Facts

On Jan. 27, 2007, at approximately 1:20 a.m.,plaintiff Kimberly Behn was lawfully driving her vehicle eastbound on the I-50. Plaintiffs Ruby Love and Terry Behn were passengers in Kimberly Behn's vehicle. Defendant (decedent) Albert Carl Muller was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes on I-50, therefore going the wrong way on the highway, against traffic. Muller struck the front of the 2004 Honda Odyssey being driven by Kimberly Behn head-on.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended that, as a result of the accident, Kimberly Behn, Ruby Love, and Terry Behn sustained serious and substantial injuries. Plaintiffs further contended that, as a direct and legal result of said collision as described above, Terry Behn ultimately sustained fatal injuries.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defense did not dispute liability.

Specials in Evidence

$203,789 (Terry Behn), $289,504 (Kimberly Behn), $302,448 (Ruby Love)

Injuries

Terry Behn, 60, was transported from the scene of the accident by ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center, where he was hospitalized from the date of the accident until Feb. 6, 2007. Thereafter, he was transferred to Emerald Gardens Nursing Center, a rehabilitation home, until March 23, 2007. As a result of the accident, he suffered a laceration to the spleen and other internal complications. Kimberly Behn, 52, suffered a variety of injuries including, but not limited to, open reduction of left intertrochanteric hip fracture, intramedullary nailing of left femoral shaft fracture, closed reduction of right distal radius fracture, open reduction of right great toe MTP joint dislocation, right great toe MTP joint open reduction and pinning for unstable dislocation. Her injuries required a lengthy hospitalization and rehabilitation. She had several surgeries due to the violent impact. She was non-weight bearing for months, had serial casting, and was confined to a walker. She was transferred to Emerald Gardens Nursing Center on Feb. 1, 2007 for rehabilitation, wherein she remained until March 23, 2007. Due to the severity of her fractures, they required hardware which remains an issue to this day. Ruby Love, 75, suffered a variety of injuries including, but not limited to, head injury, traumatic pneumothorax, acute respiratory failure, C6 fracture, C7 fracture, pneumonia infection/pulmonary contusions, airway obstruction, atrial fibrillation, contusion of the lungs, multiple rib fractures, ventilator dependence. Her injuries required a lengthy hospitalization and rehabilitation. She was transported from the scene of the accident by ambulance to Mercy General Hospital and was later transferred to UC Davis on the same day. She was hospitalized at UC Davis Medical Center from Jan. 27, 2007 until Feb. 6, 2007. Upon discharge from UC Davis, she was taken to Kaiser Hospital in Sacramento where she remained until mid April 2007. As a result of the accident, she received various traumatic injuries as noted above. She had a tracheotomy for over two months due to her collapsed lungs.

Result

The case settled for $1.1 million.

Other Information

This matter was resolved a few months after a mediation in front of Alfred Chiantelli of ADR Services. Due to inadequate insurance policy limits, plaintiffs collected $800,000 from the Muller Family Trust to compensate for their injuries. INSURER: The Hartford ($300,000)