Facts

Plaintiff Steven Lark, a 49-year-old chiropractor, was driving his pickup truck in Fresno. He had just entered an intersection when he was struck on the driver's side by a car driven by defendant Jasbir Dhaliwal. The defendant had run a stop sign, which caused the t-bone collision.

PLAINTIFF’S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff sued the defendant for negligent operation of a motor vehicle and the owner of the car, Jaskarnejet Dhaliwal, for vicarious liability. The plaintiff alleged the defendant was racing another car before the collision and that he ran the stop sign just prior to hitting plaintiff.

DEFENDANT’S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant denied he was racing another car and had run a stop sign, despite independent witness testimony supported the plaintiff's racing allegation.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiff made a pretrial demand of $30,000 and $85,000 during trial. The defendant offered $16,001.

Injuries

The plaintiff had soreness in his back, neck, hip, shoulder and chest. He also was experiencing headache. He sought treatment from his wife who was also a chiropractor. He sought $10,771 in medical costs, which included $3,168 for the treatment provided by his wife. He further sought an unspecified amount for pain and suffering. The defendant argued that many of the plaintiff's claimed injuries were pre-existing. He noted that his wife who worked for the plaintiff’s chiropractor practice was treating the plaintiff. He asserted that the plaintiff was essentially paying himself for the treatment.

Result

The jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded him the full amount of $10,775 in medical costs. It did not award damages for pain and suffering. The plaintiff moved for a new trial based on inadequacy of damages. The motion was granted unless the defendant accepted a $7,500 additur for general damages.

Deliberation

three hours

Poll

10-2

Length

three days