Sudden stop on freeway causes chain-reaction accident

VERDICT/JUDGEMENT: $5,500,000.00
Plaintiff Carmella Frias was found 10 percent comparatively negligent

VEHICLE NEGLIGENCE: Vehicle v. Vehicle: Parked/Stalled/Stopped Vehicle/Chain Reaction Collision/Impeding Traffic/Truck/Seatbelt/Miscellaneous

COUNTY: Los Angeles
COURT: Los Angeles Superior Court
CASE NAME: Frias vs. Ralph's Grocery
CASE NO.: VC038206
SETTLEMENT DATE: 11/18/2003

PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY(S):
Law Offices of Maro Burunsuzyan, by Maro Burunsuzyan, Esq. Glendale, (818) 507-5188.

DEFENSE ATTORNEY(S):
Frank J. D'Oro, Collins, Collins, Muir & Traver, South Pasadena
Robert Yoakum, Law Offices of Dallas Simmons, Anaheim
Paul C. Kwong, Thomas O'Hagan & Associates

FACTS/CONTENTIONS:
According to plaintiff: A sudden stop on a freeway resulted in a serious chain-reaction accident. The plaintiffs were Carmella Frias; Jacqueline Frias; Stephanie Frias; Jacqueline Felix; and Lydia Merito. The defendants were Ralph's Grocery; Jose Canas; Sopho Bakery; and More Truck Lines. On the morning of the accident, at approximately 4:30 a.m., plaintiff Felix drove her 1995 Honda Accord with her mother, plaintiff Merito, as a front seat passenger, to the Frias home to pick up plaintiff Carmella Frias and her two daughters, Jacqueline and Stephanie. Their destination was Tijuana, Mexico for a day to visit relatives. Jacqueline Frias was a left rear passenger, Stephanie Frias was a center rear passenger, and Carmella Frias was a right rear passenger. After picking up the Frias passengers, plaintiff Felix entered the 710 freeway at 3rd Street, proceeded to the southbound I-5 freeway and entered the number one southbound lane. Traffic conditions on the southbound I-5 were light, and, prior to the accident, plaintiff reached a speed of 60 to 65 mph.

In lane four, a van driven by defendant Canas in the course and scope of his employment with Sopho Bakery came to an abrupt stop on the freeway due to a rattling passenger door. A dump truck driven by Juan Lopez of More Truck Lines was able to stop without incident. Daniel Vasquez of Ralph's Grocery was driving behind the dump truck. He said in response to special interrogatories that he was about 250 feet away from the dump truck when he realized that he was closing in on it. After he braked, he lost control of the tractor/trailer, jackknifed over four lanes of the freeway, struck the center divider, and came to a stop in lane one perpendicular to plaintiff's path of travel. Plaintiff's vehicle drove into the tractor of the truck at approximately 45 to 55 mph.

As a result of the collision, plaintiff Carmella Frias, who was not wearing a seatbelt, struck the D-ring of the B-pillar of the car, causing a fracture of her head requiring a bilateral craniotomy. She also suffered mid-facial Le Fort II traumatic fractures with complex lacerations to the left medial eyebrow, upper lid, and bridge of her nose. Her children were not injured. The driver and front passenger sustained soft tissue injuries.

CLAIMED INJURIES:
According to plaintiff: Carmella Frias: approximately $270,000 past medical; approximately $180,000 past and future earnings, Lydia Merito: approximately $12,547 past medical; approximately $13,000 past lost earnings.

SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS:
According to plaintiff: Sopho Bakery settled with Carmella and Ireneo Frias prior to the verdict of $950,000, the remainder of the $1,000,000 policy. At a mediation held several months before the trial, defendant Ralph's offered nothing. At the MSC Ralph's offered $500,000.

TRIAL EXPERTS :
Plaintiff: Sara J. Guentz, nursing/life care planning, Long Beach (562) 423-4123
Tamorah Hunt, economist, Formuzis, Pickersgill & Hunt, Inc., Santa Ana (714) 542-8843
Kenneth L. Nudleman, neuropsychiatrist, Santa Ana (714) 542-7996
Anthony Sances, Ph.D., biomechanical engineer, Santa Barbara (805) 898-0198
Sandra Schneider, vocational rehabilitation consultant, Sandra Schneider & Associates, Los Angeles (310) 820-8675
Carlos F. Saucedo, Ph.D., neuropsychologist, Neuroscience Associates Inc., Los Angeles (310) 855-1265
Steven Meyer, biomechanical engineer, Goleta (805) 964-0676
Enrique Gonzalez, family physician, Los Angeles (323) 262-4194

Defendant: Alan Nahum, biomechanist, Medical-Legal Consultants Inc., La Jolla (858) 457-9711
John G. Perry, Ph.D., biomechanical engineer, Northridge (818) 360-0942
Mark S. Sanders, Ph.D., human factors consultant, Encino (818) 784-7041
Michael S. Varat, accident reconstuctionist, KEVA Engineering, Somis (805) 386-3388
Marcel Ponton, Ph.D., neuropsychologist, Pasadena (626) 449-2484
Robin T. Harrison, mechanical engineer, Murphy & Harrison, Claremont (909) 626-7442
Vincent Fortanasce, physician, Arcadia (626) 445-8481

COMMENTS:
Accordint to plaintiff: Case number VC038206 was consolidated with number BC272039.

Frank J. D'Oro represented defendant Ralph's Grocery.
Robert Yoakum represented defendants Canas and Sopho Bakery.
Paul C. Kwong represented defendant More Truck Lines.