Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP’s $13,935,550 jury verdict against the County of Los Angeles for a young man who suffered extensive injuries as a result of a county employee’s negligence has been recognized by the Daily Journal as one of 2016’s Top Verdicts by Impact. Jake Newland, 19, was walking on a Norwalk, California sidewalk when a Los Angeles County Public Defender attempted to make a left turn into a shopping center with his vehicle. After failing to yield to oncoming traffic, the Public Defender’s car collided with another vehicle which then struck Mr. Newland from behind, forcing him against a brick wall at 40 miles per hour.
As a result of the collision, Mr. Newland was hospitalized for 17 days, including nine days in the Intensive Care Unit, after sustaining head trauma and multiple fractures of his ribs and spine.
Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP attorneys Rahul Ravipudi, Tom Schultz and Erika Contreras represented Mr. Newland at trial, which was bifurcated into two phases.
The Daily Journal article highlights both phases of trial, noting the jury first found the county vicariously liable for its employee’s negligence in the accident under California’s required vehicle use exception before the defense attempted to shift blame for the accident onto the other driver in phase two. The jury disagreed with the defense argument, finding the Public Defender and the County 100 percent liable for the collision and awarded Mr. Newland $13.9 million for past and future medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering.
The County of Los Angeles pretrial settlement offer was $110,000.
For more information about the verdict in Newland v. County of Los Angeles, click here.