Ron Peters v. State Farm Insurance Company
Published: Mar. 6, 1999 | Result Date: Sep. 8, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: DUM0001717 – $112,822
Judge
Court
Pierce Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
G. Michael Wiese
(medical)
Michael B. Martin
(medical)
Facts
Claimant Ron Peters was driving southbound on Grove Street in Tacoma. He stopped at the stop sign, looked both ways, and proceeded into the intersection. He admitted that his left view was blocked by a mobile home parked adjacent to the sidewalk. He further admitted that he saw the uninsured driver approaching the intersection to his right traveling eastbound. The claimant brought this action against the respondent based on negligence.
Settlement Discussions
The claimant made a settlement demand for $_______. The respondent made an offer of $___________.
Specials in Evidence
$8,100 (disputed) $11,807.60 in past wage loss (excluding PIP payments) (disputed) $9,521 (disputed) $5,960 (disputed)
Damages
$80,000 (general damages); $5,533.90 (past medical bills excluding PIP payments); $5,960 (future medical bills); $11,807.60 (past wage loss excluding PIP payments); $9,521 (future wage loss)
Injuries
Claimant was initially diagnosed with cervical and lumbar strain. He then consulted with a doctor who had performed an anterior cervical fusion from a prior automobile accident in 1995. The doctor opined that claimant only sustained soft tissue injuries and said that claimant reported his neck pain was "gone" three months post accident. Because of the onset of radicular symptoms in his low back, claimant was evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed spinal stenosis, pre-existing, but symptomatically worsened by the collision, degenerative disc disease at L4-5, and lumbar spondylosis. Epidural steroid injections were administered but provided claimant with only short-term relief. The orthopedic surgeon opined that since conservative treatment did not help the ongoing symptoms, claimant would need to undergo a three level laminectomy causally related to the collision.
Other Information
A +-day arbitration was held on Sept. 8, 1998 before Jack Rosenow.
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