A California jury has awarded forty-nine million dollars to a student injured in a truck collision. The student suffered life-changing injuries including traumatic injury to his brain.
This could be the largest single-plaintiff verdict in a personal injury lawsuit in the last decade in Santa Clara county.
This comes as a surprise considering the conservative reputation that Santa Clara juries have developed over the years. Historically, juries in this area have been reluctant to award a plaintiff such a large verdict.
A large part of the award was based on out-of-pocket-expenses. Because of this fact, it is likely that the award will hold up throughout the appeals process.
The plaintiff was a passenger of a car on State Route 152. There was a collision between two trucks. The plaintiff's car was struck by one of the colliding semis. Due to severe personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff, the plaintiff now requires 24-hr care.
Over twenty-seven million dollars was awarded on the basis of future medical expenses. This is due to the fact that plaintiff will require full-time medical care for the rest of his life. The plaintiff was only 21 at the time of the incident and will therefore require such care for many years.
The personal injury lawyer for the plaintiff went on to add that the award is a true reflection of the costs associated with caring for and treating people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. When someone loses an appendage, medicine can provide a prosthetic replacement. Unfortunately, when someone loses their cognitive abilities, there simply isn't very much that medicine can provide to replace such a loss.
Since California is a comparative negligence jurisdiction, the jury apportioned fault among the defendants. The driver striking the plaintiff's vehicle was found to be 60% at fault. The other driver, and his trucking company, were found to be 35% at fault. Finally, 5% of liability was apportioned to California.
Despite the juries apportionment of 35% of fault to the second truck driver and company, the defendant company maintained that its driver was not at fault at all for this incident.
California had settled with the plaintiff for $10 million prior to the conclusion of trial, according to an attorney for the state.
This could be the largest single-plaintiff verdict in a personal injury lawsuit in the last decade in Santa Clara county.
This comes as a surprise considering the conservative reputation that Santa Clara juries have developed over the years. Historically, juries in this area have been reluctant to award a plaintiff such a large verdict.
A large part of the award was based on out-of-pocket-expenses. Because of this fact, it is likely that the award will hold up throughout the appeals process.
The plaintiff was a passenger of a car on State Route 152. There was a collision between two trucks. The plaintiff's car was struck by one of the colliding semis. Due to severe personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff, the plaintiff now requires 24-hr care.
Over twenty-seven million dollars was awarded on the basis of future medical expenses. This is due to the fact that plaintiff will require full-time medical care for the rest of his life. The plaintiff was only 21 at the time of the incident and will therefore require such care for many years.
The personal injury lawyer for the plaintiff went on to add that the award is a true reflection of the costs associated with caring for and treating people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. When someone loses an appendage, medicine can provide a prosthetic replacement. Unfortunately, when someone loses their cognitive abilities, there simply isn't very much that medicine can provide to replace such a loss.
Since California is a comparative negligence jurisdiction, the jury apportioned fault among the defendants. The driver striking the plaintiff's vehicle was found to be 60% at fault. The other driver, and his trucking company, were found to be 35% at fault. Finally, 5% of liability was apportioned to California.
Despite the juries apportionment of 35% of fault to the second truck driver and company, the defendant company maintained that its driver was not at fault at all for this incident.
California had settled with the plaintiff for $10 million prior to the conclusion of trial, according to an attorney for the state.
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