Confidential
Settlement – $250,000Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Lancaster
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Facts
On December 10, 1991, in a light rain, the defendant company's delivery driver lost control of his van on the 14 Freeway in rural Antelope Valley. The van flipped over several times. The 14 Freeway runs two lanes in each direction with a wide center median. The plaintiff, a 45-year-old yardman, determined that the driver was safely out of the vehicle but believed that the driver's van was on fire and would explode. He ran down the side of the freeway to stop traffic from the impending explosion. After signaling a pickup truck traveling in the number 2 lane to stop, the plaintiff ran across the freeway to stop traffic in the number 1 lane. The defendant driver of a passenger car (settled), who was approaching the scene in the number 2 lane, rear ended the pick-up truck, propelling it across the two lanes of freeway and onto the median where it struck the plaintiff. The defendant company's van was not on fire and never exploded. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendant driver based on negligence and against the defendants, the driver of a passenger car and the company, based on negligence, the rescue doctrine and respondeat superior theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a C.C.P. º998 settlement demand for $250,000 and a settlement demand of $600,000. The defendants made a settlement offer of $175,000.
Specials in Evidence
$73,000 $100,000 $200,000 $25,000
Injuries
The plaintiff alleged that he sustained a broken knee, a torn shoulder and soft tissue injuries to his back as a result of the accident.
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately three years (per the defendants) or four years and four months (per the plaintiff) after the case was filed. A mediation was held on May 10, 1996, before Alexander Polsky, of JAMS/Endispute resulting in the reported settlement.
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