Delores Hilliard v. San Diego Transit Corporation and Patricia Rudder
Published: Sep. 7, 1996 | Result Date: May 24, 1996 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: SB3247 – $0
Judge
Court
San Diego Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
William Luetzow
(medical)
J. Peter Cunliffe
(technical)
Defendant
William S. Bowman
(medical)
Facts
On April 1, 1994, the plaintiff, Delores Hilliard, a 33-year-old woman employed in the fast food service industry, claimed that after boarding defendant's San Diego Transit Coporation's bus, her knee popped. She alleged she was in the process of sitting when the defendant bus operator, Patricia Rudder, lurched or jerked the bus to a start and her knee popped. After leaving the bus, the plaintiff claimed that her knee gave way and she fell. She asked the defendant operator to call her an ambulance. The defendants acknowledged that the fall outside of the bus had actually occurred, but contended that there was no evidence that anything occurred on the bus itself by virtue of the fact that the plaintiff obtained the names of no witnesses and failed to report the on-board incident to the operator. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendants based on negligence and respondeat superior theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $55,000 reduced to $27,500 after the first trial in December 1995, which resulted in a hung jury. The defendants made no settlement offers.
Specials in Evidence
$13,177.80 (uncontested) $________ $________ $11,478 (contested)
Injuries
The plaintiff alleged that she sustained a bucket handle tear of her left medial meniscus requiring most of its removal and a virtually complete tear of her anterior cruciate ligament (rendering it nonfunctional and requiring two arthroscopies). The plaintiff claimed to be unable to do the things that she could do prior to the accident and alleged that her knee condition was responsible for her weight gain. She claimed that she would have to live with a painful knee for the rest of her life.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately ________ years and ________ months after the case was filed. A settlement conference/arbitration/mediation was held on _____/____/9___ before ____________________(name) of _______________(affiliation or court) resulting in ___________________.
Deliberation
2 hours
Poll
12-0
Length
3 days
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