Case details
Passenger claimed crash caused cognition impairments
SUMMARY
$821333.33
Amount
Settlement
Result type
Not present
Ruling
KEYWORDS
brain, brain injury, chest, cognition, communicative impairment, ear knee, emotional distress, face, facial laceration, fracture, head, impairment, leg, mental, nose, psychological, sensory, speech, traumatic brain injury, vision
FACTS
On May 13, 2019, plaintiff Diego Castillo, 19, was a passenger in a vehicle operated by Austin Redden. Jacob Scianni, 20, and Andrea Sandoval, 19, were also passengers in the vehicle. As they were traveling on Rosecrans Avenue, in Norwalk, Redden lost control of his vehicle and collided with an illegally parked flatbed tow truck. Castillo claimed to his head, back, right leg, left wrist, face, chest, pelvis and right arm. Sandoval also claimed she was injured, and Scianni died in the collision. Castillo sued Austin Redden; the owner of Mr. Redden’s vehicle, Grace Redden; the operator of the illegally parked tow truck, Frederick Domingo-Adams Jr.; and Domingo-Adams’ employer, the owner of the tow truck, Vernola’s Towing Inc. Castillo alleged that Mr. Redden and Domingo-Adams were negligent in the operation of their respective vehicles. He also alleged that Ms. Redden was vicariously liable for Mr. Redden’s actions and that Vernola’s Towing was vicariously liable for Domingo-Adams’ actions. Scianni’s family members and Sandoval filed separate actions against the Reddens, Domingo-Adams and Vernola’s Towing. Castillo’s counsel contended that Mr. Redden was negligent for driving at a very high rate of speed, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. Counsel also contended that Domingo-Adams was negligent for parking his tow truck in an area that only allows parking in times of a serious emergency and that Domingo-Adams’ illegally parked vehicle caused the accident to be catastrophic. Defense counsel for Domingo-Adams and Vernola’s Towing asserted that Mr. Redden’s unsafe driving was the sole cause of the accident., Castillo and Sandoval were taken to a hospital, while Scianni died at the scene of the accident. Castillo sustained a traumatic brain injury, a diffuse brain injury, a thoracic fracture, a closed compression fracture of the thoracic vertebra, a left eyelid laceration, a right knee abrasion, a left wrist laceration, a right ear hematoma, an occult bowel injury, blunt chest trauma, spinal cord damage, a forehead abrasion, a pelvic fracture, an intracranial hemorrhage, a closed fracture of the shaft of his right tibia, and a right, frontal parietal scalp hematoma. He alleged that he had moderate facial bleeding, post-concussion syndrome, and developed lactic acidosis as a result of the accident. Castillo underwent an ear bolster placement. Castillo claimed that he is left with a cognitive communication deficit, seizures and right arm ecchymosis, which is a discoloration of the skin due to bleeding underneath, typically caused by bruising. He alleged that he has problems with dexterity and average-to-impaired complex attention skills. He also alleged that his complex visual attention was impaired over a prolonged period of time with slow response speed and inconsistency. Emotionally, Castillo claimed that he suffers from grief and post-traumatic stress disorder. He alleged that he was upset about his , but that there was some suspiciousness associated with his psychological presentation. For future care, Castillo claimed that he will require follow-up neurology evaluations for his alleged seizure disorder and post-traumatic headaches and that he requires anticonvulsant medication (Keppra) management. He also claimed that he will require psychological counseling, sleep study evaluations, cognitive remediation therapy, routine follow-ups with orthopedics, physical therapy, an outpatient brain injury rehabilitation program, outpatient mental healthcare, family therapy services, psychiatric evaluations and treatments, vocational rehabilitation evaluations, and further neuropsychological testing and evaluations. Castillo sought recovery of $217,889.19 in past medical costs and an unspecified amount in future medical costs. He also sought recovery of past loss of earnings, future loss of earning capacity, and damages for his past and future pain and suffering.
COURT
Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA
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INJURIES:
- anxiety
- brain
- brain damage
- brain injury
- cognition
- depression
- epidural
- extradural hematoma
- face
- facial bone
- fracture
- head
- headaches
- hearing
- impairment
- insomnia
- loss of
- mental
- nose
- psychological
- scapula
- sensory
- shoulder
- skull
- speech
- subdural hematoma
- tinnitus
- traumatic brain injury
- vision
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