On July 20, 2017 a Monterey County jury returned a unanimous 12-0 verdict after a 9 day trial and 2 hours of deliberation. The case involved a collision between an Ace Hardware tractor trailer and plaintiff’s automobile, traveling in opposite directions on a winding highway in January 2012. The issue was which vehicle crossed the double yellow line.
The plaintiff driver suffered multiple serious injuries, including brain damage, spinal, facial and pelvic fractures, undergoing multiple surgeries. Her past medical bills were about $750,000; her attorneys argued that her future life care would cost another $4 million. In addition, she lost considerable past earnings and future earning capacity, which her attorneys said would be about $1.4 million. In closing they asked the jury to award $17 million to the plaintiff.
Jeff and Barry relied on their wonderful truck driver, who had driven 2.5 million miles in 32 years with no accidents and one ticket at age 21, and a salt-of-the-earth eyewitness who was following the Ace truck. After a closing argument by Jeff Choi and the verdict, the jury members told Jeff that he was a “rock star” and had “knocked it out of the park.”
