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CONFIDENTIAL

Sep. 14, 2004

Personal Injury
Auto v. Pedestrian
Negligence

Confidential

Settlement –  $165,000

Judge

Lynn Duryee

Court

Marin Superior


Attorneys

Plaintiff

Steven M. McCarthy


Defendant

David J. Millstein
(Millstein & Associates)

Charles D. Cochran


Experts

Plaintiff

C.E. Long III
(medical)

Luzanne Pastorie
(medical)

Karen Siou
(medical)

Theresa Hong
(medical)

Defendant

David M. Yoshida M.D.
(technical)

Robert B. Post Ph.D.
(technical)

Laura L. Liptai
(technical)

Carol R. Hyland M.A.
(technical)

Milton Harris
(medical)

Facts

Julie Doering, a 47-year-old massage therapist, was taking her usual walk on the morning of March 26, 2002. As she began across the intersection of Clarke and Ross, she was struck by a minivan driven by Kenneth Burkey, who was taking his son to school. The collision occurred at 7:56 a.m. and Burkey's son was supposed to be at school at 8 a.m. Doering, whose head cracked the passenger side windshield of the van, had no independent recollection of the incident. Doering sued Kenneth Burkey and his wife, Cyndi Lord, for vehicular negligence. Burkey claimed that he was not in a hurry that morning, that he was driving a well-traveled route, and that it was impossible to see Doering because of her dark clothing and the shadows on the street at the time.

Settlement Discussions

The defendants made a C.C.P. Section 998 offer of $100,000 policy limits was rejected.

Injuries

Doering suffered a closed head injury, with cognitive functional impairments, consisting primarily of memory dysfunction and visual attention-retention deficits. She also suffered a right tibial plateau fracture that required two surgical interventions, and left her with peripheral never damage and secondary ambulatory impairment. She lost her major toe nail after surgery, received lesser injuries to her back and pelvis, developed tendonitis, had accelerated post-traumatic degenerative changes, and diminished mobility.


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