CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Kimball Jones delivering his closing argument
Las Vegas, NV - A Nevada state court jury has awarded over $2.7 million in damages to a mother and her four children who sustained injuries after their mini-van was struck by a drunk driver, along with $200,000 in punitive damages, and the full trial was recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
The Clark County jury returned their verdict on January 22 following a six-day trial. The trial focused solely on damages for plaintiff Autumn Carver and her children, with the jury’s eventual award falling closer to the amount attorneys for defendant Daniel Terrazas-Lozano suggested than the roughly $90 million sought by the plaintiffs.
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Carver’s attorneys argued she and her children suffered a range of injuries, including a claimed severe traumatic brain injury, after Terrazas-Lozano sent his Ford F-150 truck over a median while speeding and intoxicated on alcohol and cannabis. Terrazas-Lozano served a prison term for the crash, and the trial addressed damages only after the presiding judge struck his affirmative defenses claiming Carver had any liability for the accident.
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Jonathan Hansen delivering his closing argument
Defense attorney Jonathan Hansen argued the injuries described by Carver and her children aren’t as severe as claimed, and much of the trial involved dueling expert witness testimony on the nuances of traumatic brain injuries. Along with their physical injuries, the trial also involved testimony on the allegedly subjective nature of the psychological impact of the crash on Carver’s four children.
The verdict breakdown (click here to see a copy of the verdict form) exceeded some of the amounts Hansen suggested in his closing arguments but otherwise mostly lined up with the totals he laid out for the jury, though he argued against any award of punitive damages.
The plaintiffs were represented by a team from Bighorn Law. Judge Anna Albertson presided over the trial.
The case is captioned Autumn Carver, et al. v. Daniel Terrazas-Lozano, docket number A-24-885966-C in Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
