A jury Tuesday awarded $1.85 million to a man who sued the state, alleging one of its employees became distracted by reaching for her purse while driving and struck his truck-trailer rig, leaving him with shoulder, wrist and back injuries.
The state Attorney General’s Office conceded before trial that Debra Thomas was negligent when her car collided with the back of the work trailer attached to plaintiff Byron Whetzel’s truck. The trailer contained a cement pumper. Thomas’ car also struck the left side of the back of his truck.
Whetzel was 51 years old at the time of the June 27, 2011, accident. He was resting in his truck, waiting for cement pumping to begin, when Thomas, traveling on Santa Fe Avenue in Los Angeles, reached into the back seat of her car for her purse, according to the defense attorneys’ court papers.
Thomas’ car swerved and struck Whetzel’s trailer and truck, the defense attorneys’ court papers state. Whetzel claimed he is still plagud by the injuries he sustained to his left shoulder and wrist, as well as to his back.
The state’s attorneys maintained in their court papers that Whetzel is making more money in his current job selling phones that he could have had he remained a concrete pumper.
–City News Service