Facts

This case involved a motor vehicle collision that took place Dec. 1, 2004 on Interstate 80 near an onramp in the Fairfield area that leads onto eastbound Interstate 80. Defendant Knowles was operating the defendant Master Tile West's Ford 650 flatbed and following behind plaintiff Roberta Van Buren-Adins in her Toyota Matrix.

An unknown individual came down the onramp and according to a witness may have come to a stop at the end of the onramp to allow traffic to proceed past it. In response to observing this, defendant observed Ms. Van Buren-Adins slowing her vehicle and he slowed in response. When this vehicle came to a stop, he saw Ms. Van Buren-Adins start to accelerate and he did the same. Another vehicle then came down the onramp, swerved around the stopped vehicle at the end, and entered into the slow lane where the plaintiff and the defendant were driving.

In response to observing this other vehicle pass the stopped vehicle at the end of the onramp, Ms. Van Buren-Adins' vehicle slowed. Defendant, in his Master Tile vehicle, did not slow, and struck the rear of Ms. Van Buren-Adins' vehicle causing it to spin to the left underneath a large refrigeration semi truck. It then bounced off that truck and struck another vehicle in the slow lane. The stopped vehicle apparently then left the scene. The vehicle that Ms. Van Buren-Adins' vehicle was pushed into then spun across the lane and struck another vehicle.

Each of the involved parties all gave a different version of what took place in the incident. Due to Ms. Van Buren-Adins' injuries in the incident, in particular her brain injury, she had no recollection of the incident itself.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended that the collision was 100 percent the responsibility of the defendant following too closely and not paying attention to the developing traffic ahead.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants contended that either Ms. Van Buren Adins struck the vehicle in front of her first and then was impacted by the defendants' vehicle or that the responsible party was the vehicle that came to the end of the onramp and stopped, thereby creating the traffic hazard.

Damages

Plaintiff's past medical expenses were approximately $740,000. Her life care had a present cash value of between $2.4 million and $3.8 million depending upon her condition and nursing needs. Income loss to date was just under $100,000 at the time of the settlement. Her future economic loss in terms of damage to earning capacity was between $1 million and $1.2 million.

Injuries

As a result of the subject incident, Roberta Van Buren-Adins suffered severe brain and orthopedic injuries. She suffered and effuse cerebral edema hemorrhage and a skull fracture. She was in a coma for two weeks. She sustained severely comminuted fractures of the left radius, left ulan, left clavicle and a fracture of the left fifth metacarpal. All of these fracture required surgery. Further, she suffered a left scapular fracture and multiple rib fractures with complex lacerations of the left arm. She also suffered significant soft tissue injuries on the left side of her body. She required a right frontal ventricle drain, a tracheotomy due to the respiratory insufficiency and the need for gastrostomy tube for nourishment. As a result of the subject injuries, plaintiff had residual significant brain injury symptoms. While she had recovered tremendously since the injury and had regained her use of speech and cognition, she had residual cognitive impairment, particularly in the areas of judgment and impulse control. She also had impairment of her verbal and visual memory. She suffered from poor balance and mild right ataxia along with dysarthria and difficulty with speech volume control. She had also developed dysphagia which resulted in her requiring a temporary feeding tube. Her left sided fractures all healed post-surgically, but she was left with residual pain and discomfort. She further suffered significant psychological injury in that she is able to appreciate the nature and extent of her injury and understand the significant impact on her life. She also had tremendous anxiety, an aspect of her personality that preexisted the incident, but had been magnified dramatically by the injury and the life altering effect of the injuries. Mrs. Van Buren-Adins' husband, Adi Adins, was a 73-year-old semi-retired optometrist. The Adins' had been married for six years at the time of the incident. As a result of the collision, plaintiff Adi Adins suffered a significant loss of consortium claim. His wife was transformed from a caring and giving partner with whom he did everything, from traveling to entertainment. They had a very happy and successful relationship which, as a result of her injuries, was transformed form a caring and loving relationship to a situation where he was her care provider.

Result

The matter settled globally for $9 million, with CNA paying $1 million on the primary policy and Chubb Insurance paying $8 million on the excess. Plaintiff had previously served a statutory demand for $11 million.