{"id":5265,"date":"2010-06-03T08:51:37","date_gmt":"2010-06-03T15:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/news\/?p=144"},"modified":"2010-06-03T08:51:37","modified_gmt":"2010-06-03T15:51:37","slug":"paralyzed-9-year-old-girl-receives-55-million-dollars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/2010\/06\/03\/paralyzed-9-year-old-girl-receives-55-million-dollars\/","title":{"rendered":"$55,000,000: Paralyzed 9 Year Old Girl and Her Mother Receive a Precedent Shattering $55 Million Dollar Judgment Against the United States Government After a Five Year Ordeal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>CASE DESCRIPTION:<\/strong> June G was driving a private vehicle southbound on Newport Boulevard. Leilani G was a passenger in this vehicle, and she was properly secured in her car seat. The G&#8217;s vehicle entered the intersection with Wilson Street on a green light. While in this intersection, the Gutierrez vehicle were struck from the right passenger side by a vehicle driven by Michael L. Mr. L was traveling eastbound on Wilson and entered the intersection against a red light in contravention of California Vehicle Code 21453(a).<\/p>\n<p>Mr. L&#8217;s vehicle hit the right side of the G&#8217;s vehicle, causing it to lose control. The G&#8217;s vehicle left the roadway and struck an utility pole on the passenger side, and then fell onto the driver&#8217;s side. Both vehicles were extensively damaged.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of this collision, Mr. L was acting within the course and scope of his employment by the United States and the Department of Defense as a computer specialist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FINAL RESULT:<\/strong> Leilani Gutierrez:<br \/>\nPast Medical Expenses: $3,840,350.00<br \/>\nFuture Medical Expenses: $18,667,553.00<br \/>\nLost Earnings: $635,467.00<br \/>\nNon Economic Damages: $31,000,000.00<br \/>\nTotal Award: $54,143,370.00<\/p>\n<p>June Gutierrez:<br \/>\nPast Medical Expenses: $29,132.00<br \/>\nOut of Pocket Expenses: $49,286.00<br \/>\nFuture Medical Expenses: $212,500.00<br \/>\nNon Economic Damages: $750,000.00<br \/>\nTotal Award: $1,040,918.00<\/p>\n<p><strong>TYPE OF CASE:<\/strong> Action under Federal Torts Claim for: 1. Personal Injuries and Property Damage Sustained in Automobile Collision; 2. The Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (Dillon v. Legg)<\/p>\n<p><strong>PLAINTIFF&#8217;S INJURIES:<\/strong> Leilani G, now nine years old, a ventilator-dependant quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. Her paralysis is at the C2 level. Since the incident, Leilani G has endured 25 surgeries and medical procedures, and spent approximately 250 days in the hospital. June G developed a severe case of Post-Traumatic Disorder (PTSD) as a result of seeing her daughter injured.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DATE &amp; LOCATION OF INCIDENT:<\/strong> May 12, 2002, Southbound Newport Boulevard at the intersection with Wilson Street, within the city of Costa Mesa, California<\/p>\n<p><strong>PLAINTIFF&#8217;S AGE:<\/strong> Leilani G, Date of Birth January 28, 1998. Age Today: 9; Age on date of Accident: 4 June G, Date of Birth: September 24, 1975, Age Today: 31; Age on date of Accident: 26<\/p>\n<p><strong>PLAINTIFF&#8217;S ATTORNEYS:<\/strong><br \/>\nWylie A. Aitken, Esq.<br \/>\nDarren O. Aitken, Esq.<br \/>\nAITKEN * AITKEN * COHN<\/p>\n<p>Steven D. Landsford, Esq.<br \/>\nSTOODY MILLS LANSFORD WALKER &amp; DOYLE<\/p>\n<p>For Plaintiffs \u2013 Leilani G and June G<\/p>\n<p><strong>DEFENDANTS&#8217; ATTORNEYS:<\/strong><br \/>\nKeith M. Staub, Esq.<br \/>\nOFFICE OF UNITED STATES ATTORNEY<\/p>\n<p>For Defendants B United States of America<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CASE DESCRIPTION: June G was driving a private vehicle southbound on Newport Boulevard. Leilani G was a passenger in this vehicle, and she was properly secured in her car seat. The G&#8217;s vehicle entered the intersection with Wilson Street on a green light. While in this intersection, the Gutierrez vehicle were struck from the right&#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/2010\/06\/03\/paralyzed-9-year-old-girl-receives-55-million-dollars\/\">read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[699],"class_list":["post-5265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-verdicts-settlements","tag-serious-personal-injury"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5265\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}