Newland v. The County of Los Angeles, et al.
May 25, 2016OUTCOME: $13,935,550
On February 28, 2013, Plaintiff Jake Newland was traveling by foot on a Norwalk Boulevard sidewalk when a Los Angeles County Public Defender failed to yield to oncoming traffic while attempting to make ... a left turn into a shopping center. As a result, the Public Defender’s car collided with a Honda Civic driven by a second driver who, in turn, struck 19-year-old Mr. Newland from behind at approximately 40 miles per hour, forcing him into a brick wall. As a result of the collision, Mr. Newland sustained extensive injuries including head trauma and multiple fractures of his ribs and spine. He was hospitalized for 17 days, including nine days in the Intensive Care Unit. Despite the Public Defender admitting both that he was entirely at fault for the accident and that he was driving his vehicle in the course and scope of his employment for the County, the County disputed both points and the trial was bifurcated into two parts. In the first phase, which resolved in March of this year, a jury found that the County was vicariously liable for the Public Defender’s negligence under the required vehicle use exception. In the second phase of the trial, the County attempted to shift blame for the crash onto the driver of the Civic despite its own employee’s admission that he was responsible for the crash. The County also argued that Mr. Newland’s injuries were not significant and that he had made a complete recovery. The jury disagreed and found that the Public Defender (and thus the County) was 100 percent responsible for the collision and that Mr. Newland was entitled to a total of $13,935,550 in damages.
