San Diego Wrongful Death Verdict to be Reviewed by California Supreme Court
A San Diego jury awarded the widow of a motorcycle rider and his two children $4.9 million after he was struck on a motorcycle by a truck driver. After the verdict was read, the judge--as is typical--polled the jurors for their votes. However, the judge forgot to get the answers from one juror to two of the 13 questions asked during the polling process.
The juror did agree with the other jurors that the truck driver was negligent and caused the trucking accident. However the judge forgot to ask him if he agreed with the other jurors on the apportionment of damages. The jury verdict found to the truck driver to be 80% responsible for causing the accident but also found the motorcycle rider to be 20% responsible.
On appeal by the insurance defense counsel for the truck driver, the judge's mistake led to a reversal of the verdict by the Fourth District Court of Appeals. The Court of appeals held, in part, that:
...the trial court erred in accepting the juror declarations to inquire into and resolve the results of the jury's decision making process, and also when it made a credibility determination that Santana could not effectively have voted other than 80/20 at any relevant time.
The Keeners, the family of the motorcyclist, have appealed to the California Supreme Court to reinstate the jury verdict.
The entire Court of Appeal opinion can be read here.
It is unfortunate that, after years and years of litigation and fighting and finally obtaining a verdict that will help to make up for the loss of Mr. Keener, that the entire jury verdict may be thrown out due to the judge's momentary forgetfulness or oversight. The Keeners thought they were at the end of a long, long journey to try to find justice after this tragic San Diego motorcycle accident. Unfortunately, they find themselves right back in the middle of it and may have to go through yet another jury trial. This is just not fair or right.
We wish the best of luck to the Keeners and their injury accident lawyers. We hope that the jury verdict is reinstated by the California Supreme Court. If not, we hope they obtain a higher compensation award against the truck driver and his employer. The Keeners deserve to be compensated for the loss of their husband and father. Delaying that compensation is simply unjust.
