Company truck rear-ends plaintiff, causes injury to neck and back. $6.6M. Stanislaus County.

Summary

Defendants admitted liability but disputed the nature, extent, and cause of plaintiff’s injuries.

Case Name: Kerry Bosch v. Premiere Raspberries, LLC, DBA Dutra Farms, Rafael Gomez Quio and Does 1 through 25
Court and Case Number: Stanislaus County Superior Court / CV18003751
Date of Verdict or Judgment: Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Date Action was Filed: Monday, November 05, 2018
Type of Case: Vehicles - Auto vs. Auto, Vehicles – rear-ender
Judge or Arbitrator(s): Hon. Sonny Sandhu
Plaintiffs:
Kerry Bosch
Defendants:
Premiere Raspberries, LLC
DBA Dutra Farms
Rafael Gomez Quio
Type of Result: Jury Verdict

Attorney for the Plaintiff:
Demas Law Group, P.C. by John N. Demas, Sacramento.

The Law Office of Black & DePaoli by Kelsey DePaoli, Folsom.
Attorney for the Defendant:
Law Office of Schneider, Holtz & Hutchinson by Gayle Kono and Greg Federico, Sacramento.

Plaintiff’s Medical Experts:
Plaintiff’s Medical Expert(s):
Van Buren Lemons M.D., neurosurgery.

April Stallings Rn, BSN, LNC, CNLCP life care planning.
Defendant's Medical Expert(s):
Ehsan Tabaraee M.D., orthopedic surgery.

Facts and Background:
This case arises from a rear-end motor vehicle collision, negligence case, that occurred on northbound Interstate 5 on November 21, 2016. Defendant driver, working for defendant Premiere Raspberries, LLC, dba Dutra Farms, and driving a company truck, rear-ended the vehicle in which the plaintiff was a passenger, causing her vehicle to be propelled into the vehicle traveling in front of hers.

Plaintiff sustained injuries as a result of the crash.
Plaintiff's Contentions:
That all injuries and the need for low-back fusion surgery were caused by the subject crash.
Defendant's Contentions:
Defendants admitted liability but disputed the nature, extent, and cause of plaintiff’s injuries.

That plaintiff did not require the fusion surgery and that her low-back injury was not caused by the crash.

Physical Injuries claimed by Plaintiff:
Plaintiff injured her neck, mid-back, and low back. All her injuries, other than her low back, resolved within a couple of months.

Plaintiff was taken from the scene of the accident by ambulance to the ER and was discharged with medication. No imaging was performed. She followed up with her primary care physician two weeks later and began a course of chiropractic and physical therapy. She was discharged from PT approximately six months post-crash with 0/10 pain.

Plaintiff was then treated with a different chiropractor, got an MRI of her low back, saw two pain management doctors, and got one epidural injection and an SI injection with no relief. She saw a spine surgeon approximately one year post-crash and at the time was only having 2/10 pain. Her pain, primarily localized low-back pain since she did not have true radiculopathy, increased eventually to the point where she had an L5-S1 fusion surgery approximately two years post-crash. The surgery helped decrease her pain significantly.
There was a claim that plaintiff also injured her SI joint in the crash although her SI injection did not relieve any of her pain in her buttocks area.