Case storyJury verdict · 2017
$928,493.12Transit bus crashes into minivan; man suffers cognitive problems
A transit bus rear-ended our client’s stopped minivan. The defense argued the case was worth $157,000; an Orange County jury returned a $928,493.12 verdict.
What happened
Our client, a driver in his seventies, was stopped in traffic on the 22 Freeway when an Orange County Transportation Authority bus struck the back of his minivan. Bus video showed the bus may have been going as fast as 35.7 mph just before impact.
The crash shattered the minivan’s rear glass and pushed it into a large SUV. He was shaken but declined emergency care at the scene.
The injuries
In the months that followed he developed memory loss, trouble finding words and difficulty solving problems. The experts disagreed about whether he had a mild traumatic brain injury, but the psychologists and psychiatrist agreed that an adjustment disorder with anxiety and depression, caused by the crash, was behind his cognitive problems.
The verdict
OCTA’s lawyer argued the case was worth $157,000. The Orange County jury rejected that and returned a verdict of $928,493.12.