3. Homework Week 5
You represent a City and a police department in litigation. The plaintiff was severely injured in a car accident with a police vehicle. The plaintiff was driving northbound on a main street at approximately 40 miles per hour, with the windows open and listening to the radio. He gave two statements to police after the accident. In one, he admitted the radio was on and that it was “a little loud,” and in the other he denied having the radio on.
The police vehicle was traveling eastbound on an intersecting main street, also traveling approximately 40 miles per hour, and the two vehicles collided in the intersection. Your client tells you that he did not hear any sirens or see any emergency lights. However, at her deposition, the police officer testifies that she was heading to an emergency and had her lights and siren operating. A video of the collision, taken from the security video of a nearby business, clearly shows the police car’s emergency lights operating. Although the video has no sound, several witnesses gave statements at the scene that they heard the siren and saw the lights, and stopped at the intersection to yield to the police vehicle. Those individuals, however, could not be located for deposition and are unlikely to be located to testify at trial. The police department has a policy that requires its drivers to slow down when entering an intersection and clear the intersection before proceeding through it, even if responding to an emergency. Relevant state law requires the same. The driver of the police vehicle has been involved in two prior on-duty motor vehicle accidents in the past. The plaintiff and his counsel do not know this fact.
The plaintiff suffered scrapes and bruises in the collision, and was transported to the emergency room by ambulance, but was discharged later that night with a prescriiption for painkillers. The record shows that he started treating with a chiropractor after consulting with a lawyer, and that the chiropractor treated him for approximately one year. The record also shows that he had MRIs of his neck and mid- and low back, and those MRIs revealed a neck strain and back sprain, for which he was prescribed physical therapy and various painkillers. Your client has incurred medical expenses in the approximate amount of $26,000. The chiropractor estimates that he will need back surgery, at an additional cost of $25,000, but that has not been confirmed by a medical doctor. Your client’s car was totaled in the accident, at a loss of $6,000. Your client also claims that his iPhone was damaged beyond repair in the accident, requiring him to purchase a new one at a cost of $600, but he has no receipt for the purchase. Your client has a history of traffic collisions, and has brought other lawsuits in the past based on collisions he has been involved in. He also drove without a driver’s license for a number of years before he was caught and was forced to obtain a license.
The plaintiff has brought suit against the City, police department, and driver. The judge has ordered the parties to mediation, and the mediators have asked the parties to submit briefs to the Court one week before the mediation. What information will you include in the mediation brief on behalf of your client?
