Grant v. Lyden
Published: Jun. 8, 2002 | Result Date: May 17, 2002 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: BC248189 Verdict – $8,508
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Robert S. Shepard
(Mark R. Weiner & Associates)
Experts
Plaintiff
Frank Derratt
(medical)
Defendant
Phillip J. Kanter
(medical)
Facts
The defendant made a left turn in front of the plaintiffÆs car at the intersection of Figueroa and Cesar Chavez. At
the impact, the plaintiff was traveling at 35 mph. Property damage was heavy, airbags deployed and the
plaintiff had a cracked windshield. The defendant was 87 years old. The plaintiff, a 46-year-old female
employed as a disability claims supervisor, suffered personal injuries.
The defendant did not dispute liability and the legitimacy of all the plaintiffÆs claimed injuries. The defendant
did maintain that the medical treatment, and the expenses thereof, were unreasonable.
The defendant contended that the plaintiff should have gone to a physician at Kaiser who, the plaintiff had seen
before and for whom she had expressed satisfaction. Instead, acting upon her attorneyÆs advice, the plaintiff
consulted with a chiropractor who provided extensive, and expensive, treatment, who then referred the plaintiff
to an orthopedist who ordered an unnecessary knee MRI.
The defendant further argued that the time missed from work in order to attend doctorÆs
appointments was unnecessary compounded by virtue of the fact that she never tried to make
appointments after she got off work at 3:30 p.m.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff submitted a demand of $16,457 which was subsequently reduced, pretrial, to $13,228. The defendant offered $10,000.
Specials in Evidence
$6,425 $1,750
Injuries
Soft tissue neck and back, sore left knee. Initially treated at the Kaiser Permanente emergency room, the plaintiff then went to an attorney referred chiropractor. The chiropractor sent her to an orthopedist for knee pain who carried out an MRI on her knee. The plaintiff missed one week from work plus two hours for every doctorÆs visit.
Deliberation
four hours
Length
two days
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