In April, The Dominguez Firm of Southern California won a record-breaking verdict in Riverside Superior Court when the jury awarded their client $11,779,154.77 in damages for a motor vehicle injury case.
The inciting incident occurred on July 8, 2015, shortly after plaintiff Oscar Esparza returned home to propose to his girlfriend in Southern California. As the happy couple and her children began their drive back to Colorado in his Mitsubishi Eclipse, they came to a sudden stop caused by a third vehicle on northbound Interstate 15 near the 91 merge. A flat-box truck owned and operated by Win Distribution, Inc. plowed into the back of Esparza’s car.
The force of the impact was severe. Not only did it damage the plaintiff’s vehicle, he took the brunt of the impact, suffering cervical spine injury as well as a complicated traumatic brain injury that put him in the hospital for six days. The defense alleged that the third vehicle and Esparza were at fault for the accident and injuries. The jury disagreed.
“This was a hard-fought case in which defendant tried to introduce irrelevant matters into evidence and tried to blame our client and others for the fact they rear-ended him,” said Olivier Taillieu, lead trial attorney of The Dominguez Firm. “At the end of the day, our team and I were able to keep the trial court and jury focused on the relevant, pertinent issues and we were able to get our clients justice, especially Mr. Esparza, who is most deserving.”
The general damages portion of the verdict was reduced by 20% for alleged negligence by the third vehicle involved in the accident. Still, the result for Esparza will exceed $10 million and could exceed $12 million after post-trial motions for interests, costs and penalties, according to The Dominguez Firm. The verdict is considered to be the highest traumatic brain injury verdict award of the year, so far, in Riverside Superior Court.
“This was a hard-fought case for two and a half years, including a five-week trial that included testimony from numerous leading experts,” said name partner Juan Dominguez. “Gladly, justice prevailed.”
The Dominguez Firm will be featured in the upcoming edition of Southern California’s Leading Lawyers 2018.
The case was Esparza et al. v. Win Distribution, Inc. et al., Case No. RIC1512318.