately $10 million, and a life care plan costing approximately $30 million, for total economic damages alone in excess of $40 million, due to plaintiff's significant, and debilitating lifetime injuries.

Result

Defendants and its insurers agreed to pay Lee $20,452,502 to settle the case.

Other Information

FILING DATE: Sept. 11, 2012.