Facts

Kristy Fishman was exiting the Oaks Mall parking lot in Thousand Oaks and arrived at a three way intersection. Fishman stopped at the intersection, then began a left turn. Defendant did not see the stop sign, and entered the intersection without stopping. Defendant struck the right front corner of Fishman's car. Fishman later sued defendant for her resulting injuries.
Fishman treated for about 6 months, then stopped, but she claimed her pain had not resolved. Several years after the accident, she returned for further treatment to her neck, including epidural injections and ultimately a cervical fusion.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff alleged that defendant caused the collision by failing to yield the right of way at the intersection. Plaintiff claimed the delay in treatment was reasonable due to medical and personal issues that arose after the accident.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant admitted liability but contested causation as to the fusion that occurred more than 3 years after the accident.

Injuries

Kristy Fishman claimed she endured 6 months of initial chiropractic and orthopedic treatment and, 3 years later, injections and a single level cervical spine fusion. She further claimed that she would require a second fusion in 15-20 years due to adjacent segment disease. She also claimed she would require hand and wrist surgery as a result of injuries that occurred when she grabbed the gear shift and struck her elbow at the time of impact.

Result

The jury awarded Fishman $835,000 in damages, which included $80,000 in past medical expenses, $80,000 in future medical expenses, $350,000 in past general damages, and $325,000 in future general damages. Plaintiff was entitled to statutory costs as the prevailing party. Neither party was entitled to costs pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure, Section 998.

Other Information

The defense brought several motions in limine, one seeking to exclude evidence of plaintiff's cancer diagnosis and treatment prior to the accident, and another seeking to exclude testimony regarding a close family member's life-threatening auto accident that occurred 12 days after plaintiff's own accident, and that left him in a coma. The court denied the motions and permitted evidence on these issues. The defense also moved in limine to exclude amounts due for past medical expenses pursuant to balance billing by Dr. Mobin, and to admit evidence of health insurance to address the cost of future medical treatment. The court granted the motion in part, allowing evidence of health insurance as relevant to the cost of future medical treatment.

Deliberation

4 hours.

Poll

12-0 for economic damages and 11-0 for non-economic damages.

Length

9 days