Attorney Jane Bendle Lucero obtained a defense verdict in Cruthers v. Joshua Hill, et al. following a jury trial in Douglas County District Court. The case was a wrongful death action arising out of a single car accident. The driver of the vehicle was drunk, high on marijuana and traveling at 110 M.P.H. in a 50 m.p.h. zone when he drove the vehicle into a ditch causing it to spin and roll. The vehicle was owned by Joshua Hill who lent it to the driver while Mr. Hill was on vacation. The two adult passengers were killed in the accident, resulting in a wrongful death action brought by the eight-year old son of one of the deceased passengers. The plaintiff asserted a claim of negligent entrustment against Mr. Hill. Mr. Hill admitted knowing the co-defendant was a frequent marijuana smoker who would occasionally mix driving with drinking and smoking marijuana. Mr. Hill denied, however, that he should have known that the co-defendant would have used his car in a manner that would endanger others. Both Mr. Hill and the defendant driver argued that the deceased passenger assumed the risk of injury/death by riding with an intoxicated driver. The jury found Mr. Hill negligent but found that his negligence was not a cause of the plaintiff’s claimed injuries. The jury awarded $350,000 to the plaintiff, with a finding of 85% negligence to the co-defendant driver and 15% negligence to the deceased passenger. The 15% negligence of the deceased passenger was chargeable to the plaintiff, which reduced the plaintiff’s award by that percentage.
Recent Trial Success
August 2024: Borrego v. Velez, Case #2023CV32277, Denver County District Court, Colorado
Lambdin & Chaney represented Defendant in a personal injury case involving a multi car automobile accident with significant exposure. Plaintiff asserted claims for negligence and negligence per se. Plaintiff asserted that he suffered significant injuries in the accident, including a herniated disc in his spine at C4-5. Plaintiff argued that he needed a future total disc replacement surgery (TDR) at C4-5, as well as annual medial branch blocks and radiofrequency ablations for the rest of his life. A jury trial occurred in August 2024 in front of the Honorable Judge Gerdes. Plaintiff’s counsel made a $3 Million-dollar pretrial demand and asked the jury to award $2.6 Million in closing argument.
After a 5-day trial, the jury entered a verdict in favor Plaintiff in the amount of $35,000 (economic damages only) and apportioned 75% fault to Defendant and 25% to the named non-party. The jury did not award non-economic losses or physical impairment. Thus, the total amount awarded against Defendant taking into account the apportionment of fault is $26,250.00. We submitted a $100,000 statutory of settlement prior to trial and the verdict was lower than the amount of the offer. Ultimately, Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the matter after trial and Defendant paid zero.