Facts

On June 16, 2004, plaintiff Robert Daul, took his 1977 Mercedes Benz coupe convertible to a Goodyear automotive service center in Sacramento to repair an air leak from the spoke rims. After completion of the work, Daul drove his car out of the service center, and shortly afterwards, while driving approximately 25 mph, the left front tire came off his vehicle and got wedged under the front fender, bringing the car to a slow stop.

Claiming personal injuries, Daul sued The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (Goodyear) for negligence. The service technician was originally included as a defendant, but was dismissed during trial.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Daul claimed Goodyear caused the accident by negligently removing and re-applying the lug nut to the rims.

Damages

Daul claimed about $290,000 in medical specials, consisting mostly of costs due to his spinal surgery and $3,090 for chiropractic care. Daul claimed he had planned to return to his profession as a cement mason (though he had not worked a cement mason since 1998), but after the accident, it was physically impossible, forcing him to remain as a lower-paid telephone sales representative. Thus, he sought $12,000 in past and future wage loss. Daul also sought $250,000 for past pain and suffering and $250,000 for future pain and suffering.

Injuries

Daul went to a Kaiser Permanent branch the day after the accident, complaining of headaches and back pain. He underwent chiropractic care for three months. He then went to a spine surgeon and had a two-level back surgery in December 2006. Goodyear claimed there was no proof the accident caused any injury whatsoever to Daul.

Result

The jury returned a verdict for the defense, finding Goodyear negligent for the accident, but also finding that Goodyear's negligence was not a substantial factor in causing Daul's injuries.

Other Information

In a post-trial interview, a juror told plaintiff's lawyer, James E. Dighero, that the jury's decision was based on the following factors: there was no crash into an object when the wheel came off Daul's vehicle; there were no eyewitnesses or a police report about the incident; there was no MRI or hospitalization after the accident; Daul missed many treatment appointments against the advice of Kaiser's representatives; both engineers discussed low-speed impact numbers and the fall to the area where Daul was seated was low; there were degenerative changes on the MRI that existed long before the accident; Daul took all the photos of the accident scene and vehicle; Daul had other complaints in his medical records that were unrelated to the accident; Daul's medical records showed at least 20 physical assaults on Daul from his wife that resulted in lower back pain and other symptoms; and after Daul was released from his chiropractor, Daul indicated his back pain, on a scale of one to ten, was about a one or a two, showing his back pain was almost resolved about six months after the accident.

Deliberation

eight hours

Poll

10-2 (finding negligence); 9-3 (rejecting causation)

Length

10 days