Maria Guadalupe Mujica; Gilbert Mujica v. Guy E. Field
Published: Feb. 28, 1998 | Result Date: Feb. 3, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 87792 Verdict – $33,000
Judge
Court
Imperial Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Serge V. Verne
(medical)
Sidney H. Levine
(medical)
Jeffrey M. Steinhardt
(medical)
Defendant
Richard Greenfield M.D.
(medical)
Brian D. Mudd
(medical)
Facts
On Dec. 14, 1994, at the intersection of Heffernan Avenue and Sixth Street in Calexico, defendant disregarded a yield sign controlling Sixth Street traffic traveling east. The defendant struck the left rear side of plaintiff Maria Mujica, a 32-year-old cosmetic saleswoman's northbound Ford Aerostar van, spinning it counter-clockwise 90 degrees. Defendant was driving a Pontiac Acadian which sustained $1,200 in front end damage. The defendant drove away from the scene. The plaintiffs' vehicle sustained $4,500 ($3,500 per defendant) in property damage and was towed from the scene. The plaintiffs, husband and wife, brought this action against defendant based on a negligence theory of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $100,000. The defendant made a C.C.P. º998 offer of compromise for $16,000, raised to $20,000 pre-trial.
Specials in Evidence
$36,283.82 $12,000
Damages
The plaintiff requested specials plus $2,400 in loss of use while plaintiff's automobile was being repaired, $500,000 in general damages to plaintiff wife and $25,000 in general damages to plaintiff's husband.
Injuries
Plaintiff was seen by paramedics at the scene but not transported. Plaintiff reported she complained of left leg pain at that time. She appeared later that day at the emergency room where her left leg was casted for a suspected hairline tibial fracture. The emergency room physician referred her to an orthopedic surgeon for the injury to her leg and plaintiff was placed in a hard cast for approximately two months. Her orthopedic surgeon later suggested arthroscopic knee surgery for plaintiff's continued complaints of left knee pain and she was referred to another doctor for a second opinion. Although there was a negative MRI, due to her continuing complaints, arthroscopic surgery was performed and the surgeon noted a chondral defect in the medial femoral condyle. Within six weeks of the accident, plaintiff complained to her chiropractor of jaw pain, and she eventually underwent bilateral TMJ surgeries.
Other Information
Per plaintiff, the jurors expressed that they did not find plaintiff credible because her version of how the accident occurred changed several times as did her rendition of the severity of impact (i.e. the number of times her vehicle spun). Also per plaintiff, the jury felt that the impact was not severe enough to cause the injuries she claimed to have sustained and did not award her any damages with respect to her knee or jaw. EXPERT TESTIMONY: Plaintiff's expert Dr. Serge V. Verne, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, testified that there did not have to be direct trauma to the jaw in order to sustain an injury to the TMJ. He cited studies which suggested TMJ injuries could be caused by whiplash. Defendant's expert, Dr. Brian Mudd, an oral surgeon, disputed causation as to the TMJ because there was no direct trauma (plaintiff did not strike her jaw on anything during the accident) and because the symptoms did not present themselves immediately after the accident.
Deliberation
four hours
Poll
12-0
Length
four days
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