Facts

A car driven by Richard Gilardoni was making a left turn when it struck a vehicle driven by K.C. Grigsby. Grigsby filed suit.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff claimed that defendant had been operating his vehicle in a negligent manner.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant denied liability, contending that the intersection was known as a "bad intersection." He noted that five months after the accident, the city of Santa Rosa installed left signal turn lights at the intersection. He further noted that plaintiff had undergone a consultation at Stanford Hospital regarding neck surgery, was told she was not a candidate for the surgery, and did not tell her expert neurosurgery witness about the consultation. His expert witness opined that the accident had only caused a soft-tissue sprain or strain to the neck, and that surgery was not necessary. The expert further opined that plaintiff's surgeon had performed surgery based on incomplete information from plaintiff.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiff demanded $850,000. The defendant offered $501,000.

Specials in Evidence

The plaintiff underwent a tri-level fusion and plating via an anterior cervical discectomy. The plaintiff sought $222,222 in past medical expenses. Plaintiff claimed two years of lost wages. Plaintiff alleged that she is only able to work part-time as a registered nurse practitioner, and will not be able to work as a floor registered nurse. She sought $1.5 million in future lost wages.

Damages

The plaintiff sought an unspecified amount for her pain and suffering. Her husband also asserted a loss of consortium claim.

Injuries

The plaintiff claimed to have asymptomatic cervical degenerative disc disease, but alleged that the accident had triggered symptoms, including chronic neck pain, limited range of motion in her neck, and chronic numbness in her left arm and hand. The plaintiff's expert witnesses testified that plaintiff had torn her left rotator cuff in the accident, which thereby triggered shoulder impingement syndrome symptoms in her left shoulder. They opined that the accident had caused her neck and arm symptoms to become chronic, which necessitated surgery. The surgery corrected her left arm radiculopathy, but did not resolve her neck complaints.

Result

The plaintiff was awarded $5,286 for her medical expenses, and $2,000 for her pain and suffering for a total of $7,286. The case was resolved by a release addressing the defendant's right to recover costs from the plaintiff.

Other Information

The plaintiff filed a motion for a new trial.

Deliberation

six hours

Poll

12-0

Length

10 days