Confidential
Settlement – $800,000Judge
Court
Orange Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Facts
The plaintiff in this case, a 45-year-old trash truck operator, was struggling to maneuver a large-wheeled trash bin, heavy with water from a rainstorm, into position where his truck could lift and empty it. The plaintiff's foot slipped into a drain with a broken cover at defendant's apartment house premises. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendant based on negligence and premises liability theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
Per the defendant, the plaintiff made a settlement demand for over $1 million.
Damages
Medical expenses of $52,500 (workers compensation lien $90,000) and approximately $78,000 in loss of earnings with present value of total future loss of earnings $842,000.
Injuries
The plaintiff claimed he suffered a laminectomy to L4-5 and partial S1, internal fixation and fusion three months post accident, following an MRI about 1 month post accident that revealed a 9 mm bulge (sic) at L4-5 and a 3 mm bulge immediately above. Opague myelogram and CT myelogram results in June 1997 showed L4 herniation with nerve root impingement.
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately 11 months after the case was filed. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE: A settlement conference was held before retired Justice John K. Trotter of JAMS, resulting in the reported settlement.
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