SAN FRANCISCO – The 1st Appellate District, Division Three has upheld a $15.3 million award to a woman who sued Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District for damages in an injury lawsuit.
In the Aug. 20 ruling, Judge William McGuiness affirmed an award of $15.3 million to plaintiffs Maria Francisco and her daughter, Mia Cisneros, and ruled that that they should recover their costs on appeal.
“Defendants contend ‘the noneconomic damages [the jury awarded] are grossly disproportionate to plaintiffs’ harm, indicating that they were tainted by passion and prejudice induced by the pervasive misconduct and other errors at trial.’ We disagree,” the filing said.
The appellate court ruled there was enough evidence to support the judgment award and upheld it.
According to the ruling, on Aug. 27, 2011, then-21-year-old Francisco, Cisneros and Francisco’s mother and cousin were riding in an Alameda-Contra Costa transit bus on their way to go shopping. When the bus went over a speed bump in a school zone going 30 mph, more than twice the legal speed limit, Francisco was thrown 2 feet into the air and landed on her metal seat with enough force that she suffered a traumatic burst fracture to her L1 vertebra.
Immediately after the incident, the ruling states Francisco was crying and in pain and instead of calling for medical help, the AC Transit bus driver stopped the bus and yelled at Francisco, accusing her of faking her injuries and threatening her with legal prosecution. The incident was recorded on the transit bus camera.
According to the ruling, once Francisco was transported to the hospital, she was diagnosed with a burst fracture in her vertebra and underwent a series of three spinal surgeries, including a spinal fusion. Since the incident, Francisco alleges she has incurred surgery complications, additional pain, suffering, lost wages due to her inability to work, and lost quality of life due to her pain level and limited mobility, according to the filing. She cannot care for herself and must rely on others, the ruling states.
Francisco and Cisneros filed a lawsuit against AC Transit in February 2012 alleging negligence, negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision and negligent infliction of emotional distress, according to the filing. Their counsel requested an award of $29 million, which included $5 million for past pain and suffering and $17.8 for future pain and suffering, the filing said.
Throughout the 2014 trial, AC Transit disputed Francisco’s allegations and fought the necessity of the surgeries. However, the jury awarded Francisco and Cisneros a total of $15.3 million past and future pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses, future loss of earnings, past family services, and past and future emotional distress suffered by Cisneros related to her witnessing the incident.
The defendants requested a new trial, but the trial court denied it, and AC Transit subsequently filed an appeal stating that the $15.3 million judgment should be reversed due to allegations of “rampant and deliberate misconduct” by the plaintiffs’ attorneys that kept the defendants from receiving a fair trial, according to the filing.
The appeals court disagreed with the defense and noted that the trial court did not err. The court also rejected the claim that the trial court committed judicial misconduct.