Confidential
Settlement – $400,000Judge
Court
Sonoma Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Gordon Bunker
(technical)
Michael Lazar
(medical)
Maurice Carlin
(medical)
Barry Ben-Zion Ph.D.
(technical)
Ernest Weitz
(medical)
Defendant
Lawrence Werboff
(medical)
Tracy A. Newkirk
(medical)
Peter Bretan
(medical)
Facts
The plaintiff, a then 44-year-old petroleum product delivery truck driver sustained an on-the-job neck injury. The defendants owned a fuel tank storage facility. On May 10, 1997, the plaintiff was to measure the storage level of an outside storage fuel tank. He climbed a fixed ladder welded to the side of the tank. He was carrying a 12 feet measuring pole in his right hand. As he reached the top of the ladder, he started to slip, grabbed a loose chain, twisted his upper torso, and eventually fell to his knees staying on the ladder. He felt a pain across the back of his neck on the left side, radiating through his shoulder and down his left arm. The plaintiff could not complete his duties that day at work. He drove home. While at home, the plaintiff either coughed, choked on some food, or had an excruciating incident of neck pain, had LOC, and struck his head on a table, sustaining a cervical cord lesion with temporary paraplegia. On May 14, 1997, Dr. Carlin performed an anterior cervical decompression procedure for a herniated disc at C6-7.
Damages
The complaint-in-intervention was for approximately $125,000 of which $40,000 was medical; $17,000 temporary disability; $53,000 permanent disability and $12,900 vocational rehabilitation. The plaintiff claimed $100,000 in past lost income losses; $329,000 in future income loss and $52,000 for loss of home services.
Other Information
A mediation was held before Judge William Bettinelli, retired, of JAMS, resulting in settlement. Settlement negotiations between complaint-in-intervention and defendants continued after mediation and resulted in an $85,000 settlement.
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