Rear-end Truck / Semi Collision – Pueblo County
December 2007
Age 71 – Broken ribs – Permanent injuries to the neck and mid-back
Total medical expenses: $47,828
Final offer before trial: $125,000
TOTAL JUDGMENT: $267,630
PUEBLO DISTRICT COURT
John B. Gonzales and Betty Gonzales v. Beco, Inc.
Case No: 06-CV-1616
Judge: David W. Crockenberg
Trial Dates: December 5 – 7, 2007
Plaintiffs’ Attorney: David Hoover (Law Office of David Hoover)
Defendant’s Attorneys: Brandon Hull and Meredith McDonald (Overturf McGath Hull & Doherty, PC)
Type of Claim: Personal injury – rear-end truck/semi collision and loss of consortium. John Gonzales, 71, was driving his scrap iron truck north on 1-25 on May 5, 2006, when his truck was struck from the rear by a semi-truck owned by the defendant, Beco, Inc. The defendant’s driver said he was presented with a sudden emergency because the plaintiff’s truck had no lights on the back and was moving very slowly. The defendants also said that the plaintiff’s truck was overloaded which made it difficult to control when it was rear-ended by the defendant’s truck. The defendant also claimed failure to mitigate damages because Mr. Gonzales failed to follow the physical therapy recommendations of his medical treatment providers. The defendant denied causation and disputed the nature and extent of the plaintiffs’ injuries and damages. The defendant said that John Gonzales had pre-existing conditions and he had received disability benefits. The defendant showed the jury a surveillance videotape of John Gonzales.
Injuries Alleged: John Gonzales: 10 broken ribs, permanent injuries to the neck and mid-back and a peritoneal hematoma. Betty Gonzales: Loss of consortium.
Final Demand Before Trial: $180,000 statutory offer of settlement preceded by a $200,000 demand.
Final Offer Before Trial: $125,000.
Plaintiffs’ Expert Witnesses: Mark Pinkerton, MD (treating physician), Monte Vista William Somerset, MD (treating physiatrist), Alamosa Kevin Weber, MD (emergency room physician) Alan Wilson (regarding accident reconstruction) Jake Mellott (physical therapist), Alamosa
Note: The plaintiff called Jake Mellott, but the defendants had endorsed him as an expert witness.
Defendant’s Expert Witness: None
Verdict: For the plaintiff John Gonzales:
- $150,000 for non-economic losses
- 60,000 for economic losses
- $47,828.07 for medical expenses
- $0 for physical impairment
For the plaintiff Betty Gonzales, $5,000, on the loss of consortium claim.
Total damages: $262,828.07 plus statutory interest from the date of the accident.
Note: The verdict form submitted to the jury included a special interrogatory for a specific award of medical expenses. Beco filed a motion for amendment of the judgment and alleged that the jury’s award of economic losses included the amount awarded for medical expenses for Mr. Gonzales. On January 10, 2008, the court entered an amended judgment and ordered that the total amount of plaintiff’s economic losses was $60,000 (plus the $150,000 for non-economic losses for John Gonzales and $5,000 non-economic losses for Betty Gonzales, and statutory interest on the amended judgment.) After the jury returned its verdict, Mrs. Gonzales returned home to Monte Vista, Colorado, had a heart attack on the evening of December 7, 2007, and died.
©2008 Jury Verdict Reporter of Colorado
All rights including the right to reproduce copies.
Reproduced with the express written consent of the JVRC.
