Another Victory for Paul Wayne!
August 19th, 2015/By Admin/In Firm News, Firm News, Locations, Los Angeles, Transportation Law
Firm Partner Paul Wayne recently received another favorable verdict when a Jury found the opposing plaintiff 90% comparatively negligent for the underlying incident!
Facts:
After completing his job unloading produce trucks in the “skid row” area of downtown Los Angeles, plaintiff, a homeless man, claimed to have fallen asleep on a sidewalk adjacent to the nearby loading docks. While asleep, his left leg and hip were run over by the rear tires on the defendants’ tractor-trailer, causing numerous injuries including a broken left leg, dislocated hip, a fractured lumbar vertebrae, nerve damage, and a lacerated penis. Open surgical procedures were performed on plaintiff’s leg and hip, and two subsequent surgeries were performed on his leg to treat recurrent infections.
After incurring more than $190,000 in medical expenses, plaintiff instituted action against the Firm’s trucking company owner and driver clients, alleging that in the driver’s efforts to maneuver out from between two parked trucks, the driver backed his trailer over the sidewalk and onto the sleeping plaintiff. Defendants disputed this allegation, alleging plaintiff actually fell asleep in the street under the trailer, and that it was not unreasonable for the the Firm’s truck driver client to have moved his truck even though some time had passed since his last statutorily required truck inspection.
After a 5-day trial, the Jury awarded the homeless plaintiff $845,000 for his damages. However, with two holdouts for an outright verdict in favor of the defense, the Jury narrowly found that both parties bore fault for the accident, and allocated 90% comparative negligence to the plaintiff. This resulted in a net award of only $84,500 against the Firm’s trucking clients!
Mr. Wayne is a Partner of the Firm, and represents clients in the Sherman Oaks and San Diego areas in matters related to Tort Litigation, Business Litigation, Medical Malpractice, and Hospitality Law. If you want to know what Mr. Wayne and his team of litigators can do for you – call him at (818) 205-9955 to discuss your needs!
