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Dangerous highway caused fatal multiple vehicle crash: suit

Amount:

$18,681,052.49

Type:

Verdict-Plaintiff

State:

California

Venue:

Monterey County

Court:

Superior Court of Monterey County, Monterey

Injury Type(s):

back; head-blunt force trauma to the head; knee; other-death; other-abrasions; other-laceration; other-loss of society; other-multiple trauma; shoulder-fracture (fracture, clavicle);
epidermis-numbness; epidermis-contusion; hand/finger-hand; mental/psychological-depression; mental/psychological-emotional distress

Case Type:

Wrongful Death; Motor Vehicle – Head-On, Rear-ender, Center Line, Road Defect, Multiple Impact, Tractor-Trailer, Multiple Vehicle

Case Name:

Cassandra Jones and Ernie Navarro, both individually and as Successors in Interest to Alex Navarro v. Ronn Charles Williams; Bhandal Brothers Trucking, Inc.; State of California; and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) / Kenneth Martinez, administrator and heir to the Estate of Maria Angeles Almanza-Romero; Eufemio Martinez, heir to the Estate of Maria Angeles Almanza-Romero; Martha Carrillo, minor and heir to the Estate of Maria Angeles Almanza-Romero, by and through her Guardian ad Litem, Mark Donnelly; and Roberto Jaime-Almanza, minor and heir to the Estate of Maria Angeles Almanza-Romero, by and through his Guardian ad Litem, Ricardo Jaime v. Bhandal Brothers Trucking, Inc.; California Department of Transportation (Caltrans); Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC); and Ronn Charles Williams,
No. M111007 / M114050

Date:

February 25, 2014

Parties

Plaintiff(s):

Ernie Navarro (Male), 

Cassandra Jones (Female), 

Martha Carrillo (Female), 

Eufemio Martinez (Male), 

Kenneth Martinez (Male), 

Roberto Jaime-Almanza (Male), 

Estate of Alex Navarro (Male, 4 Years), 

Estate of Maria Angeles Almanza-Romero (Female, 48 Years)

Plaintiff Attorney(s):

Randall H. Scarlett;
Scarlett Law Group;
San Francisco,
CA,
for
Martha Carrillo, Eufemio Martinez, Kenneth Martinez, Roberto Jaime-Almanza, Estate of Maria Angeles Almanza-Romero ■ B. Robert Allard;
Corsiglia McMahon & Allard LLP;
San Jose,
CA,
for
Ernie Navarro, Cassandra Jones, Estate of Alex Navarro ■ Lauren Cerri;
Corsiglia McMahon & Allard LLP;
San Jose,
CA,
for
Ernie Navarro, Cassandra Jones, Estate of Alex Navarro ■ Brendan Way;
Scarlett Law Group;
San Francisco,
CA,
for
Martha Carrillo, Eufemio Martinez, Kenneth Martinez, Roberto Jaime-Almanza, Estate of Maria Angeles Almanza-Romero

Plaintiff Expert(s):

Wes Pringle;
P.E.;
Transportation Planning & System Design;
Laguna Niguel,
CA called by
B. Robert Allard, Lauren Cerri ■ Gwen Finestone;
Ph.D.;
Psychology/Counseling;
Huntington Beach,
CA called by
Randall H. Scarlett, Brendan Way ■ Tate Kubose;
Ph.D.;
Psychology/Counseling;
Mountain View,
CA called by
Randall H. Scarlett, B. Robert Allard, Lauren Cerri, Brendan Way ■ Rajeev Kelkar;
Ph.D.;
Biomechanical;
Mountain View,
CA called by
Randall H. Scarlett, B. Robert Allard, Lauren Cerri, Brendan Way ■ Robert Crommelin;
P.E.;
Engineering;
Palm Desert,
CA called by
Randall H. Scarlett, Brendan Way ■ Patrick Logan;

Photographic Analysis;
San Ramon,
CA called by
B. Robert Allard, Lauren Cerri ■ Phillip Allman;
Ph.D.;
Economics;
San Francisco,
CA called by
Randall H. Scarlett, Brendan Way ■ Patricia Weiss;
Ph.D.;
Neuropsychology;
San Francisco,
CA called by
B. Robert Allard, Lauren Cerri

Defendant(s):

State of California, 

Ronn Charles Williams, 

Bhandal Brothers Trucking Inc., 

California Department of Transportation, 

Transportation Agency for Monterey County

Defense Attorney(s):

David Sullivan;
Caltrans Legal Department;
San Francisco,
CA,
for
State of California, California Department of Transportation, Transportation Agency for Monterey County ■ Shahrad Milanfar;
Becherer Kannett & Schweitzer;
Emeryville,
CA,
for
Ronn Charles Williams, Bhandal Brothers Trucking Inc.

