COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA CAR ACCIDENT LEAVES CHILD A PARAPLEGIC; VICTIM OBTAINS LARGEST EVER AWARD ($55 MILLION)
A young girl and her family have recently obtained a $55 million award as a result of a severe car accident that rendered her a quadriplegic requiring constant care. This is the largest award given out in the Central District of California, which covers the counties of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside. In 2002, an Army National Guard employee ran a red light in Costa Mesa, California at a busy intersection near South Coast Plaza. In doing so, the man slammed into the passenger side of an SUV truck in which a 4-year old girl was riding. The car crash left the girl with a spinal cord injury.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles never contested the government’s liability. Instead, the issue at hand was the calculation of damages that should be awarded to the victims of this car accident. Six years after the accident, the injured girl still requires 24-hour nursing care to ensure that her respirator works properly. Confined to a wheelchair that she can move with her chin, she must still rely on a feeding tube for her meals. In addition, constant rotation of her body and medicine must be administered throughout the night.
After a prolonged lawsuit, the girl and her family finally received some relief. A judge in the Central District of California recently awarded the girl $54 million to help cover the costs of past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and pain & suffering. The calculation of medical costs is based on the expenses required until the girl reaches the age of 35 – her expected life expectancy given the accident. Because of the severity of her injuries, medical experts and the court determined that her life expectancy is now half of what it was prior to the collision. In addition, the court awarded the girl’s mother an additional $1 million for treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that she suffered from the accident as well as other compensatory damages.
If you or a loved one have become the victim of a car accident or have been seriously injured in the State of California, please call the lawyers at The Law Offices of Greenberg and Rudman LLC at 1-800-ALAWPRO (1-800-252-9776) for a free initial consultation regarding your rights and how the law can help.
