Facts

On October 2, 2004, at approximately 8:00 am, plaintiff Michael Jacobs, age 57, was pulling his brand new trailer on I-505 in Woodland, CA on his way to pick up his three grandchildren for a camping trip. Defendant Thomas Lloyd was driving a big-rig loaded with 40,000 pounds of sugar when he fell asleep and rear ended the Jacobs' trailer and pickup truck. Lloyd was in the course and scope of his employment with defendants Pacific Transportation Services and Ernie Newland. Lloyd had been in a solo accident about 11:30 the previous evening and had been up all night getting a new trailer and standing by as the load was transferred.

Plaintiff sued Lloyd, Pacific Transportation Services, and Newland.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff contended that Lloyd was out of hours and a termination letter from Pacific Transportation Services two days later claimed that he had been instructed to go to the company's Fairfield yard and get some rest.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defense admitted liability for the accident but contested the extent of plaintiff's injuries.

Lloyd and Pacific Transportation contended that punitive damages were not warranted.

Settlement Discussions

Following an unsuccessful mediation, plaintiff made a C.C.P. section 998 offer in the amount of $924,500 (balance of policy limits). Defendants served a C.C.P. section 998 offer in the amount of $100,000. Defendants offer prior to trial was raised to $250,000.

Damages

Plaintiff sought compensatory and punitive damages (against Lloyd and Pacific Transportation).

Injuries

Plaintiff Michial Jacobs was knocked unconscious and complained of severe pain between his shoulder blades. He suffered a fracture of the ninth rib and had complaints of shoulder pain. He was treated in the ER and released the same day. His doctors diagnosed injury to the facet joints as well as dorsal rami trauma at T6 through T8. This diagnosis was never confirmed by any objective study, but he consistently complained of pain in the same area from the date of the accident up until the time of trial. He also complained of headaches and cognitive problems with concentration, memory, speech, word finding, etc. Plaintiff had been employed as a union carpenter and never returned to work. The defense argued that he failed to mitigate damages by refusing to have facet joint injections which had been suggested by his Kaiser doctors.

Result

The jury awarded Jacobs $1,503,476, as follows: $17,877 past medical; $413,050 past wage loss; $52,800 past loss of household services; $41,600 future medical; $225,000 lost future earnings; $163,200 loss of future household services; $315,000 past non-economic damages; and, $275,000 future non-economic damages. With regard to punitive damages, the court granted nonsuit in favor of Pacific Transportation, having found a lack of evidence that Pacific Transportation had ratified Lloyd's conduct. Likewise, the jury did not award punitive damages against Lloyd, finding that there was insufficient evidence that he acted with conscious disregard for the safety of others.

Other Information

As a result of successful pre-trial motions, the jury did not hear that Lloyd had been cited for 28 violations of the Vehicle Code, including falsifying his log book. Plaintiff intends to move the court for $442,803 in interest plus all costs, including approximately $100,000 in expert witness costs, pursuant to CCP 998. Plaintiff's counsel believes this to be the largest personal injury verdict in Yolo County.