The plaintiff´s and the defendant´s liability in a U-turn crash brain injury compensation claim has been equally divided by a jury at the Los Angeles County Court.
On 25th February 25 2014, thirty-eight year old Antonio Pureco – a gardener from the La Puente area of Los Angeles – was driving along the road leading to his apartment when he indicated right and pulled over to the side of the road in order to allow for the space on the narrow road to execute a U-turn.
As Antonio started to execute the U-turn maneuver, his car was hit on the driver´s side by a vehicle driven by David De La Torre Carrillo. The impact of the collision crushed Antonio´s car, and he had to be cut free and put into an unconscious state before being taken to Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center.
Antonio was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and underwent extensive therapy at Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. Although making a significant recovery, the degree of his permanent brain injury means that Antonio will never be able to return to work, and he will require assisted living by the age of sixty due to the likely early onset of dementia.
Fortunately, Antonio was not so badly injured that he was unable to seek legal advice. He subsequently made a U-turn crash brain injury claim against De La Torre Carrillo on the grounds that the negligent driver had been traveling at an excessive speed for a residential round and had failed to keep a proper lookout.
Despite being cited for speeding, De La Torre Carrillo contested the U-turn crash brain injury claim. He argued that Antonio had been cited for a dangerous maneuver and that the accident would have happened – albeit with less serious consequences – had he been driving within the speed limit of 35 mph.
The U-turn crash brain injury claim was decided by a jury at the Los Angeles County Court, where the case was heard by Judge David S. Cunningham III. During the hearing, accident reconstruction experts demonstrated how the accident happened and, after nine days of evidence, the jury unanimously found the plaintiff and the defendant equally liable.
The set the value of the U-turn crash brain injury claim at $10 million based on Antonio´s reduced life expectancy, future medical costs, and future pain and suffering. Due to Antonio being found equally liable for the cause of the accident, the jury award was reduced to $5 million to account for his comparative negligence.