Defendant Expert(s):

Clay Campbell;
Accident Reconstruction;
Livermore,
CA called by
David Sullivan ■ Nevin Sams;
Engineering;
Livermore,
CA called by
David Sullivan ■ Thomas Ayres;
Ergonomics/Human Factors;
Kensington,
CA called by
David Sullivan ■ Raymond Merala;
Accident Reconstruction;
Hayward,
CA called by
Shahrad Milanfar

Insurer(s):

New York Marine & General Insurance Co for Bhandal Brothers Trucking Inc.

Facts:

On Nov. 5, 2010, at approximately 2:25 p.m., plaintiffs’ decedent Maria Angeles Almanza-Romero, 48, a caregiver, was driving on State Route 156 in Monterey County when she came to a stop to wait for oncoming traffic to clear so that she could make a left turn into her private driveway. While stopped, an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer operated by Ronn Williams rear-ended Almanza-Romero’s vehicle, causing both vehicles to cross into an opposite lane of travel. Almanza-Romero’s vehicle then struck an oncoming vehicle, which was operated by plaintiff Cassandra Jones, head-on. Almanza-Romero was killed in the accident. Jones, who was seven months pregnant with her second child, survived the crash, but her 4-year-old son, plaintiffs’ decedent Alex Navarro, who was a rear-seat passenger in his mother’s car, died in the collision. Cassandra Jones and Ernie Navarro, acting both individually and as Alex’s successor in interest, sued Williams; the owner of the big rig truck and Williams’ employer, Bhandal Brothers Trucking Inc.; and the maintainers of the roadway, the state of California and the California Department of Transportation. In a separate action, Kenneth Martinez, acting as an administrator and heir to the estate of Almanza-Romero; Eufemio Martinez, an heir to the estate of Almanza-Romero; Mark Donnelly, acting as guardian ad litem for Maria Carrillo, a minor and heir to the estate of Almanza-Romero; and Ricardo Jaime, acting as guardian ad litem for Roberto Jaime-Almanza, a minor and heir to the estate of Almanza-Romero, sued Williams, Bhandal Brothers, Caltrans, and the Transportation Agency for Monterey County. The two actions were ultimately consolidated. The Transportation Agency was dismissed prior to trial and Williams was dismissed from the action due to course and scope. The matter then proceeded to trial on Jan. 13, 2014. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Bhandal Brothers was liable for Williams, who negligently operated his big rig truck so to be a substantial factor in the collision and the ensuing deaths. Counsel also argued that Caltrans was negligent for failing to repair the highway’s dangerous condition. Counsel contended that Caltrans’ engineers knew that Highway 156 was operating beyond capacity since the mid-1970s and that it had accidents above the statewide average at numerous sections of the Western Corridor. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that rather than fixing the problem, the dangerous condition was made deadly. Plaintiffs’ counsel presented Caltrans-produced Project Study Reports dating back to 1997 that showed 55 percent of the accidents on Highway 156 were of the rear-end type due to, among other things, drivers stopping or slowing down on the highway in order to turn left across oncoming traffic. Counsel contended that despite recommendations from several of Caltrans’ engineers (as contained in two PSRs) to eliminate left-hand turns and, thus, improve traffic flow and reduce the number of accidents, Caltrans failed to take any action for over a decade to either correct the dangerous condition or warn the public of it. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that as a consequence, just as the Caltrans engineers predicted, the number of accidents continued to rise, resulting in the avoidable deaths of Alex and Almanza-Romero. Counsel for Bhandal Brothers presented evidence that showed that Williams was left with mere seconds to react to Almanza-Romero’s stopped vehicle due to the dangerous condition of SR-156 at the area of the collision. Plaintiff’s counsel agreed. Caltrans maintained that Highway 156 was safe and that Bhandal Brothers’ employee, Williams, was the sole cause of the accident. It contended that the only solution to fixing the problem of left-hand turns across oncoming traffic was to create a new highway expansion project at a cost of up to $500 million to taxpayers. Thus, Caltrans contended that it acted reasonably in not correcting the highway’s condition (due to cost) and that it was reasonable in not providing warnings. In response, plaintiffs’ counsel presented several solutions from expert engineers as to how to correct the left-turn problem, including signage, delineators, and a continuous rumble strip, which the experts claimed would have cost the state well under $25,000. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that these short-term warning and traffic flow measures would have prevented cars from legally stopping on the freeway to turn left into private driveways, or would have warned other drivers that traffic may be stopped, and, therefore, an accident of this type would have been avoided.

