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LOSS OF CONSORTIUM I WRONGFUL DEATH I CASE STUDY – Parental and Spousal Claims Following a Wrongful Death and Paralysis

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LOSS OF CONSORTIUM I WRONGFUL DEATH I CASE STUDY – Parental and Spousal Claims Following a Wrongful Death and Paralysis

LOSS OF CONSORTIUM I WRONGFUL DEATH I CASE STUDY – Parental and Spousal Claims Following a Wrongful Death and Paralysis

January 14, 2021

Wrongful Death and Paralysis Case Study

Wrongful death and paralysis following car crash, results in a $49.6 Million Plaintiffs’ verdict for parental claim and a spousal claim for Loss of Consortium.

In December 2007, Plaintiff Pedeferri, 36 years-old at the time and a California Highway Patrol officer, had pulled over motorist Plaintiff Parra. Plaintiff Parra was in his vehicle on the shoulder of Highway 101 and Plaintiff Pedeferri was standing along the side of the vehicle.  Defendant Jeremy White, driving a truck and transporting two motorcycles at the time struck the plaintiffs. Parra died instantaneously and was announced dead at the scene, and Pedeferri sustained severe spinal cord injuries resulting in permanent paralysis.

Defendant White admitted to driving under the influence of marijuana, prior to the motor vehicle collision and that he was distracted by the motorcycles strapped to his truck.  The two motorcycles that were loaded on White’s truck had been secured by Bert’s Mega Mall, a store owned and operated by RJS Financial and Seidner Enterprises. Bert’s Mega Mall, undertook the task of strapping and loading motorcycles onto the back of a truck, as such, they had an obligation to complete that task in a reasonable manner. In this action, Bert Mega Mall testified as to the standard of care, establishing the proper procedure and reasonable manner in which to secure motorcycles onto a truck; however, by their own admission Bert Mega Mall failed to properly follow procedure when securing the motorcycles on White’s truck.

In the underlying case the parents of the deceased Parra, filed a wrongful death action alleging negligence against the defendants and they were awarded $10,200,514.00 for past and future loss of financial support, past and future loss of companionship and society and funeral expenses. As for plaintiff Pedeferri who was left a quadriplegic following the collision he was awarded $34,443,738.00 in compensatory damages, and his wife who filed a loss of consortium claimwas awarded $5,000,000.00.

Case: Anthony Pedeferri, et al. v. Jeremy James White, et al.; Case No. 56-2009-00357429-CU-PO-VTA; Court: California Superior Court, Ventura County; Causes of Action inter alia: Negligence, Wrongful Death, Loss of Consortium.

Spousal Claim – Loss of Consortium

Loss of consortium as discussed in a previous article compensates a surviving spouse for a loss he/she personally suffered as a result of a loss of a normal marital relationship. Loss of consortium compensates the spouse of an injured party for the loss of companionship moral support and/or intimacy. These damages are special and unique to the surviving spouse of an injured party.

In the above case study, plaintiff Pedeferri was permanently paralyzed following the collision and suffered traumatic brain injuries. Naturally, his permanent paralysis prevent him from partaking in the same activities with his wife as he had prior to the collision, and he could not contribute to the home and marriage as he had in the past. The $5 million dollar verdict, awarded by the jury, for the loss of consortium spousal claim, compensated Ms. Pedeferris for these losses.

Parental Claim – Negligence Claim

Negligence as pervious addressed, is the most common cause of action alleged in civil litigation. Negligence is alleged in an array of cases, and most often is the underlying cause of action in a motor vehicle collision claim.

Here in the above case study, the parents of the deceased plaintiff Parra brought forth a wrongful death claim, with the underlying cause of action being negligence. Surviving parents of plaintiff Parra sought out compensatory damages against defendant White for his negligent driving, and against defendant Bert’s Mega Mall for negligently strapping on the motorcycles. After a prolonged jury trial, a verdict was entered for approximately $10.2 million to compensate the parents for their wrongful death parental claim.

Wrongful death cases are further discussed below:

Negligence actions are further discussed below:

Car crash cases are further discussed below:

Loss of Consortium Claim, Wrongful Death Claim, Negligence, Do you have Questions?

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