TraCY V. JOHN DOE
$250K
Tracy was crossing the street at night in an unmarked cross-walk in Daly City when she was hit by a car. According to the police report, Tracy was 100% at fault for this accident. The police officer concluded: "Party 1 (Tracy) caused this collision by violating Section 29150(b) of the CA Vehicle Code, which reads, No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to consitute an immediate hazard."
Luckily, Tracy hired our law firm immediately after the accident and we were able to get our Accident Reconstruction expert to the scene while the skid marks and other markings were still fresh. By locating the point of impact, our expert was able to establish that Tracy had crossed 75% of the street when she was hit, and that the driver was 287 feet from the point of impact when Tracy stepped off the curb. Our expert proved that Tracy did not dart out into traffic and that the driver had more than sufficient time to see Tracy and bring his car to a stop.
Even though Tracy's claim was initially rejected by the careless driver's insurance company, we obtained the full policy limit of $250,000 from the careless driver. Because Tracy was a minor, her settlement had to be approved by the court. In cases involving minors, the Court sets the attorney's fees and in most cases fees are capped at 25% of the recovery. In Tracy's case, the Court set the attorney's fees and costs at $67,492.24 and the balance of $182,507.76 was used to purchase an annuity that made future payments to Tracy that totaled $231,500. (See payment schedule below.)
