Baker v. Four Winds
The family of a bus driver who died after being ejected
through the windshield in her seat during a crash won
a $13.7 million verdict against the company that maintained
the bus.
Los Angeles County Judge Michael Farrell found Inglewood-based
Four Winds Inc. liable for the April 2001 death of 34-year-old
LaShaun Clemmons.
 Her
seat was fastened to the bus with ''improper'' and "inadequate''
bolts, family attorneys said.
The verdict handed down Tuesday will be split between
Clemmons' two teenage sons and the boys' father.
She was driving the empty charter bus that she owned
on an interstate near Valinda it hit an icy patch and
crashed into the median. The driver's seat came loose
and flew through the windshield with Clemmons strapped
in.
She slid across five lines of traffic and was struck
by a tractor-trailer, said her family's attorney, Garo
Mardirossian.
Gerald Malanga, attorney for Four Winds, declined to
comment.
UPDATE:
After trial, the insurer of Four Winds refused to pay the judgment, claiming the judgement was not covered under its policy of insurance.
Mardirossian & Associates then sued the insurance company to establish coverage under the insurance policy and to enforce the judgment.
On August 2nd 2007, Mardirossian & Associates obtained judgment directly against National Interstate Insurance Company, the insurer of defendant Four Winds, in the full amount of the judgment awarded to the Baker Family, plus interest.
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