Confidential
Settlement – $3,100,000Judge
Court
Alameda Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Carol R. Hyland M.A.
(technical)
Robert W. Johnson CPA
(technical)
Fernando Miranda
(medical)
David Spiegel
(medical)
Alex B. Barchuk M.D., C.L.C.P.
(medical)
Defendant
Lloyd Benjamin
(medical)
Lucien L. Trigiano
(medical)
Gregory W. Sells
(technical)
Mark A. Cohen
(technical)
Ronald F. Dugger
(medical)
Facts
The decedent, Victoria Destefano, was a long-term patient and member of Kaiser. She developed a psychiatric
condition described as a conversion reaction, manifested by migratory pain in her arms, legs, abdomen, eyes
and pseudo-seizures with aspects of loss of consciousness.
While driving on the 510 Freeway in Berkeley, she apparently experienced a lapse of consciousness in a
possible seizure. She was seen by a truck driver driving erratically from one side of the road to the other.
After making a U-turn on the freeway, the decedent drove the wrong way and collided in a high-velocity, head-
on collision with a vehicle driven by Aimee Jaso, one of the plaintiffs in the suit. The plaintiff's two sisters
were passengers in the vehicle.
The decedent died in the accident and the three Jaso plaintiffs were seriously injured.
Settlement Discussions
The case settled at MSC the day before trial for $3,100,000. The amount paid to each plaintiff is undisclosed. Prior to trial, the Jaso plaintiffs collected $30,000 being the decedent's insurance policy limits.
Specials in Evidence
$85,000 (Aimee Jaso); $75,000 (Rachel Jaso).
Damages
Sarah Jaso sought $30 million for life-time care with a life expectancy of 30 years. The defendant argued four years of life expectancy. The co-plaintiff Brian Destefano, a son of the decedent, sued for the loss of his mother.
Injuries
Sarah Jaso, a 23-year-old clerical worker, suffered quadriplegia at C1, requiring rehabilitation and 24-hour care. Aimee Jaso, a 25-year-old college student, suffered a tibia and fibula fracture, requiring open reduction and internal fixation with permanent hardware, a fracture to her right orbital bone and some peripheral vision problems in her right eye. Rachel Jaso, a 20-year-old unemployed female, suffered fractured ribs, a radius fracture to her arm which required casting, and damage to her spleen.
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