Confidential
Settlement – $138,282Judge
Court
Santa Clara Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Paul F. Caputo
(Caputo & Van Der Walde LLP)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Joel S. Saal
(medical)
Majari Aravamuthan
(medical)
George Thabit III
(medical)
Goney Sandhu
(medical)
Defendant
Toby L. Gloekler P.E., M.ASCE, ACTAR
(technical)
George Koenig
(medical)
Brian Doherty
(technical)
Facts
Plaintiff Blanca Hernandez was driving her 1991 Honda Accord southbound on I-680 in Fremont when she was rear-ended by a 1988 Ford truck driven by defendant Mark Cates. The plaintiff sued defendant, alleging vehicular negligence. The defendant admitted liability for causing the collision but asserted that a phantom vehicle was partly to blame. He argued that when he saw plaintiff slowing down he tried to change lanes to his right. But as he was doing so, another car darted into that lane which forced him to swerve back into his original lane. He contended that although he slammed on his brakes, he was not able to avoid hitting plaintiff. The defendant disputed the extent of plaintiff's injuries.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff demanded $100,000; defendant's offer was $15,000.
Specials in Evidence
$65,782 $7,500
Injuries
The plaintiff contended that the accident caused her to suffer several injuries: C4-5 to C5-6 broad-based disc bulge; headaches; L4-5 and L5-S1 disc bulges with annular tears; chest/sternal contusion; left wrist sprain; left thumb fracture; and patellofemoral stress syndrome, synovitis and suprapatellar effusion of her left knee. She claimed that the knee surgery caused an exacerbation of a pre-existing deep vein condition. The defendant argued that plaintiff could have suffered a knee injury in the accident and that the vein and low back conditions were pre-existing. Assuming some injury, defendant argued plaintiff's injuries should have resolved within eight to 12 weeks.
Result
The jury found for plaintiff and award her $138,282. The awarded include past and future medical costs and $65,000 for pain and suffering. The defendant was found 100 percent negligent. Before trial on the issue of costs, the parties agreed that plaintiff would be awarded $5,083 in costs, bringing her total award to $143,365.
Deliberation
three days
Poll
12-0
Length
five days
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