CASESOFNOTE
027
Pulido v. AAA Insurance
April 20, 2016
Mike Halvorson and David Potts
MIKE HALVORSON AND DAVID POTTS OBTAINED
A DEFENSE VERDICT IN FAVOR OF AAA MEMBERS
INSURANCE COMPANY IN A TWO-WEEK TRIAL
CONCERNING A PEDESTRIAN-VEHICLE ACCIDENT
accelerated past several cars that were stopped at the crosswalk
yielding to Plaintiff as he was crossing the street. In its defense,
AAA alleged that the driver was not at fault as his speed was
reasonable and he had a green light. Instead, Plaintiff was solely
at fault for remaining in the crosswalk and running against a red
“don’t walk” pedestrian signal.
The trial lasted seven days. During closing arguments, Plaintiff
asked the jury to award him between $1,035,473.20 and
$1,150,525.80. The jury was out for 3 ½ hours before returning a
complete defense verdict for AAA Members Insurance Company.
Watts v. Medicis Pharmaceutical
January 21, 2016
Lori Voepel, Don Myles, and Josh Snell
Plaintiff, a 15-year-old sophomore at Pinnacle High School,
was leaving a high school football game with friends. As
the group was lawfully crossing a controlled intersection,
Plaintiff’s girlfriend told Plaintiff she had dropped her
Chapstick within the marked crosswalk. Plaintiff went back to
pick up the Chapstick and, as he was returning to his group of
friends, was struck by a vehicle driven by a non-party driver.
Just before the impact, the solid red “don’t walk” pedestrian
signal had illuminated. The non-party driver observed his
light turn green as he approached the intersection, so he
accelerated into the crosswalk, striking Plaintiff.
It was undisputed that the accident caused Plaintiff to suffer
numerous pelvic and lumbar fractures, and Plaintiff continues
to suffer chronic pain in his groin and sacroiliac joint (SI) joint.
Plaintiff called an orthopedic surgeon and a pain management
specialist who both testified that the fractures in and around
Plaintiff’s SI joint healed as a painful protrusion and would
develop significant arthritis within ten years necessitating
radiofrequency ablations, steroid injections, and eventually a
fusion of the joint. These experts also testified that Plaintiff’s
pubic symphysis healed in an uneven, asymmetrical manner,
which is causing further chronic inguinal pain. Both the
SI joint and inguinal pain will continue to increase for the
remainder of his 60+ year life expectancy. Plaintiff also called
an ENT doctor to testify that Plaintiff suffered a broken nose
and a deviated septum, and Plaintiff will need surgery to
correct those conditions as well.
In addition, Plaintiff suffered a mild traumatic brain injury in the
accident. He called a neuropsychologist to testify that Plaintiff
currently has trouble with various aspects of executive functioning.
Plaintiff also continues to suffer from hypervigilance and anxiety
as a result of the accident, which he will need treatment and
medication to overcome. The driver’s liability insurance company
paid its $100,000 policy limits to Plaintiff. Plaintiff then sued AAA
Members Insurance Company for breach of contrac