Facts

Plaintiff Hilda Marie Salvado was injured when she was involved in a minor rear-impact fender bender with Defendant Pedro Marin. Pedro Marin's insurance carrier, Fred Loya, admitted liability for the five mile-per-hour collision.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Salvado contended that her elbow was injured as a result of the collision. Salvado owns and operates a home healthcare service and testified at trial that her elbow injury limited her ability to deliver in-person care and reduced her quality of life in general. She alleged that her tendon injury on her elbow would eventually require surgery and that she also suffered a shorter-term whiplash injuries to her neck and back.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Marin's attorney argued that the accident was minor, did not injure Salvado's elbow and that any damages she claimed were exaggerated. Further, Salvado's elbow injuries were easily attributed to years of repetitive stress and could not be definitively linked to a brief five mile-per-hour rear impact.

Result

The jury awarded Salvado $10,013. The jurors limited their damages to the head and neck whiplash injuries that Salvado was largely recovering from after the accident.

Other Information

Jurors told Salvado's attorney that no amount of medical testimony would convince them that the low-impact collision caused Salvado's elbow injury.