Virginia Lawyers Weekly

On May 28, 2007, plaintiff, age 53, a race car driver and five-time Dominion Raceway champion, was injured while standing outside his rollback tow truck operating the controls of the truck to load a minivan that had broken down in the right lane at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 697.

The overhead lights of the truck and four-way turn signals were all flashing. The defendant, who was seen by witnesses as driving erratically before the collision tailgating and passing cars, speeding and switching lanes. His speed was estimated by one eyewitness at as high as 80 mph, and he approached to the flashing tow truck without realizing the tow truck was stopped and struck the driver as well as the tow truck at highway speed.

The defendant, who originally gave a false name, had a blood alcohol content of 0.17 percent two hours after the crash.

Plaintiff suffered severe comminuted fractures of both lower legs as well as a fractured pelvis and fracture of the cervical spine.

He underwent six separate surgeries, and had rods and hardware put in both legs. He suffers from permanent neurological injury resulting in a drop left foot. After his most recent surgery, he suffered a serious staph infection that took several months to heal.

As a result of his injuries, he suffers permanent restriction of his movement, he cannot run or even walk fast, and he must push himself up from any reclining position. He cannot do any heavy lifting. He suffers from chronic pain and depression.

Plaintiff hired a life-care planner who had, based upon the surgeon’s recommendations, set his future life-care needs at $311,621. At the time of the collision, plaintiff was the president and sole owner of a trash hauling business established by his father and was able to retain his full salary following the collision, although his business had to hire other people to cover duties he previously performed.

Defendant had a minimal policy; plaintiff had four policies that shared UIM coverage.

Plaintiff brought negligence and punitive damage claims against the driver. A separate lawsuit for negligent entrustment was filed against the owner of the defendant’s vehicle based upon defendant’s testimony at sentencing with regard to the owner’s knowledge of his drinking and driving, which plaintiff argued potentially doubled the coverage available under the policies.

Depositions taken on that issue arguably established a jury question. The primary UIM carrier (who did not participate in mediation) insisted on an offset of double coverage on both driver and owner, which in turn reduced what the other UIM carriers would pay. The case was mediated by Judge Bruce Bach of The McCammon Group.

[09-T-075]

Type of Action: Automobile collision with pedestrian
Type of Injuries: Comminuted fractures of both lower legs (right distal tibia/fibula fracture and left proximal open and distal tibia/fibula fracture) open pelvis diastasis; dislocation of right sacroiliac joint; facet fracture to C6-7 and C6 lamina fracture.
Name of Case: Danny L. Fair v. Saul Mandragon Corral a/k/a Arturo Montes
Court: Prince William County Circuit Court
Case No.: CL No. 82126
Special Damages: Medical bills $190,303.07
Verdict or Settlement: Settlement
Amount: $1,025,000
Demand: $1,350,000 (total amount of all coverage)
Experts: Richard Wells, orthopedist, Chevy Chase, Md.; Sharon Reavis, RN, life care planner, Richmond; Alphonse Poklis, PhD, toxicologist, Richmond
Plaintiff’s Attorneys: Charles J. Zauzig III, Claire E. Keena, Woodbridge

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