Case details

Plaintiffs claimed injuries from crash with vehicle exiting driveway

SUMMARY

$77000

Amount

Arbitration

Result type

Not present

Ruling
KEYWORDS
back, neck, pain, right shoulder
FACTS
On Aug. 16, 2012, plaintiff Jasmine Reynaga, 19, a daycare aide, was driving south on Praire Avenue, in Lawndale, with her sister, plaintiff Elena Reynaga, 11, riding in the front passenger’s seat. A vehicle driven by Daniel Caballero, who was exiting a driveway, made a sudden left turn toward northbound Prairie Avenue, directly in front of the Reynaga vehicle. As a result, the front of Reynaga’s vehicle collided with the driver’s side of Caballero’s vehicle, as it exited the driveway. Jasmine Reynaga claimed to her shoulder and Elena Reynaga claimed to her neck, back and right shoulder. Jasmine Reynaga and Elena Reynaga, by and through their father, Efren Reynaga, sued Daniel Caballero, alleging that Caballero was negligent in the operation of his vehicle. The matter proceeded to a binding arbitration, during which the parties stipulated to a high/low provision with Caballero’s $30,000 insurance policy limits being the high. The Reynagas claimed that Caballero made an unsafe left turn in front of them while they had right of way. They also claimed that Caballero failed to assess traffic before pulling out of his driveway and failed to avoid striking their vehicle., Jasmine and Elena Reynaga presented to Little Company of Mary Hospital, in Torrance. Jasmine Reynaga sustained a partial tear of her right, dominant shoulder’s labrum. She was subsequently given pain medication for her shoulder. She then visited a chiropractor and an orthopedist shortly after the accident, and was referred for an MRI, which revealed her partial labral tear. As a result, Jasmine Reynaga sought chiropractic treatment for her and underwent several injections of pain medication to her right shoulder. Jasmine Reynaga claimed that she continues to experience a limited range of motion in her right shoulder. Thus, she claimed that because she works with young children, her shoulder injury restricts her ability to perform her job. Elena Reynaga sustained a soft-tissue injury to her right shoulder and sprains to her neck and back. At Little Company of Mary Hospital, her right shoulder was placed in a sling. She then sought chiropractic treatment for her . Defense counsel disputed the extent of the plaintiffs’ . Counsel noted that several years after the subject incident, Jasmine Reynaga was a passenger in a vehicle involved in another accident, during which she injured her shoulder. Thus, defense counsel asserted that Jasmine Reynaga’s chronic shoulder issues were the result of the second motor vehicle accident.
COURT
Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA

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