Facts

On May 20, 2013, at 8:30 a.m., plaintiff Lorenzo Wallace, 83, was on his way to Hollywood Park Casino, in his 2007 Ford Fusion. Plaintiff was traveling southbound on the I-110 Harbor Freeway, when he rear-ended a 2012 Toyota Corolla.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff argued that defendant driver was attempting to make a radical and unsafe change across multiple freeway lanes to reach a freeway exit while returning to Los Angeles Airport as part of a business trip.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants argued that plaintiff failed to keep a proper lookout for other motorists on the highway and was the cause of the accident.

Specials in Evidence

$18,000

Damages

Plaintiff also claimed he had to pay for in-home support, but none of the expenses had been documented. Plaintiff claimed the need for in-home care for the rest of his reduced life expectancy of approximately three years. Defendant disputed the nature and extent of plaintiff's injuries and damages. According to defense, plaintiff's adjusted medical bills after a Howell reduction totaled $154,187.42. Plaintiff's future medical specials according to his experts consisted of $354,000 in a one-time cost for acute inpatient rehabilitation case and durable goods and another $134,000 in annual costs for doctor visits over his life expectancy if 5.8 years, for a total of $1,132,660.

Injuries

Plaintiff claimed that as a result of the incident he sustained a L1 chance fracture, cervical sprain, and chest wall contusion. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital for approximately 24 hours, at which point he was discharged and received infrequent follow-up care consisting of consultations, a brief attempt at physical therapy, and one trigger point injection. Plaintiff claimed he was bedbound as a result of the accident. Plaintiff then received infrequent follow-up care consisting of consultations, a brief attempt at physical therapy, and one trigger point injection. Plaintiff claimed he was bedbound as a result of the accident. Defense contended that plaintiff's bedbound status was largely to an episode in January 2014 where a gastric ulcer hemorrhaged, and he underwent a dual chamber pacemaker insertion for tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome.

Result

The case settled for $1,954,973.

Other Information

The settlement, which took place just a couple days before trial, represented the policy limit recovery from Hertz Corp. of $1 million. The amount was less the amount paid for property damage and for another person's bodily injury claim. The policy limit recovery from defendant Art Gallery was for $1 million.