$14 Million is Awarded In Hot Asphalt Crash
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by Lauren Blau Los Angeles Superior Court jurors have awarded more that $14 million to the wife and children of a man who was buried alive in hot asphalt in a freak freeway mishap. The wife's mother also was killed when a truck trailer hit a freeway center divider, fell off the truck and spilled 300-degree asphalt onto the family's car. Jurors in the courtroom of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Cary H. Nishimoto found truck driver Gevorg Sarkisyan negligent, and they found Industrial Asphalt negligent in hiring and retaining Sarkisyan as an independent contractor. White v. Sarkisyan, BC024142. "[The plaintiff] is extremely pleased and hopes that companies like Industrial Asphalt will keep their trucks safer," said plaintiffs' attorney John C. Taylor of Santa Monica's Greene, Broillet, Taylor and Wheeler, who represents Luzviminda J. Pascua White and her late husband's children, Darryl White and Stephanie White.
Responsibility to Supervise Taylor, whose clients were awarded $14,396,481 in damages, said the award means companies that hire independent contractors "have a responsibility for supervising independent contractors when you retain that right in the contract." Industrial Asphalt contracts gave them the right to inspect trucks and to fire drivers for not having safe vehicles. Attorney Curtis C. Simpson III of Santa Barbara, lead counsel for passengers of another car hit with the hot asphalt, said Tuesday he believes the jury's verdict "expresses the fear that we all have about driving on freeways with huge trucks." Jurors awarded $167,990 to Simpson's clients. Century City attorney Robert Mulhbach, who represents Industrial Asphalt, could not be reached Tuesday for comment. Attorney Michael J. Garey of Ibold & Anderson in Los Angeles, who represents Sarkisyan, said Tuesday he likely will file post-trial motions to either reduce or throw out the jury's verdict, which was reached Monday. Garey said he argued during the trial that Sarkisyan was driving the truck as a reasonable person would have driven and that the accident was not his fault.
Settlement Offer Garey said his client offered to settle for $500,000, the limit on his insurance coverage, but that Industrial Asphalt would not agree. Nishimoto is scheduled on Friday to try separately a countersuit filed by Industrial Asphalt against Sarkisyan. Taylor said he asked Industrial Asphalt for $5 million, its insurance coverage limit, to settle the case, but the company offered $1 million. The lawsuit stems from a March 30, 1990, incident on Interstate 10 in downtown Los Angeles. A car driven by Irma Villegas developed a flat tire and struck Sarkisyan's uncovered trailer loaded with hot asphalt. The truck veered across the freeway and hit the center divider. The trailer box flipped over onto White's car, then spun and hit the car driven by Adela Naranjo Ruiz, another plaintiff. Investigators found that the truck had loose steering and other mechanical problems. In answering a question about comparative fault, jurors found 50 percent of the responsibility rested with Industrial Asphalt, 30 percent with Sarkisyan and 20 percent with Villegas. Jurors awarded both economic and noneconomic damages for the deaths and injuries. For the wrongful death of Henry White, jurors awarded Luzviminda White $42,295 in economic damages and $6 million in noneconomic damages; Stephanie White was awarded $3,000 and $1.7 million. Jurors awarded $1 million in noneconomic damages to Darryl White. For her own injuries, jurors awarded Luzviminda White more than $2 million in economic damages and $2.5 million in non-economic damages. For the wrongful death of her mother, Honorata Pascua, she was awarded $2,680 and $1 million. Jurors awarded Adela Naranjo Ruiz, the driver of the other car hit by the truck, $77,064 in economic damages and $50,000 in noneconomic damages. Angelica Naranjo, a passenger in Ruiz's car, was awarded $6,746 and $30,000. Jose Puga, Naranjo's son, was awarded $2,070 and $2,000. Carlos Puga, Naranjo's other son, was awarded $110 in economic damages. |
