On February 16, 2022, Attorney E. Wayne Powell was able to mediate a settlement in a fatal car crash on the Eastern Shore which took place on July 16, 2018. On that day, a tractor trailer truck was driving south on Route 13 when it struck a 2003 Buick Rendezvous which was crossing at an intersection from Accomack Road to turn and head north on Route 13. Powell filed two wrongful death cases for the estates of the parents and negligence cases for the two minor daughters who suffered life threatening injuries as a result of the collision.
When the parents of Areli and Jacqueline Enriquez died instantly, they left their two minor daughters in the care of their paternal uncles and aunt. The primary issue in this case was liability since the truck driver insisted that he passed through a green light, and one of the daughters claimed that her father’s light was green. The daughter upon whose testimony the cases rested had primarily orthopedic and internal injuries, but she did suffer a concussion, so the defense questioned her memory. In addition, three other independent witnesses supported the truck driver’s version of events, though much of their testimony was speculative.
In addition to the weight of adverse testimonial evidence there was conflicting evidence regarding the sequencing of green and red lights at the intersection in question. Finally, in the course of the state police reconstruction of the accident the state police concluded that the daughter’s father was not driving through green light, but rather passed through a red light.
Based on the serious conflict in testimony about what various witnesses saw, and the sequence of the lights at this intersection, mediation was a reasonable alternative to trial under these circumstances.
Earlier in the case, based on the liability issues described above the insurance carrier for Juan Enriquez, the father of the clients, submitted its coverage limits in the case and the proceeds of his $50,000 liability policy were paid to the daughters in 2019 without dispute. Therefore, the mediation only dealt with the $750,000 coverage limits of the trucking company and its driver.
Fortunately the medical liens had been resolved by charity reductions before mediation, so most of the proceeds of the settlement went to benefit directly to two clients.
In view of the liability issues in the case, and considering substantial reduction in liens, the parties agreed on a $250,000 settlement and this settlement was approved by the Richmond Circuit Court on March 29, 2022. In all, the wrongful death cases and the negligence cases all settled for a total of $300,000.
The important considerations in this case were the various versions of who went through the green light or rather who possibly went through the green light on July 16, 2018, and a few of the significant difference in the persons of what happened at that intersection, a thorough investigation is always important. In this case several trips to the East Shore resulted in the depositions of not only the three drivers at other parts of the intersection but other witnesses located close to the scene were essential in gathering as much evidence supporting the plaintiff’s version of events as possible. Without this they would probably would not have been given the offer to mediate case and based on the evidence some of which has been summarized here, the likelihood of a positive verdict was the best a 50-50 proposition under all the circumstances of this case.
