Following a 13-day trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Adam Shea, Nicholas Yoka, and Spencer Lucas obtained a $2,764,982 jury verdict for a man who suffered injuries to his foot after he was struck by a vehicle while crossing the street in West Hollywood, California on September 27, 2018. Plaintiff was also represented in the matter by co-counsel, Jeffrey A. Shane of the Law Offices of Jeffrey A. Shane.
Plaintiff Michael Green was walking northbound in a marked pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Holloway Drive and Palm Avenue. At the same time, defendant Mohamad Navab’s vehicle was traveling westbound on Holloway Drive and approaching Palm Avenue where he encountered at least two vehicles stopped in front of him. With only one lane for travel in each direction and parking lanes on both sides, defendant Navab attempted to pass the stopped vehicles by proceeding into the parking lane on the right side. Without warning, defendant Navab’s vehicle entered the marked crosswalk and the left front tire of the vehicle ran over Mr. Green’s left foot. At least 800 pounds of force was applied to Mr. Green’s foot as a result of the incident.
Due to defendant Navab’s negligence, Mr. Green suffered injuries including Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Over the course of the next three years, Mr. Green participated in a variety of treatments for his injured foot including peroneal, tarsal tunnel, and calcaneal nerve release procedures as well as three lumbar sympathetic blocks, several cortisol injections to the foot, and a temporary spinal cord stimulator — an implanted device that sends low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord to relieve pain. Since CRPS is a lifelong disease and Mr. Green has had good results in lessening his pain with the temporary spinal cord stimulator, it is recommended that the 32-year-old undergo another procedure to have a permanent spinal cord stimulator placed in his body for the rest of his life.
Prior to and throughout trial, defendant Navab conceded that Mr. Green’s foot was injured as a result of the incident but denied liability as well as the extent of Mr. Green’s injuries and resulting pain.
At trial, plaintiff’s counsel presented evidence of defendant’s negligence through a single third-party witness, an investigating police officer, and experts in accident reconstruction and biomechanics. In addition, counsel presented evidence of plaintiff’s damages through plaintiff’s treating physicians and experts in the field of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
The defense disputed liability until the end, including arguing that plaintiff was at fault because he was not paying attention. The defense also argued that Mr. Green did not have CRPS, or any residual injuries from the incident, and supported this argument with hours of sub rosa surveillance videos that the defense argued showed Mr. Green was walking fine with no signs of pain. The defense had two private investigators follow Mr. Green for over 400 hours in an attempt to show he had no signs of injury or pain.
The jury took just three days to deliberate and render their verdict in favor of plaintiff, finding defendant Navab 100 percent negligent for the incident and awarding $450,000 in past non-economic damages, $1,250,000 in future non-economic damages, $95,000 for past medical expenses, and $959,982 for future medical expenses to Mr. Green for a total of $2,764,982.
Defendant was represented at trial by Fred M. Blum, Michael E. Gallagher, and J. Kyle Gaines of Edlin Gallagher Huie + Blum.