Articles Posted in Car Accidents

The California Court of Appeals recently rendered an opinion concerning a jury award in a car accident case. The opinion, Webster v. Miles, Cal. Ct. App., 5th Dist. (2014), examined the reasonableness of a jury trial that awarded the plaintiff in a car accident case some $9,395 in past economic damages for medical expenses, property damage, and a rental car, and $250 in past non-economic loss. The plaintiff contended that the damages award was inadequate as a matter of law, arguing that, since the jury found that she was injured as a result of the accident, the fact that they only awarded her a partial amount of her medical expenses and a small amount for pain and suffering was improper.

The facts of the accident were as follows. The defendant, Peggy Miles, was driving a Lincoln Continental when she rear-ended the plaintiff’s Chevrolet Malibu, which was stopped at a red light. The impact pushed the plaintiff’s car into a truck stopped in front of her. The damage to the plaintiff’s car was minimal, her air bags did not deploy, and she was able to drive it away from the scene.

The plaintiff was transported via ambulance to a local hospital, as she complained of pain to her head and neck. She was treated with a shot for pain, and after the doctors ran some tests, she was sent home. The plaintiff did not have any visible cuts or bruises following the accident.

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A recent Court of Appeals case, Duarte v. Kang, Cal. Ct. App, 2nd Div. (2014), demonstrates the importance of having an experienced trial lawyer when it comes to presenting a complete evidentiary record on appeal in a car accident personal injury case.

The plaintiffs appealed from a judgment following a jury trial in which the jury found in favor of the defendants.The plaintiffs’ argument on appeal was that there was no substantial evidence to support the jury’s verdict. The defendants argued that the plaintiffs failed to bring up an adequate record in support of their claim of error.

The appeal arose out of a car accident, in which the plaintiffs sustained personal injuries. The plaintiffs alleged that they were involved in a two-car accident that took place in a signal-controlled intersection, and that the defendant Kang was the driver of the other car. The plaintiffs allege that the signal had turned red, and that they were lawfully exiting the intersection, when Kang unlawfully entered the intersection on a red light and crashed into them. At trial, the defendant driver claimed that she entered the intersection on a yellow light and that the plaintiffs illegally turned in front of her, failing to yield to her right of way.

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The California Court of Appeals, for the 4th District, recently issued an opinion in a car accident case that sheds some light of the conception of what a “single accident” means for purposes of car insurance policy limits.

In the case, Mercury Casualty Co.v. Jones, Cal. Ct. App., 4th Dist. (2014), the plaintiff was involved in a serious car accident. The parties agreed that the following things were accurate. The car involved in the accident was owned by Kari Amaya, and she had an insurance policy with Mercury, which had bodily injury liability limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. Ashley Amaya was listed as an insured driver.

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently rendered an opinion in Encompass Ins. Co. v. Coast Nat’l., et al., No. 12-55784 (9th Cir. 2014), which is instructive on the matter of what constitutes the use of a vehicle for the purposes of California insurance law.

In the case, a woman was a passenger in a vehicle, car A, being driven by a man. The man lost control of his vehicle, the car ran off the road, and it crashed into a light pole. A second car, not involved in the accident, stopped at the scene to help. A woman who was a passenger in that second car saw the first woman inside the crashed car and feared that she might be in danger. She testified that the car was smoking and leaking fluid, which led her to believe the car might catch fire or explode. She physically removed the woman from the wrecked car. Following the car accident, the woman suffered severe spinal injuries and became paraplegic. The woman sued the woman who removed her, claiming that she caused the injuries when she removed her from the wrecked car.

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The California Court of Appeals recently reached a decision in Romine v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 224 Cal. App. 4th 990 (2014), regarding a violent multi-car accident that resulted in leaving the individual who brought the lawsuit quadriplegic.

The lawsuit arose out of a several-car collision, which was caused by one car, a Mustang, exiting the freeway at a speed of 70-86 miles per hour and crashing into one car, forcing it into the one in front of it, and so forth. The Mustang crashed into an Altima, which then crashed into a Frontier (the plaintiff’s car), which then crashed into a Mercedes, which then crashed into a Volvo, until all of the cars came to rest in the intersection.

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