Cal Trans Socked for $5.9M

Improper Rail Installation Led to Severe Injuries in Crash

Feb. 4th, 2002 Randy Stewart

From: "California Jury Verdicts Weekly" Vol. 1 Issue 5

An Alameda County jury awarded $5.9 million to a 47 year-old unemployed women whose leg was amputated after her vehicle went off the roadway and crashed into a guardrail over Castro Valley Boulevard.

Facts: On June 26th, 1998 Sabrina Bauman was driving a Datsun 280Z on the on-ramp to Interstate 580 from Foothill Boulevard. As she was driving, a cup of hot chocolate spilled, causing her to drive off the on left side of the on-ramp. As she tried to re enter the roadway, she was looking over her right shoulder when she struck a guardrail on the bridge that crosses over the boulevard.

She claimed that the guardrail speared through her vehicle, smashing her left foot and cutting off her right leg. She argued that had the guardrail been properly installed, she would have been involved only in a minor non injury collision. The plaintiff's counsel determined that the guardrail she struck had been improperly installed in or about 1989. In 1980 , the Federal Government had complained to the director of the California State Department of Transportation (Cal Trans) about the same deficiencies as those in this guardrail, the plaintiff reported. Cal Trans countered the plaintiff's claims by maintaining that the guardrail was properly installed. It also claimed that the plaintiff would have suffered the same injuries regardless of the guardrail installation because of the way she allegedly struck the rail.

Injuries:
The plaintiff's right leg was cut off at the knee. At the hospital, her stump was amputated at the mid-thigh due to the severe damage to the bones and muscles.

Verdict:
The jury found that Cal Trans was 100% at fault for the plaintiff's injuries. The defendants have filed a motion for a new trial.

3/2/02 Update:
Cal Trans has lost there motion for a new trial and it appears it will be difficult for them to overcome this.

They just covered this on inside edition.

2/20/03:
According to AASHTO, The average U.S. crash rate remains unchanged. One out of every 84 born today will die violently in a motor vehicle crash. Six out of every 10 children will be injured in a highway crash over a lifetime, many of them more than once

About 42,000 people are killed and an additional three million are injured in a motor vehicle crash each year.

The NHTSA research budget gets 58 billion dollars per year while the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research gets 289 million-while motor vehicle crashes are the forth leading cause of death.