Oganes Saakyan v. Modern Auto, David Saldona, et al.
Published: Jan. 21, 1995 | Result Date: Dec. 28, 1994 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: VC013709 – $0
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Norwalk
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Joseph M. Barrett
(The Barrett Lawyers, APC)
Garo Mardirossian
(Mardirossian & Associates Inc.)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Janice Wexler
(technical)
Joel S. Rosen
(medical)
Leonard N. Mattheson
(technical)
Richard J. Perrillo Ph.D.
(medical)
Gerald Rosenbluth
(technical)
Lorne Houten
(medical)
Edwin C. Amos M.D.
(medical)
Robert Galbraith
(medical)
Joyce Elaine Pickersgill
(technical)
Defendant
Edward L. Workman
(technical)
Ernest Z. Klein
(technical)
Facts
On June 29, 1992, Plaintiffs Ognes Saakyan and Garnik Peronyan, driver and passenger respectively, were involved in a single car accident on the southbound 605 Freeway near Whittier. Plaintiff Ognes Saakyan was a 17-year-old high school dropout; and Plaintiff Garnik Peronyan was an 18-year-old high school graduate -- both with minimum wage jobs. The accident allegedly occurred when Plaintiffs' 1986 Honda Accord lost control and veered to the left, then to the right leaving the freeway surface and rolling down a steep embankment; allegedly this was less than 10 minutes after new custom tires and wheels had been installed on the vehicle by Defendant Modern Auto. The car had been lowered 1 to 2 inches a year before this incident.
Settlement Discussions
Defendant contends their offer was $985,000 during the first week of trial and Plaintiffs made a 998 demand of $1,000,000 for all 4 occupants, made to Defendant Modern Auto in March of 1994.
Specials in Evidence
$173,925 (driver) $63,000 (passenger) $650,334 (driver) $1,200,000 (passenger) $3,600,000 (driver
Injuries
Plaintiff driver: spinal fracture and spinal cord injury at T4-5 resulting in complete paraplegia from the nipple line down requiring extensive hospitalization and attendant-assisted living and future surgery; traumatic brain injury also claimed. Plaintiff passenger: spinal fractures at L1, T11, and T12 no surgery required; bilateral hemothorax with insertion of chest tubes, with extensive blood loss transfusion; multiple rib fractures requiring immobilization and bed rest.
Other Information
Two other passengers in the vehicle, who were not seriously injured settled on the eve of trial for a combined total of $15,000.
Deliberation
4 days
Poll
10-2 Plaintiffs on negligence, 9-3 Defendant on causation
Length
3.5 weeks
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