Plaintiff in this case was a middle-aged man who was driving on I-5 behind a truck carrying tomatoes when tomatoes fell out of the truck, creating a slick surface. As a result of the slick surface, plaintiff’s car spun out of control and he received injuries to his face, back and neck.
The defendant claimed that plaintiff was following too closely to defendant’s vehicle or he would have been able to stop and avoid the tomatoes; the tomatoes should not have caused the plaintiff’s car to go out of control because they would not have created unnecessary slickness in the roadway; and that plaintiff was exaggerating his injuries.
The law offices of Winer, Burritt & Scott, LLP, hired an accident reconstruction expert and a human factors expert to indicate that the plaintiff was driving at a reasonable speed, was not following too closely and that the coefficient and friction of the roadway changed dramatically when plaintiff’s tires ran over the tomatoes, causing the accident.
RESULT: Settlement on behalf of plaintiff for $300,000