McCardle v. Greyhound Motor
A Los Angeles County jury found that a relatively innocuous
bus accident caused a chain of evens that ultimately
rendered a chiropractor in his 50s a partial paraplegic,
awarding him $15,967,000.
The plaintiff lived in Bakersfield and worked in Los
Angeles. On Jan. 18, 2000, he was a passenger on a defendant
Greyhound bus heading toward Los Angeles. As the bus
neared the Cesar Chavez Boulevard exit on the 101 Freeway
near downtown, the plaintiff began to get up from his
seat to retrieve his rain jacket and briefcase. As he
stood up, the bus came to a sudden stop to avoid hitting
a vehicle in front of it, and the plaintiff felt his
neck snap. When the bus stopped at the downtown station,
the plaintiff claimed an injury (neck strain) and filled
out a card. He then worked for the whole day at his
office. When he got back to Bakersfield that night,
he told his wife that he was hurt on the bus and took
a few aspirins.
 The
next day, his neck still hurt so he went to his family
physician, who prescribed chiropractic therapy and pain
medicines. As the months went by, the plaintiff claimed
that his condition grew worse. He was referred to an
orthopedist and a neurologist, but nothing eased his
discomfort. Eventually, the pain in his neck and left
arm caused him to stop his practice as a chiropractor.
In late August 2000, the plaintiff saw an orthopedic
surgeon, Francis D'Ambrosio, M.D., who reviewed an MRI
and proposed a four-level anterior/posterior discectomy
and a partial carpectomy, with instrumentation. The
surgeon operated as planned, but the plaintiff did not
have a good result. In February 2001, the doctor ordered
an X-ray of the cervical spine and an MRI scan to check
the healing process. The X-ray revealed that the metal
plate holding the plaintiff's neck together anteriorly
had displaced over two centimeters, and an aleoval strut
had dislodged and was now floating in the neck area
near the spinal cord.
On March 12, the orthopedic surgeon performed another
surgery to totally decompress the front and back of
the cervical spine. Another surgery was ordered for
two days later, on the anterior portion of the neck.
In the interim, the plaintiff's spinal cord was injured
and he developed central cord syndrome, rendering him
a partial paraplegic.
The plaintiff argued that there was an unbroken causal
connection between the relatively minor bus-braking
incident causing a neck strain and the subsequent need
for surgery that led to his paraplegia. The plaintiff
claimed that there was no medical negligence.
The defendant maintained that this was a minor-impact
accident that would cause nothing more than a neck sprain
that should have healed within a few weeks. It argued
that the surgery was not indicated and unduly risky
and that it broke the causal connection. It claimed
that the orthopedic surgeon was 99% responsible for
the plaintiff's injuries.
INJURIES: The plaintiff claimed that the accident on
the bus caused a chain of events that led to his paraplegia.
The plaintiff claimed past medical specials of $930,000
(stipulated). Plaintiff suffered a $2,000 per month
wage loss.
VERDICT: The jury returned an award of $15,967,000
after finding, in a 12-0 vote, that the defendant was
100% at fault. The plaintiff's counsel reported that
during trial, the parties negotiated a high/low agreement
of $5.5 million low/$14.5 million high with a waiver
of costs and right of appeal. Prior to Mardirossian
& Associates' involvement, an $850,000 demand was
made to settle the case.
$7,967,000 economic damages
$8,000,000 noneconomic damages
TOTAL $15,967,000
DEMAND $14.5 million
OFFER $3.1 million
TRIAL DETAILS Trial length: 13 days
Deliberations: 2 days
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