Confidential
Settlement – $400,000Court
L.A. Superior Long Beach
Attorneys
Plaintiff
John P. Blumberg
(Blumberg Law Corp.)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Joyce Elaine Pickersgill
(technical)
Michael H. Sukoff
(medical)
Sandra Schneider
(technical)
Defendant
Theodore Vavoulis
(technical)
Charles F. Plemons Jr.
(technical)
H. Ronald Fisk M.D., Ph.D.
(technical)
Facts
On May 1, 2000, the plaintiff was driving home from work, traveling east on Anaheim Street in Long Beach. As
he approached the intersection of 9th St., the light was green for eastbound traffic. Just when he was about to
enter the intersection, a westbound truck owned by the defendant turned left in front of the plaintiff from the
middle lane of westbound traffic.
The plaintiff veered to the left, trying to avoid a collision, but the truck kept on coming, and he crashed into the
truck at about 35 mph.
The plaintiff was 53 years old and had been employed for nine years by a company that allocated Nissan
automobiles after they came off the dock to dealerships. He had chronic pain from a pre-existing back injury,
but had not missed any work as a result, nor did he take prescription pain medication.
In February 2000, a few months before the accident, his back was bothering him more than usual, and an MRI
was taken of his back, showing the same L-5 spondylolisthesis that he had since the mid 1980's.
In April 2000, he was seen by a pain specialist who prescribed epidural injections to reduce the inflammation
that was causing the pain. The first treatment was scheduled for the first week in May. The plaintiff returned to
full time work, until the May 1st collision.
After the collision, he was taken by ambulance to Long Beach Memorial Hospital where he remained
overnight. He began to experience pains in his back and leg that he had never had before. He consulted various
medical professionals but obtained no relief. He was seen and evaluated by neurosurgeon Michael Sukoff.
An MRI was taken in September 2000 that showed that there had been a worsening of his L-5
spondylolisthesis since the MRI that had been taken shortly before the collision. Dr. Sukoff
performed a laminectomy in June 2001. The surgery was successful in alleviating the
tremendous pain, but resulted in numbness to his leg and groin. He was unable to return to work
and now requires a walker.
Specials in Evidence
$129,000 $574,000
Injuries
Aggravated spondylolisthesis and lumbar laminectomy.
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