LEONORA FIGUEROA, ET. AL. V. JEFFREY JOHNSON

$4,000,000.00 structured settlement for a head-on collision caused by a drunk driver. Lead attorney partner Vincent J, Bartolotta with associate Brett J. Schrieber.

Plaintiff's Medical Expert Witnesses:
Dr. Sharon K. Kawai (Life Care Planner), 1440 N. Harbor Boulevard, Suite 900, Fullerton, CA 92835
Robert Spoon (Economist), Brodshatzer, Wallace, Spoon & Yip, 555 West Beech St., Suite 400, San Diego, CA 92101

Defendant Insurance: Fireman's Fund; Sequoia Insurance

Date, Time and Place of Incident(s): March 8, 2007, Loma Santa Fe Boulevard

Facts and Background:  
On March 8, 2007, while traveling home from church, Leonora  Figueroa saw the lights “turn off”.  Suddenly, without warning, a Toyota Tundra truck driven by Jeffrey Scott Johnson crossed the center divide of Loma Sante Fe Boulevard and smashed full-speed, head-on into the vehicle Leonara was traveling in.  Ms. Figueroa was returning home from church in a vehicle driven by her friend Ms. Juana Balderas.  The incredible force of the collision turned both vehicles into unrecognizable heaps of torn and twisted metal, and sent Leonora spiraling into unconsciousness as her body was crushed in the wreckage. Defendant Johnson was intoxicated at the time of the collision and subsequently criminally prosecuted.  Johnson was driving with two passengers in his vehicle (Chad Bodine and Brian Spence) who were seriously injured due to the impact.  All told, there were four seriously injured plaintiffs who sought recovery for the damages they each sustained in the collision.

Plaintiff's Contentions, Allegations:
Each of the respective plaintiffs all sought a substantial portion of the available insurance proceeds which totaled $6 million.

Injuries and/or Damages:
For all intents and purposes, Leonora’s entire body was shattered into pieces by the force of the impact.  Diagnostics revealed a dislocation of the right hip and a complex right pelvic fracture of the acetabulum and iliac wing, a left ischiopubic rami fracture, an open injury to her right tibia, a severely comminuted fracture of the distal left femur, an injury to the left patella, a broken right ankle, a broken left wrist, and C7 and T1 transverse fractures in her cervical spine.  Both of the bones in her nose were broken and her entire face was swollen and discolored from multiple contusions and abrasions.  Three of her ribs were broken as well as several of her toes.  She was also suffering from a collapsed lung resulting in severely diminished respiratory function and subcutaneous emphysema.  She was found to have active bleeding within her pelvis and underwent an emergency embolization with surgical placement of a vena cava filter in her femoral artery.  Laboratory results revealed injury to her adrenal gland and significant blood loss.

All told, the medical specials of Ms. Figueroa were in excess of $600,000, and future care needs were estimated at over $3 million.  However, the medical specials of the remaining plaintiffs, exceeded the available policy limits.  Ms. Balderas alone had past medical specials of approximately $1 million and had substantial future care needs due to the below-knee amputation she sustained secondary to her injuries.

Attorneys Bartolotta and Schreiber were able to negotiate a $2.6 million settlement from the available insurance proceeds for Ms. Figueroa structuring a portion for a total settlement in excess of $4 million over Ms. Figueroa's life expectancy.  Those monies have been placed in a structured settlement which will provide for all of her future care needs.

Defense: Liability was not disputed.

Settlement Amounts: $4,000,000.00 +

Verdict or Award: Structured settlement in excess of $4 million.

Attorney for client: Vincent J. Bartolotta, Jr. and Brett J. Schreiber

Attorney for defendant: Lindsay Brack, Esq., Brack & Mason, 12396 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128

Individual Defendants: Jeffrey Scott Johnson