Injury:

Almanza-Romero died instantly as a result of multiple traumatic injuries sustained when her vehicle was struck head-on. She was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene. Almanza-Romero was 48. She is survived by her two adult children and two minor children. Alex sustained blunt force trauma to his head while in the back seat of Jones’ vehicle. He was subsequently transported to a hospital, where he was declared deceased upon arrival. He was 4 years old. Alex is survived by his parents. Jones and her unborn baby survived the accident. However, Jones sustained multiple abrasions, lacerations and contusions. She also complained of pain to her forehead, knee, hip and abdomen, as well as pain and swelling in her left hand. Jones was subsequently boarded and collared, and then transported by ambulance to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, where she was diagnosed with fractures of the left shoulder/clavicle and left hand. Jones was then kept overnight to undergo fetal monitoring. After her discharge from the hospital, Jones was required to wear a sling for several months. Jones claimed that she felt numbness and a loss of sensation on one side of her head for several months. She also claimed that she developed, and continues to suffer from, constant back pain that she had never experienced before the collision. She further claimed that she still suffers aches and pains about her body and, to this day, her shoulder pops out of place at times and she continues to have a clicking sensation in her knee. In addition, Jones claimed emotional distress, resulting in severe depression as a result of her injuries and losses. Counsel for Almanza-Romero’s heirs asked the jury to award $412,340.03 in economic damages, which included funeral expenses, and suggested a range for non-economic damages for the wrongful death of Almanza-Romero. Counsel for Jones and Navarro asked the jury to award $13.5 million in total damages for Jones’ injuries and Alex’s wrongful death. The amount sought included Jones’ funeral expenses for Alex, as well as past and future medical expenses for Jones, and past medical expenses for Alex.

Result:

The jury found the state and Caltrans 60 percent at fault for the accident, and Williams and Bhandal Brothers 40 percent at fault. It also found that the plaintiffs’ damages totaled $18,681,052.49, including $9,406,186.53 for Almanza-Romero’s family and $9,274,865.96 for Jones and Navarro.

Martha Carrillo: $42,473 Personal Injury: past wrongful death (economic) damages; $58,789 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (economic) damages; $500,000 Personal Injury: past wrongful death (non-economic) damages; $1,750,000 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (non-economic) damages; Roberto Jaime-Almanza: $64,310 Personal Injury: past wrongful death (economic) damages; $177,432 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (economic) damages; $500,000 Personal Injury: past wrongful death (non-economic) damages; $1,750,000 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (non-economic) damages; Cassandra Jones: $175,000 Personal Injury: Past Pain And Suffering; $100,000 Personal Injury: Future Pain And Suffering; 300,000 Personal Injury: past negligent infliction of emotional distress; $436,116 Personal Injury: wrongful death (economic) damages; $400,000 Personal Injury: past wrongful death (non-economic) damages; $3,600,000 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (non-economic) damages; Eufemio Martinez: $21,087 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (economic) damages; $500,000 Personal Injury: past wrongful death (non-economic) damages; $1,750,000 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (non-economic) damages; Kenneth Martinez: $21,009 Personal Injury: past wrongful death (economic) damages; $21,087 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (economic) damages; $500,000 Personal Injury: past wrongful death (non-economic) damages; $1,750,000 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (non-economic) damages; Ernie Navarro: $263,750 Personal Injury: wrongful death (economic) damages; $400,000 Personal Injury: past wrongful death (non-economic) damages; $3,600,000 Personal Injury: future wrongful death (non-economic) damages

Trial Information:

Judge:

Kay Kingsley

Demand:

$1.75 million (C.C.P. § 998) for the heirs of Almanza-Romero; $1 million for Jones’ wrongful death claim; $999,999.99 for Navarro’s wrongful death claim; and $299,999.99 for Jones’ personal injury claim (all to Caltrans)

Offer:

None reported

Trial Length:

5
 weeks

Trial Deliberations:

6
 days

Jury Composition:

4 male/ 8 female

Editor’s Comment:

This report is based on information that was gleaned from articles that were published by The Californian.com and The Monterey County Herald, as well as from interviews of plaintiff’s counsel and counsel for Ronn Charles Williams and Brothers Trucking, Inc. Counsel for the State of California Department of Transportation did not respond to the reporter’s phone calls.