PSR attorneys Adam Shea, Ryan Casey, and Nick Yoka secured a $17,200,000 settlement for a mother and her three minor children who were injured when their vehicle was struck by a speeding Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy SUV.
Plaintiff was taking her children to school when the collision occurred and drastically altered the course of her family’s lives. The deputy trainee driving the Sheriff vehicle at the time of the crash initially claimed to investigating officers that he was pursuing a fleeing vehicle. However, during the pendency of the case it was revealed in discovery that he had not in fact engaged the vehicle’s lights or sirens and he was not in pursuit of a suspect at the time of the crash. In fact it was learned that just prior to the collision, the trainee’s supervisor, who was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash, had ordered him to slow down and leave the area. Instead, the deputy trainee increased his speed to over 70-mph in a 35-mph zone without justification. The trainee’s supervisor admitted during discovery that the deputy trainee’s actions were extremely unsafe and reckless — and that he intentionally steered into oncoming traffic and directly into our clients’ path of travel.
As a result of the impact, one minor plaintiff suffered severe and extensive facial injuries that left her scarred for life. A second minor plaintiff, seated in the rear seat next to her, was knocked unconscious in the impact. Plaintiff and a third minor plaintiff suffered injuries as well, although to a lesser degree.
The County contended that the Plaintiff was at fault for not utilizing an appropriate child safety seat for her minor child that suffered the most significant injuries. Additionally, because her child was found in secured in her safety seat, but not secured by the seatbelt, the County contended that she had also been improperly secured in the vehicle. Plaintiffs contended that these claims were erroneous and demonstrated in the case that it was due to the severe nature of the crash that plaintiff’s daughter was dislodged from her properly belted position. Furthermore, Plaintiffs demonstrated that due to the severe nature of the crash, and mechanism of injury, plaintiff’s daughter would have suffered severe facial injuries regardless of the type of child safety seat she was in. Consequently, after significant litigation and the setting of a preferential trial date, settlement was obtained shortly before trial was set to commence.