Synopsis: A Sonoma County jury awarded plaintiff more than $1.2 million against the State of California for the injuries she suffered in a collision with a CHP officer. The State denied liability,contending that the officer was properly responding to an emergency and that a motorcycle driver was the primary cause of the accident. The jury found the officer to be negligent and apportioned 99.5% of the liability to the State Case Type: Personal Injury Case Name: Dempsey v. Justin Oliver,State of California Case Number: SCV 247776 Date:10/27/2011 Trial Type: Jury Trial Length: 7 days Verdict for: Plaintiff Damages: Economic Damages:$34,952.00 | Non-Economic Damages:$1,200,000.00 Liability: State of California:99.5% | Justin Oliver:00.5% Attorney for Plaintiff: Brendan Kunkle of Abbey,Weitzenberg,Warren &Emery Attorney for Defense:John Walovich of Lewis,Brisbois,Bisgaard &Smith Attorney for Defendant State of California: Jeffrey Vincent,Deputy Attorney General Judge: Honorable Mark Tansil

Facts: On September 26,2009,plaintiff Cynthia Dempsey’s pickup truck was struck by a CHP patrol vehicle on Highway 12 westbound,just east of Santa Rosa Avenue in Santa Rosa,causing the pickup to flip onto a guardrail,bounce off and skid along Highway 12 on its roof for approximately 100 feet.

The officer had received a call that a group of approximately 25-30 people,some dressed in baggy clothing,had gathered at the Santa Rosa DMV parking lot. He entered his vehicle and began a Acode three emergency response. Between Farmers Lane and the Maple Avenue on-ramp,the officer reached speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.

Defendant Justin Oliver was riding his motorcycle on the Maple Avenue on-ramp to Highway 12,entering the freeway at about 40-45 miles per hour. He testified that he was a safe distance in front of the vehicle to his left before making the lane change,and saw no patrol vehicle.

The CHP officer was unable to slow enough to avoid the motorcycle. After swerving to the left and attempting to steer back to the right,the officer lost control of his vehicle and skidded across the freeway before slamming into the rear of plaintiff’s vehicle.

Damages/Injuries: Plaintiff claimed economic damages in the amount of $34,952.00,which was the amount stipulated by the parties to be the amount incurred by Plaintiff for treatment of her injuries.

Plaintiff also claimed non-economic damages primarily resulting from the external scarring to her face and scalp,and the loss of 30% of her outer ear in the accident,in addition to the pain,suffering and emotional scarring that were caused by the collision.

Contentions:Plaintiff contended that Defendant State of California was 100% responsible for the collision. Plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert testified that he did not believe that the motorcyclist could have seen the patrol car approaching at high speed,and therefore could not conclude that the motorcyclist was a contributing factor in the accident. Plaintiff’s expert also determined that the speed of the officer was the primary cause of the officer’s loss of control of his vehicle,and ultimately the cause of the collision.

Defendant State of California denied liability,and presented the testimony of an accident reconstructionist,in addition to the testimony of the involved officer,a gang expert and a MAIT investigator. The State contended that the officer was properly responding to an emergency call,and that the motorcyclist cut off the approaching officer,made an unsafe lane change,and failed to yield to a patrol car which had its lights and siren activated. According to the State,the state’s witnesses testified that the motorcyclist would have had a clear unobstructed view of the patrol vehicle before changing lanes into its path.

Result: Judgment for Plaintiff in the amount of $1,234,952.00.

Judgment for non-economic damages in the amount of $1,194,000.00 against defendant State of California,and in the amount of $6,000.00 against defendant Justin Oliver.

Judgment for economic damages in the amount of $34,952 against both defendants jointly and severally.

Settlement Negotiations: A mediation was held with Brian Purtill of the Arbitration and Mediation Center on December 15,2010. A mandatory settlement conference was held on August 8,2011. The State also served an offer to compromise pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 998 in the amount of $100,000. Plaintiff served the State with a 998 offer to compromise in the amount of $349,999.

Experts for Plaintiff: N/A

Experts for Defense: N/A