Truck crosses centerline: Head-on collision: Vicarious liability: Wrongful deaths: Head injuries: Postverdict settlement

Law Reporter, May 2004

Calderon v. Velocity Express Intermountain, Inc., Cal., Fresno County Super. Ct., No. 02 CE CG 02924, Dec. 24, 2003.

Calderon, 30; her mother, Bayardo, 51; her brother, Perez, 23; and her three daughters, 5, 9, and 13, were riding in a pickup truck on a highway when a truck crossed the centerline and struck the vehicle head-on.

Bayardo and Perez suffered fatal injuries. They are survived by Bayardo's other two adult children, Perez's siblings. Bayardo and Perez were not employed at the time of the incident.

Calderon suffered a fractured ankle and emotional distress. Her medical expenses totaled about $12,900. A clerk at the county mental health department earning approximately $19,200 annually, Calderon has been unable to return to work since the incident. Calderon's 5-year-old daughter suffered a closed-head injury resulting in seizures and, a few days later, a coma. She now suffers from cognitive difficulties including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Her medical expenses were about $57,300. Calderon's 9-year-old daughter suffered a closed head injury and was in a coma for several days. She also suffered a fractured collarbone, collapsed lung, bruises to her internal organs, and fractures to both legs, among other injuries. She has undergone an unsuccessful surgery for nerve damage to her feet and to correct a leg length discrepancy. She continues to see an orthopedist for her injuries. Her medical expenses were about $202,500. Calderon's 13year-old daughter suffered pelvic fractures and a leg fracture. Her medical expenses were about $20,100.

Calderon, individually and on behalf of her children, and Calderon's siblings on behalf of Bayardo and Perez's estates, sued the trucking company and a distribution company for which it was making deliveries as part of a joint venture. Plaintiffs alleged defendants were vicariously liable for the driver's negligence.

Before trial, the parties agreed that defendants' insurer would pay plaintiffs $15 million after judgment was entered, in exchange for an agreement that plaintiffs would not attempt to collect the judgment out of defendants' personal assets. A jury subsequently awarded approximately $14.3 million. The trucking company's insurer paid $15 million, and the children's proceeds will be put into special needs trusts with annuities.

Plaintiffs' experts included Gregory Stephens, accident reconstruction, Gig Harbor, Wash.; James Smurr, medicine, Mendota, Cal; Lupe Parraz, psychotherapy, Mendota, Cal; Judy Leon, psychotherapy, Kerman, Cal; and John Van Natta, psychiatry, Santa Clara, Cal.

Defendants' experts included Cynthia Towes, educational consulting, Fresno, CaL; Bernard Rappaport, psychiatry, Berkeley, Cal; Andrew O'Brien, vocational rehabilitation, Sacramento, Cal; Tina Gabby, pediatrics, San Raphael, Cal; and Joseph Capell, physical medicine/rehabilitation, Fresno, Cal.

Plaintiffs' Counsel

*Richard C. Watters, Fresno, Cal.