Margaret Rivera, John Rivera, Rachel Rivera v. Nazafarine Nilchi, Parviz Ghazavi
Published: Dec. 7, 2004 | Result Date: Aug. 23, 2004 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 102CV809886 Verdict – $0
Judge
Court
Santa Clara Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Emeka Nchekwube
(medical)
Defendant
David S. Burton
(medical)
Facts
Plaintiff Margaret Rivera, a 44-year-old homemaker, was a belted-front passenger in a Volkswagen Jetta driven by her husband plaintiff John Rivera, 47. Their daughter, Rachel, 19, was in the right rear seat. Their car was struck by a Honda Accord driven by defendant Nazafarine Nilchi and owned by defendant Parviz Ghazavi. The plaintiffs' car sustained $10,000 in damages and was considered totaled. The defendants' vehicle sustained $5,000 in damage. The plaintiffs sued the defendants for negligence. Defendant Nilchi admitted fault but claimed the impact was a minor one, essentially causing a sideswipe with little actual impact forces being sustained.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs jointly made a demand of $100,000 (policy limits). This was raised to $350,000 from Margaret Rivera (after surgery and after the other two plaintiffs settled). The demand was lowered to $180,000 the week before trial. The defendants made an offer of $100,000 for all plaintiffs combined (after Margaret Rivera's surgery); an offer of $50,000 (C.C.P. Section 998) was made separately to Margaret Rivera only after two plaintiffs settled.
Injuries
The plaintiffs were taken by ambulance to a hospital. Margaret Rivera claimed she suffered herniated discs in her cervical and lumbar spine with radicular symptoms on both her left arm and leg. She also claimed aggravation of a chronic pre-existing neck condition resulted from a 1993 car accident. Margaret Rivera had physical therapy, injections, acupuncture and chiropractic treatment, all without significant benefit. She later underwent a cervical diskectomy and fusion which relieved most of her cervical symptoms, but she continued to have ongoing lumbar problems. Internal derangement of discs at L2-3, L3-4 and L4-5 were discovered. She continued to suffer severe and chronic pain in her lower back and left leg. Margaret Rivera's medical expert, a neurosurgeon, testified that all of Rivera's problems were a direct result of the car accident with defendant. He believed she would require ongoing treatment into the indefinite future. Treatment was estimated at $3,000 to $4,000 annually. Margaret Rivera claimed past medical expenses of $112,000 and future medical expenses of $75,000. She sought a jury award of $350,000. Plaintiff Rachel Rivera claimed she suffered an aggravation of a pre-existing condition involving migraine headache syndrome and depression. The defendants disputed the nature and extent of Margaret Rivera's injuries and damages. The defense medical expert, an orthopedic surgeon, testified that the medical records showed that her neck and back treatments, including the neck surgery, were all related to pre-existing conditions. It was his opinion that she sustained no significant injury from this accident.
Result
Before trial, a non-binding arbitration was held and the arbitrator awarded $24,253 to Margaret Rivera, $37,596 to John Rivera and $30,548 to Rachel Rivera. The defendants rejected the awards and requested trial de novo. Margaret Rivera then had neck surgery. About a week before trial, John and Rachel Rivera settled with defendants for $25,000 each. Further claims by them for underinsured motorist benefits against their own insurer were contingent on Margaret Rivera recovering the $50,000 balance of defendants' policy. After a five-day trial, the jury returned a verdict for defendants.
Deliberation
3.5 hours
Poll
11-1
Length
five days
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