Motorcycle struck by truck: Failure to stop at red light: Negligent hiring, supervision: Multiple fractures: Punctured lungs: Settlement

Law Reporter, Apr 2003

Motorcycle struck by truck: Failure to stop at red light: Negligent hiring, supervision: Multiple fractures: Punctured lungs: Settlement.

Walsh P. Woodbridge Gardens, Inc., Cal., Santa Cruz County Super. Ct., No. 141687, Sept. 20, 2002.

Walsh, 51, was riding his motorcycle when a truck ran a red light and struck him. Walsh suffered fractures to his left hip, legs, collarbone, and hand, multiple rib fractures, and punctured lungs. He was hospitalized for four months and required several surgeries. His medical expenses totaled about $600,000. He is expected to require further surgery in the future. A product developer for a motorcycle accessory company earning $14 per hour, Walsh has been unable to return to work.

Walsh and his wife sued the company that owned the truck, alleging negligent hiring, training, and supervision of its driver, who had held a driver's license for only nine months, had never owned a vehicle, and had never worked as a truck driver before. Plaintiffs alleged the company's officers acted with conscious disregard for safety, subjecting it to punitive damages.

The parties settled before trial for $2.49 million. Plaintiffs' Counsel

*Donald F. Costello, Santa Cruz, Cal.