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Verdicts & Settlements: Motor Vehicle Liability

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Motorist Strikes Teen Skateboarding in Crosswalk

October 2017

Samuel Kim was riding his skateboard in Cerritos, Calif. As Kim entered an intersection on a green light and began crossing in the crosswalk, Arsham Baltayan, who was driving a car in the course and scope of his job with a dealership­, turned right into the ­intersection on a red light. Kim was unable to stop in time and struck the right passenger side of Baltayan’s car.

Kim, who was 14 at the time, was not wearing a helmet. He was thrown to the pavement and suffered a traumatic brain injury that has resulted in personality and behavioral changes.

When he reached the age of majority, Kim sued Baltayan and the dealership, alleging that Baltayan was negligent in failing to keep a proper lookout and yield to a skateboarder with the right-of-way in the crosswalk.

Plaintiff counsel took over the case from another lawyer who had received a defense offer of $74,500. At pretrial mediation, the plaintiff demanded policy limits of $5.5 million. The defendants offered $500,000, and later, $750,000. The plaintiff rejected the offers, and the case proceeded to trial. The plaintiff sought future medical expenses and noneconomic damages but waived claims for lost earnings or past medical expenses.

At trial, the plaintiff testified that just before the impact, he saw Baltayan looking to the left and not in the direction he was driving. The plaintiff ­testified that this was the last thing he remembered before the collision. 

On the issue of damages, the plaintiff presented evidence detailing how the brain injury has affected his personality and behavior. Friends and family testified to subtle but significant changes in the plaintiff’s personality.

Baltayan countered that he had exercised vigilance in stopping and looking carefully in all directions before slowly proceeding into the intersection. He argued that he was in the process of making a lawful right turn when Kim struck the side of his car. Baltayan ­testified that he was nearly though the intersection when Kim struck his car. Another witness, who was a passenger in the car, corroborated that testimony.

The defendants also contended that Kim was comparatively negligent in failing to wear a helmet, as required by state law, and that he had failed to stop at the intersection or press the pedestrian “walk” button before entering. 

Finally, the defendants argued that plaintiff’s head injury was relatively minor and that any personality changes he suffered were the result of other, unrelated causes. 

The jury awarded $11 million, allocating fault at 75 percent to the defendants and 25 percent to the plaintiff. The award included $8.5 million for future life care costs, $1.5 million for future pain and suffering, and $1 million for past pain and suffering. After reduction for fault, the verdict totaled $8.25 million. The parties later settled for $8.3 million, paid by the defendants’ joint insurer.

Citation: Kim v. Baltayan, No. 30-2011-00527824 (Cal. Super. Ct. Orange Cnty. Dec. 14, 2016).

Plaintiff counsel: Jae Y. Lee and Daniel E. Hoffman, both of Los Angeles.

Plaintiff experts: Eric S. Deyerl, accident reconstruction, Culver City, Calif.; Michael E. Gold, neurology, and F. David Rudnick, psychiatry, both of Santa Monica, Calif.; Arnold D. Purisch, neuropsychology, Laguna Hills, Calif.; and Jan Roughan, life care planning, Monrovia, Calif.

Defense experts: Anthony C. Stein, human factors, La Cañada, Calif.; David R. Thom, helmet performance, El Segundo, Calif.; Harry L. Smith, biomechanics, San Antonio, Texas; Barry I. Ludwig, neurology, Los Angeles; and Marcel Ponton, neuropsychology, South Pasadena, Calif.