Rear-end Auto Collision – Jefferson County
November – December 1999
Age 72 – Aggravation of prior back surgery – Chronic pain, not sufficiently severe for surgery
Final offer before trial: $30,000
TOTAL JUDGMENT: $365,932
JEFFERSON COUNTY DISTRICT COURT
Louis Rivera and Lucille Rivera v. Donald L. Wertz
Case No: 99-CV-0134
Judge: Christopher J. Munch
Trial Dates: November 30 – December 3, 1999
Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: David S. Hoover and Michael J. Harvey (Hoover Law Firm)
Defendant’s Attorney: J. Gregory Morrell (Joel N. Varnell & Associates)
Type of Claim: Personal injury- rear-end auto collision and loss of consortium. On October 3, 1997, Louis Rivera, 72, was driving his vehicle when it was struck from the rear by a vehicle driven by the defendant, Donald L. Wertz. The defendant denied that he was negligent and alleged that a sudden and unexpected brake failure prevented him from stopping. The defendant also disputed the nature and extent of the plaintiffs’ claimed injuries and damages. The defendant claimed that he was traveling only 10 miles per hour at impact. The defendant alleged that the plaintiff’s prior lumbar Iaminectomy, heart bypass surgery and stroke impaired the plaintiff prior to this accident. The plaintiff’s treating doctors acknowledged that he suffered from a diabetes-induced peripheral neuropathy with constant nerve pain to both lower extremities and that this was not accident related.
Injuries Alleged: Louis Rivera: Recurrent herniated disk at L5-S1 resulting in a re-do L5-S I semi-hemilaminectomy with disk excision. The plaintiff, who was retired, claimed pain and weakness in his extremities resulting in physical impairment. He also alleged that the effects of his pre-existing cerebral vascular insult worsened as a result of the auto accident.
Lucille Rivera: Loss of consortium.
Final Demand Before Trial: $100,000 (policy limits) according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Final Offer Before Trial: $30,000 statutory offer of settlement according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Plaintiffs’ Expert Witnesses: Anna Wegleitner, MD (treating family physician) Stanley E. Ginsburg, MD (treating neurologist) Stephen Shogan, MD (treating neurosurgeon) Donald Gay, DC (treating chiropractor) John K. Hyland, DC (regarding a PIP IME)
Defendant’s Expert Witnesses: Marc Treihaft, MD (neurologist, regarding an IME) Toby Nelson, PE (accident reconstructionist)
Note: The defendant subpoenaed Drs. Wegleitner and Shogan; however, the plaintiffs called them in their case in chief.
Verdict: For the plaintiff Louis Rivera:
- $100,000 for non-economic losses
- $150,000 for physical impairment
Total for Louis Rivera: $250,000 plus statutory interest from the date of the accident, October 3, 1997. For the plaintiff Lucille Rivera on the loss of consortium claim, $25,000 plus statutory interest.
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Reproduced with the express written consent of the JVRC.
