Truck driver vs. truck driver
Personal Injury
Motor Vehicle Negligence
Los Angeles Superior Court
Settlement
$1,000,000

On May 7, 2011, at about 2:00 p.m., plaintiff Jose Estrada (56 yrs old) was operating his trailer truck in the course and scope of employment on Anaheim Street in the #1 lane at 35 mph when defendant Carlos Augusto Zuniga-Salazar, who was also operating his trailer truck in the course and scope of employment, swerved into Estrada’s truck from the #2 lane.

Plaintiff contended that defendant violated Cal. Veh. Code § 22107 which states, “No person shall turn a vehicle from a direct course or move right or left upon a roadway until such movement can be made with reasonable safety and then only after the giving of an appropriate signal in the manner provided in this chapter in the event any other vehicle may be affected by the movement.”

According to the Traffic Collision Report, video footage from a nearby business was obtained and confirmed that defendant conducted a left turn striking plaintiff who was in the #1 lane westbound. Subsequently the police department lost or misplaced the video and it was never
recovered.

Defendant contended that it was plaintiff intruded into defendant’s lane and was the sole cause of the collision. Defendant disputed the admissibility of the officer’s testimony regarding what he observed on the video.

Ultimately, the lawsuit settled for policy limits prior to trial.