Complaint That Inadequate Lighting Caused Teen To Be Struck In Crosswalk Leads To County Settlement Of $ 5.5 Million In Washington State Court
On Dec. 12, 2012, at about 7:14 a.m., plaintiffs, 17-year-old Regina Monzon and her younger brother, 15-year-old James Monzon, were walking to Fairview Jr. High School, crossing Central Valley 23 Road N.E. in a marked crosswalk near N.E. Conifer Drive. As Regina and James were walking in the westbound direction of the crosswalk, Regina was stuck and run over by a southbound vehicle driven by defendant Sandra Bloechl. James witnessed the accident. Regina suffered serious severe and permanent injuries including scalp degloving when her hair became entangled in the vehicle drivetrain as it ran over her. In addition, Regina suffered sacral fractures, left pelvic fracture, left dorsal foot degloving, multiple rib fractures, pulmonary contusions, acute contusions, and lacerations on her lower lip. She continues to suffer numerous residual symptoms and conditions from her injuries including her brain injury and emotional and psychosocial issues and impairments. James suffered and continues to suffer severe mental and emotional stress due to observing the injuries to his sister.
On Feb. 25, 2015, plaintiffs filed a complaint against Sandra Bloechl and Kitsap County in the Superior Court of Pierce County, WA. Plaintiffs claimed that Bloechl was negligent in failing to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk and that Kitsap County negligently failed to evaluate the lighting at this location, despite prior accidents of a similar nature. Kitsap County claimed the crosswalk met or exceeded all applicable standards, that Bloechl's failure to stop reasonably after impact was a superseding cause of the most serious injuries, and that Regina Monzon was negligent. The parties stipulated that Regina Monzon had reasonable and necessary medical expenses of $238,931.01.
Following a four-week trial before Judge G. Helen Whitener, the parties reached a settlement of $5,700,000 on Feb. 14, 2017. Kitsap County agreed to pay $5,000,000 to Regina Monzon and $500,000 to James Monzon. Sandra Bloechl agreed to pay $100,000 to Regina Monzon and $100,000 to James Monzon. In addition, Kitsap County agreed to install a second streetlight at the subject crosswalk.
Defendant(s) offered $250,000 at mediation and $300,000 before trial. Plaintiffs demanded $2,250,000 at mediation and $10,000,000 before trial.
Plaintiffs were represented by Kenneth Friedman and Henry Jones of Friedman|Rubin and T. David Apodaca of Law Office of T. David Apodaca. Defendants were represented by Ione George and Christine Palmer of Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office; Andrew Cooley of Keating Bucklin & McCormack; and C. Joseph Sinnitt of Sinnitt Law Firm.
Lexis Advance subscribers may view the complete summary here: Regina Monzon and James Monzon v. Sandra Bloechl and Kitsap County; 2017 Jury Verdicts LEXIS 291.
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