Case details

Student struck in crosswalk near school suffered multiple injuries

SUMMARY

$15930000

Amount

Settlement

Result type

Not present

Ruling
KEYWORDS
brain, brain injury, chest, communicative impairment, diffuse axonal brain injury, fracture, language, leg, neurological, neurological impairment, rib, sensory, shoulder, speech, traumatic brain injury
FACTS
On Sept. 17, 2014, plaintiff Paulina Perez, 11, a student, was walking to Juliette Low Elementary School, in Anaheim, to take part in the school’s early, no-cost, breakfast program. Although the program began at 7:15 a.m. the previous year, it was moved to 7 a.m. for the 2014-15 school year. At approximately 7:07 a.m., Paulina reached the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Monterey Street, which had crosswalks and pedestrian crossing signals. The intersection was about a block from the school and usually had a crossing guard on duty before the school opens. However, at the time, the crossing guard was in her car, waiting for her shift to begin at 7:15 a.m. As Paulina entered the crosswalk on Lincoln Avenue on a green “walk” signal, she was hit by a speeding vehicle that had run a red light. She suffered a traumatic brain injury along with to her shoulder, lungs, an arm, ribs, a hip, pelvis, spleen, and kidney. Paulina’s parents, Salud Herrera Mendoza and Marco Perez, serving as co-guardians ad litem for their daughter, sued the city of Anaheim; the Anaheim Police Department; Juliette Low Elementary School; the Magnolia School District; the employer of the crossing guard, All City Management Services Inc.; the driver of vehicle that struck Paulina, Thalia Sanchez-Siles; and the owner of Sanchez-Siles’ vehicle, Ivan Bonilla. Paulina’s parents alleged that Sanchez-Siles was negligent in the operation of her vehicle and that Bonilla was liable for Sanchez-Siles’ actions. They also alleged that the remaining defendants were liable for the intersection’s dangerous condition. Sanchez-Siles and Bonilla filed for bankruptcy protection and were ultimately not part of the final lawsuit. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that there had been prior issues with vehicles traveling through the subject intersection at a high rate of speed and that a crossing guard had even been hit by vehicles a few times at the intersection while protecting kids that were crossing. Plaintiff’s counsel additionally stated that crossing guards are trained to hold children on the curb until all cars have stopped, even if the crosswalk signal is green. The counsel similarly noted that the crossing guard employee handbook tells them to “move children out of harm’s way.” So the plaintiff’s counsel believed that if the guard had been on duty at the time, she would have stopped Perez from entering the intersection. Plaintiff’s counsel additionally stated that there had been prior issues with cars traveling through that crosswalk at a high rate of speed. The crossing guard had even been hit by cars a few times at the intersection while protecting the kids. Counsel contended that the city of Anaheim had a contract with All City to provide crossing guards for local schools, but that the city, All City, and the school district all failed to make sure a crossing guard was on duty at the time of the school’s no-cost, breakfast program, which was when Paulina was struck. Plaintiff’s counsel specifically pointed out that the crossing guard’s shift began at 7:15 a.m., which was the same time as the school’s breakfast program the previous year. However, counsel asserted that when the breakfast’s start time was moved 15 minutes earlier for the 2014-15 school year, the crossing guard’s shift was not changed. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel asserted that the crossing guard’s shift should have started by 6:45 a.m. Counsel for the remaining defendants maintained that the driver, Sanchez-Siles, was solely responsible for the incident because she ran a red light and was speeding through the crosswalk. Thus, counsel asserted that even if a crossing guard had been present, both she and Paulina would have likely been hit by the vehicle. Magnolia School District claimed that it had previously advised All City about the breakfast program’s start time moving to 7 a.m., but that All City neglected to tell the city of Anaheim about the need for earlier crossing guards because the city had previously denied coverage for breakfast programs at other schools. The city of Anaheim insisted that All City was responsible for assigning the shift times for the crossing guards and for managing the crossing guard programs., After the accident, Paulina was found unresponsive. She was determined to have scored a three on the Glasgow coma scale, the worst possible score, and was subsequently taken by ambulance to UC Irvine Medical Center, in Orange. Paulina was ultimately diagnosed with a diffuse axonal brain injury that left her with quadriparesis. She also sustained multiple fractures and lacerations. Specifically, she sustained bilateral pulmonary contusions; a small, right and left pneumothorax; a left clavicle fracture; an open fracture of the left arm’s humerus; lacerations to her spleen and kidney; fractures to her left pubic ramus and symphysis; an open fracture of her right leg’s femur; a left axillary pseudoaneurysm; left, posterior rib fractures; and hyponatremia. As a result, Paulina required open reductions and internal fixations of the left elbow and right femur, along with an excisional debridement and a removal of the traction pin from the right femur. On Oct. 14, 2014, Paulina was transferred to Healthbridge Children’s Hospital, in Orange, where she stayed for about a year. Once she returned home, a nurse’s assistant watched her during the day because she requires constant supervision. Paulina claimed that her entire left side is weakened as a result of her . She can’t move her left leg or arm, and she can barely move the right side of her body. She also requires the use of a wheelchair and she has a voice box since she can only move her lips a little. Paulina underwent some therapy since the accident, but she allegedly requires full-time, consistent physical and occupational therapy. Thus, Paulina sought recovery of noneconomic damages for her medical costs, past and future pain and suffering.
COURT
Superior Court of Orange County, Santa Ana, CA

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