Facts

On Jan. 19, 2003, at 1 a.m., Richard Housley and his wife, plaintiff Mary Housley, were driving westbound on the San Francisco Bay Bridge in their pickup truck, towing an empty horse trailer that they had just purchased used. Richard Housley, 55, apparently believed he was having a problem with the trailer hitch, and stopped the truck in the number two lane. He then got out of the truck to examine the trailer hitch. While he was doing so, a drunk driver collided with the rear of the horse trailer, crushing Housley between the front of the trailer and the back of the truck.

Mary Housley called 9-1-1 from her cell phone, and the call was answered by the CHP. The characterization of facts after this point are disputed by the parties.

CHP officers were on the scene performing CPR on Housely within 5 minutes. However, due to a mix-up in the CHP's 911 Communications Center, the San Francisco County paramedics and ambulance were not called for 12 minutes. When the paramedics arrived, Housley was dead.

At trial, plaintiffs alleged that Richard Housley died because of the CHP's 12-minute delay in contacting the San Francisco County paramedics and ambulance.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
According to plaintiff, Housley sustained numerous rib fractures and a broken leg. The rib fractures caused breathing problems that necessitated pure oxygen through an airway within 15-20 minutes of the time he was injured. This treatment required paramedics and paramedic equipment.

Plaintiffs contend that one of the responding CHP dispatchers contacted the Oakland Fire Department, which was the wrong jurisdiction for the event. San Francisco Fire Department, the entity that has jurisdiction for the bridge, had a unit on Treasure Island that could have been at the scene within five minutes of the accident. Despite Oakland telling the dispatcher that Oakland would not respond, the dispatcher entered into her call log that positive contact with an ambulance service had been made and that an ambulance was responding. Plaintiffs' counsel contends that while she was on the phone, Richard was calling out to her. The Communications Center also received other calls from motorists advising the CHP of the incident.

Plaintiffs further contend that no one contacted the San Francisco Fire Department, the entity that responds to accidents on the bridge. Another dispatcher was told that a dispatcher had contacted an ambulance. That dispatcher also entered into the call log that positive contact with an ambulance service had been made and that an ambulance was responding. The dispatchers' actions were extreme departures from established statewide dispatching procedures that require the information be correct and not second-hand information.

As a result of the entries, an ambulance was not dispatched until another dispatcher, at the request of CHP officers at the scene concerned about the significant delay, called to follow up with the San Francisco Fire Department. After the violation was discovered, plaintiffs claim the first dispatcher attempted to cover up her actions by making a correction to her log indicating she had contacted Oakland but they would not be responding (Defense counsel contends there was no evidence of this at trial).

By the time paramedics finally arrived at the scene, Richard Housley had died due to lack of oxygen. Mary Housley, a nurse practitioner, performed CPR on her husband throughout the delay and watched him die knowing that all he needed to survive was timely arrival of paramedics and airway equipment.

Following the accident, dispatch supervisors conducted a debriefing to investigate the incident. Meanwhile, uniformed CHP officers took Mary Housley home. The officers took a tape-recorded statement, focusing the questions on the hitch and trailer. On Feb. 4, 2003, a CHP investigator from the Golden Gate unit was dispatched to examine the truck and trailer. He determined that the Housleys were a cause of the accident after examining the hitch. Following its investigation, the CHP determined that the cause of Richard Housley's death was the drunk driver and the Housley's connection of the truck to the trailer.

According to the plaintiffs, at trial, the CHP contended that Richard Housley's death was the result of the drunk driver and the Housleys' actions, that Richard Housley would have died whether the paramedics arrived on time, and that Richard Housley's contribution to his family was small enough that there was very little in the way of damage to Mary and Jennifer Housley. Defendant denies having made this last contention.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
According to the defendant, the plaintiffs had improperly hooked up their newly-purchased horse trailer to their pickup truck, which later caused it to come off the trailer hitch. In addition, the evidence showed that the trailer's rear lights were not connected, and did not work.

While the Housleys were crossing the Bay Bridge at 1:00 a.m., their trailer came off the hitch. The evidence at trial showed that the safety chain was still attached, and that Richard Housley could safely have driven the truck and trailer off the Bridge. Nevertheless, Mr. Housley stopped the truck in the number two lane in the middle of the Bridge, not even bothering to pull over to the side.

The evidence at trial showed that it was extremely foggy on the Bay Bridge that night and visibility was poor. One motorist testified at the trial that she had had to take rapid evasive action to avoid hitting the Housleys in the middle of the Bridge, because of the fog. Nevertheless, with traffic whizzing by on both sides through the fog, Richard Housley got out of his truck in the middle of the Bridge to check the trailer hitch.

Plaintiff Mary Housley testified that she remained in the pickup truck because it was too dangerous to get out. Despite the obvious danger, Mary Housley did not call "911," but instead dialed AAA. While Mary Housley was on hold with AAA, a drunk driver collided with the rear of the horse trailer, crushing Richard Housley between the trailer and the pickup truck.

The evidence at trial showed that three CHP units were at the scene within five minutes after the accident. Richard Housley was not breathing when the CHP arrived, and his heart stopped almost immediately thereafter. Two CHP officers, one of whom was a certified EMT, performed CPR continuously on Richard Housley, including administration of oxygen, until the San Francisco paramedics arrived about 20 minutes later. Despite the efforts of the CHP officers, Richard Housley's heart never started beating, and he never again breathed on his own.

The medical evidence at trial showed that Richard Housley suffered a massive crushing injury in the accident. This crushing injury (also known as "blunt trauma") resulted in extensive fatty emboli and blood in his lungs. These conditions caused Mr. Housley's heart to fail about six minutes after the accident.

Two medical witnesses unaffiliated with either party testified that Mr. Housley could not possibly have survived his injuries. The San Francisco Medical Examiner who performed the autopsy on Mr. Housley testified that Mr. Housley could not have survived his injuries, especially given his pre-existing serious heart conditions. The San Francisco Rescue Captain who responded to the scene testified that in his career as a paramedic he had treated hundreds of people who, like Richard Housley, had suffered heart failure after blunt trauma. He testified that of those hundreds of patients, none had survived.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiffs made a C.C.P. Section 998 demand for $899,000 for Mary Housley and $599,000 for Jennifer Housley. The defendant did not make an offer.

Damages

According to the plaintiffs asked for $1 million to $1.5 million in economic damages and $3 million to $10 million in non-economic damages. The CHP asked for a defense verdict.

Injuries

Death of the plaintiffs' husband and father; emotional distress damages for Mary Housley.

Result

Following a five week trial, the jury took one day to return a verdict in favor of defendant California Highway Patrol. The jury determined that the CHP dispatchers had been grossly negligent, but the delay in contacting the paramedics and ambulance did not cause Housley's death.

Deliberation

two days

Length

five weeks