Chico

Chico

Cathy Liu was beginning her residency at UC Davis four years ago with a promising career in front of her in internal medicine, when suddenly it all changed forever. On July 6, 2007 Liu, who had finished tops in her medical school graduating class at Emory University, was out on her morning jog when she was struck by a car on Freeport Boulevard in Sacramento, CA. The accident resulted in a traumatic brain injury and left Liu paralyzed on the right side and suffering from aphasia, a disorder that impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing. Liu's ability to speak was severely restricted by the brain trauma, leaving her unable to pursue her medical career at any level.
Nearly four years later the case (Sacramento Superior Court case number: 34-2008-00015075) has been brought to a close. After deliberating for nearly three days, jurors returned a verdict that named the City of Sacramento as the party primarily responsible for the accident. The jury determined that the city was at fault for the accident because testimony from prominent public officials revealed that the city knew the intersection was dangerous for many years and had received $7.4 million from the state to fix the defect. The jury awarded Liu over $18 million in damages, but a pretrial agreement capped the damages that the City would have to pay at $6 million.
Richard Molin from Chico, CA was co-counsel for the prosecution who represented Liu in her trial in front of Judge David W. Abbott. In Molin's words "we could not have been more pleased with the verdict that the jury returned for our client. Miss Liu had her dreams and goals ripped away from her that day and she is deserving of every dollar that the verdict will bring." The award, through a trust fund, will help Liu cover the past and ongoing medical expenses that she will incur over her lifetime.
Molin believes that the award is "absolutely correct" and praised the judge and jury for their careful consideration of all the evidence. The legal team built their case around the issue of visibility along the Freeport Boulevard "S" curve as the roadway slides around the Taylor's Market complex at Fourth Avenue. The prosecution argued that the city knew the crosswalk was dangerous and did nothing to address that. "This curve serves to obstruct the view of motorists traveling southbound on Freeport Boulevard and approaching the roadway/crosswalk so that said motorists are unable to adequately observe pedestrians traversing the roadway/crosswalk in time to slow and/or stop their vehicles to allow for pedestrians, including plaintiff, to safely traverse the roadway/crosswalk," Liu's complaint said.
The intersection has been changed significantly since the time of the accident, but the city claims that was always part of the plan and not a result of the accident. The city denies responsibility and is considering a motion for a new trial. Under the terms of the agreement, the city is precluded from appealing the award from this process.
About Richard Molin
Richard Molin, Attorney at Law, is a partner in the law firm of Stewart Humpherys Molin & Griffith, LLP. His very active practice in Chico, CA focuses on litigation in the areas of Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect, Insurance Bad Faith and Medical Malpractice. Richard's practice also has an emphasis in representing victims of violent crimes such as rape and elder abuse victims.
Sources: http://www.sfgate.com

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