CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Nick Rowley delivering his opening statement
Los Angeles, CA - A California state court jury heard opening statements Friday in a lawsuit filed by a woman alleging she sustained serious injuries after a tractor-trailer ran into the back of her minivan, and the full trial is being recorded and webcast gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiff Leila Miyamoto sued food distribution company Services Group of America Inc. after one of their trucks slammed into her car in 2016. Her attorneys claim a distracted and overworked driver hit her while she was stopped and waiting to make a left turn, but the truck’s driver maintains she stopped suddenly in front of him.
Attorney Nick Rowley of Trial Lawyers for Justice asked a Los Angeles County jury to award between $48.5 million and $72.75 million to compensate for numerous neck and back surgeries and the supposed lasting effects of a serious traumatic brain injury, however the defense argued Miyamoto suffered injuries far less severe than claimed in an accident they characterize as a simple, low-speed collision.
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In an opening statement focused on liability for the accident, attorney Keith Bruno of Trial Lawyers for Justice told jurors that Miyamoto was stopped and waiting to make a lefthand turn when driver Daniel Almazon slammed into her.
He stressed that in the crucial initial moments after the crash Almazon made no mention of a sudden stop to police, and that any reference to Miyamoto unexpectedly braking only came in company reports filed later.
“Wouldn’t this be the first thing that a person who has their license on the line say to a police officer,” Bruno asked.
CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Keith Bruno delivering his opening statement
He described Almazon as a fatigued, overworked driver finishing out the last delivery on his shift. The weather on the morning of the accident was clear, and Bruno said any driver, commercial or otherwise, should be aware of traffic making lefthand turns where the collision occurred.
“Every context clue would tell you that people are going to stop and people are going to turn,” he said.
Rowley then addressed Miyamoto’s injuries and showed jurors a detailed computer recreation of Almazon’s truck supposedly ramming into the back of her stationary minivan The animation showed the kinetic force that Rowley said left her with a major concussive brain injury and accompanying life-altering effects.
“Her bell was rung and it hasn’t stopped ringing,” Rowley said.
Rowley insisted the initial signs of all of Miyamoto’s injuries were documented in medical visits at an urgent care and other facilities immediately after the crash, including headaches, neck, shoulder and back pain.
“This is all documented the day of,” Rowley emphasized.
He walked jurors through Miyamoto's years of attempts to deal with her worsening conditions using conservative treatments until she ultimately had to undergo numerous complex spinal surgeries and finally have a spinal stimulator device permanently installed.
“She wanted to avoid surgery more than anybody,” Rowley said.
To back up his damages request, Rowley also addressed the lasting impact of the concussion, which in addition to causing physical difficulties like migraines and vision problems he said also resulted in emotional challenges that caused her marriage to fail.
Rowley urged jurors to consider the $48.5 million and $72.75 million range in the context of Miyamoto potentially living another nearly 50 years with many of her conditions like her brain injury expected to worsen over time.
"That will prove to be justice in this case," he said.
Representing Services Group of America, attorney Edward Ward Jr. of Lewis Brisbois presented a starkly different version of the accident, arguing to jurors that Miyamoto suddenly and inexplicably hit her brakes in front of Almazon, leaving him no way to avoid the collision.
Ward said Almazon testified "unequivocally" in depositions that he saw Miyamoto’s minivan traveling in front of him before coming to a sudden stop. He contrasted that with Miyamoto having previously testified in depositions that she had no detailed memory of the collision immediately after it occurred.
Ward described Almazon as an experienced, longtime truck driver and rejected any claims he was fatigued or distracted. He said the accident occurred as Almazon completed a delivery route that he makes on a routine basis.
Addressing Miyamoto’s injuries, he urged jurors to "keep common sense common" in rejecting a request for damages that he characterized as excessive. He said experts would testify for the defense that not all of her medical treatments years after the crash can be attributed to the accident, and that she is both mobile and independent.
“This was a very simple, low-speed, surfaced-street auto collision,” Ward explained. “That’s it. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
The trial is taking place before Judge J. Stephen Czuleger, and CVN’s live and on-demand gavel-to-gavel coverage will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
The case is captioned Leila Miyamoto v. Services Group of America Inc, case number BC681937 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com