Defense Verdict in Automobile Versus Pedestrian Accident
December 2016, Scott Macdonald and Laura Reichenbach obtained a defense verdict in Orange County in a truck versus pedestrian collision.
Defendants were a mechanic and his employer. Defendant driver was on his way to a designated job location in the early morning hours in his company vehicle. He was on Beach Boulevard in Anaheim which has four lanes in each direction separated by a median. Defendant was northbound on Beach Boulevard. It was dark, and poorly lit. Defendant was driving within the speed limit in the farthest right lane next to the curb. Plaintiff was attempting to cross Beach Boulevard from the east to the west and was not in a crosswalk, though a crosswalk was very close for her use. She was wearing all dark clothing and was utilizing a walker. Plaintiff was well into the curb lane when she became visible to defendant driver. Defendant driver attempted to brake, but he could not avoid the collision.
Through accident reconstruction experts and a human factors expert, defendants were able to demonstrate that there was simply nothing defendant could do to avoid the collision. In fact, plaintiff was in a much better position to avoid the collision than defendant driver. The jury agreed with the defense and found that defendant driver was not negligent.