Facts

On June 10, 2011 at 11:10 a.m., a member of the British Military personnel was in Los Angeles on military-related business driving a van rented from Alamo Rental Car. He was driving eastbound on Culver Boulevard when he stopped at an ntersection on Centinela Avenue intending to make a left turn to northbound Centinela.

Plaintiff Ronald Capodieci was driving a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with Gaylene Clark proceeding westbound on Culver Boulevard. The driver of the van who was stopped in the middle of the intersection on a green light suddenly made a left turn in front of the motorcycle causing the collision. The motorcycle swerved and went down. Plaintiffs claimed they were ejected from the motorcycle upon impact. There was a witness to the collision.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs claimed that this accident became the liability of the United States of America who was responsible for the negligence of the British Military personnel driving the van pursuant to a NATO-SOFA Treaty. The primary dispute was the reasonable settlement value of plaintiff's claims.

Pursuant to a NATO-SOFA Treaty, British Military personnel who are involved in an accident caused by negligence, which injuries United States citizens are covered under the treaty, which provides that the United States of America is the sole defendant responsible for the defense and indemnity of the foreign military personnel. The case is viable under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the United States of America. The treaty provides that a judgment or settlement is ultimately paid 75 percent by the United States of and 25 percent by the foreign country. The NATO-SOFA Treaty claim was handled by the U.S. Army on behalf of the U.S. Attorney General's Office.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant admitted liability.

Specials in Evidence

$111,488 (Clark), $32,119 (Capodieci) $30,000 (Clark), $10,113 (Capodieci) none claimed for Clark and Capodieci $75,000 (Clark), none (Capodieci)

Injuries

Clark, a 51-year-old registered nurse sustained a comminuted right humeral head fracture and a right olecranon fracture. Two weeks after the accident, she underwent a right shoulder hemiarthroplasty as well as open reductin with internal fixation of the right elbow fractures. She thereafter received treatment from a pain management specialist, underwent physical therapy and received treatment from a psychologist for post-traumatic stress disorder. She had limited range of motion in the right shoulder and elbow and was unable to work as a nurse for five months. On Feb. 3, 2012, she underwent surgery to remove the hardware from her right elbow. Clark claimed that she would require additional surgery to her right shoulder in the future. Capodieci, a 56-year-old scheduler at Lockheed Martin sustained a comminuted fracture of the metacarpal base of his left thumb. He underwent surgery in the form of a closed reduction with hardware inserted. He also developed pain at the metacarpal joint of the index finger and underwent exploratory surgery on Jan. 13, 2012 to remove osteoarthritic tissue. He also sustained fractures of his fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs. He was unable to work for seven weeks following the accident.

Result

Defendants settled for claims for $750,000, an additional $30,000 came from the insurer for Alamo Rental Car ($615,000 for Clark; $165,000 for Capodieci).