PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

$2.4 Million for Family of Sacramento Bus-Pedestrian Accident Victim

A 49-year-old secretary killed by a public bus in Sacramento, California. A jury saw fit to award her child and husband more than $2.4 million in damages for her wrongful death.

2012-11-30
November 30, 2012 (Press-News.org) On a January evening in 2008, 49-year-old secretary Joyce Ann Jacobs was run over and killed by a public bus in Sacramento, California. Almost five years later, in early November 2012, a Sacramento Superior Court jury saw fit to award her child and husband more than $2.4 million in damages for her wrongful death.

Jacobs was a church musician, a foster mother and a community volunteer.

Her husband, a Sacramento pastor, was awarded $2 million "in noneconomic damages for the loss of his wife's love and consortium," meaning companionship and affection. He also got almost $400,000 in economic damages for "past and future financial support and household services" he will no longer get because of her death. Their son Anthony received $30,000.

The bus was operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District, known as RT, the public agency that runs the bus and light rail transit system for the Sacramento metro area.

The Sacramento Bee reported that the jury found 9-3 that Jacobs was in a crosswalk when she was hit. That she was in the crosswalk and not the street was key to the decision. Reportedly, the defendant had asserted that the victim was negligent by crossing "in the middle of the street" rather than in the crosswalk, and that the driver did not see her.

The two sides argued in court about what the physical evidence at the scene showed about the victim's location in the street.

Although the plaintiffs had asked the jury for between $9 and $10 million in damages, the defendant's attorney reportedly said that because of the victim's poor health because of obesity and renal disease, her shortened lifespan made a maximum of $1.1 million, if anything, appropriate.

Reportedly, the trial was emotional and sometimes accusatory. According to The Sacramento Bee, one juror called their deliberations once they got the case a "battle" in which they painstakingly reviewed every charge and weighed the credibility of the evidence. He said they were largely influenced by the bus driver's decision to call RT first instead of immediately calling 911.

Issues in this bus-pedestrian accident case illustrate why it's important to have an experienced California personal injury attorney at your side should you or a loved one be the victim of someone else's negligence in a motor vehicle accident. The legal issues are complex and the evidence can be challenging to gather, process and present.

For example, the jury needed to be presented with solid evidence to illustrate the nature of the marital relationship in this case in order to be able to place a value on something so objective as love and consortium.

Suing a governmental entity like a transit authority can also sometimes present legal hurdles for a plaintiff, as can dealing with involved insurance companies.

So be sure to consult with a motor vehicle accident lawyer should you find yourself or a loved one the victim of someone else's negligence on the road.

Article provided by Piering Law Firm
Visit us at www.pieringlawfirm.com


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Understanding How to Keep Your Home in Los Angeles After Bankruptcy

2012-11-30
When debts have become unmanageable, filing for bankruptcy protection may be the best option. It is an effective way for people to get back on their feet, because it offers a debt relief over a shorter time period than debt consolidation plans. It is often especially attractive to homeowners because eliminating other debt often frees up the funds necessary to keep the family home. It is important for homeowners to understand how bankruptcy impacts home ownership. Some homeowners may not realize that a lender can foreclose on a home even after the owner has filed for ...

New California Employment Laws Will Go Into Effect Soon

2012-11-30
California workers gained some protections in this year's legislative session. While not as many employment-related bills became law this year as the previous year, about 18 new laws will be taking effect. Social media privacy Perhaps the most publicized new law constrains employers from asking employees for password access to personal social media accounts, under most circumstances. The central issue is privacy. Counting California, only three states have such a law. Some have criticized the legislation, saying that there is really no need for the law, because ...

Distracted Driving in Texas: Teens Call For Stricter Laws

2012-11-30
After a person is injured in a motor vehicle accident, the first task is to secure medical treatment for immediately apparent injuries and diagnose the full extent of other problems such as back injuries and head injuries. Next, an injury victim may benefit from discussing the wreck with a personal injury lawyer to assess the reasons why the car accident happened. One cause of car and truck accidents that has received increasing attention over the past decade is distracted driving. While Texas has lagged somewhat behind other states in passing statewide cell phone and ...

Federal Government Offering Big Rewards to Financial Whistleblowers

2012-11-30
In the wake of the financial crisis, disturbing stories started to emerge about fraud and misconduct at some of the nation's largest financial institutions. For the most part, these abuses were brought to light by brave employees who had the courage to report inappropriate behavior to federal authorities. These so-called whistleblower claims are a very important part of the U.S. justice system. Often, employees are in a much better place to detect misconduct than law enforcement officials or regulators are. Of course, bringing a whistleblower claim has its risks: ...

Enforcement of Child Support in Florida

2012-11-30
Children, although as wonderful as they may be, can often be expensive. Supporting a child on two incomes is difficult enough. However, when parents are divorced or never married, supporting children on one income can sometimes seem almost impossible. To help mitigate these effects, a system called child support was created. Child support is a payment made by the non-custodial parent to help with the daily expenses of raising a child. It is becoming more and more common that these payments are being avoided by the non-custodial parent, and custodial parents need to take ...

Planning for the Future - How to Ensure Your Estate Can Find Crucial Information

2012-11-30
For some people, it can be difficult to take the first steps toward making a plan that would carry out their wishes after they pass away. No one knows exactly how much time he or she has before these documents will become necessary. Putting these directions and wishes on paper can help ensure that these wishes are followed, and that the things that are being handed down go to the proper individual. While dealing with the loss of a loved one is a very challenging time, families will often have other concerns to deal with after the passing. In order to carry out the deceased's ...

Sheriff's Department Receives Grant to Fight DUI

2012-11-30
Arizona has long taken a tough stand against drunk drivers. Police plan aggressive sobriety campaigns within the region, which can catch many motorists off-guard. Once arrested, an individual may not know what to expect. The penalties that may result in the event of a conviction may have life-changing consequences. The holidays have often been a very busy time for law enforcement officers patrolling for drunk drivers. Recently, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office received a grant from the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety to help take drunk drivers off of the ...

Port Worker Dies in Bay Area Crane Accident

2012-11-30
According to California state investigators, a maintenance issue led to a crane accident that crushed and killed a 51-year-old worker in a Bay Area port last month. NBC Bay Area News reported that a spokesman for California's Division of Occupational Safety and Heath (Cal-OSHA), Peter Melton, said that two workers were attempting to fix a maintenance problem regarding the crane's trolley wheels when the crane accident took place. Specifically, the workers were attempting to adjust the trolley wheels so that all four wheels were on the rails when one of the workers was ...

Alaska Clarifies Law Against Texting and Driving

2012-11-30
In Alaska and across the country, distracted driving has been receiving considerable attention. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has been trying to address the problem of distracted driving by educating drivers about the dangers of using a cellphone or texting while operating a motor vehicle. The agency's efforts are certainly needed. NHTSA data shows that in 2010, 3,092 people died in car accidents where a distracted driver was involved. About 416,000 more people were injured that year in distracted ...

How Do Custody Arrangements Affect Child Support Obligations?

2012-11-30
The Pennsylvania child support guidelines presume that a non-custodial parent will have custody of the children for 30 percent of the overnights in a calendar year. This 30 percent presumption is built into the child support formula and applies even if the non-custodial parent has the children for less than 30 percent of the overnights. In fact, even a non-custodial parent who has been denied visitation to the children is required to pay child support, as calculated pursuant to the PA child support guidelines. In this respect, child custody and the obligation to pay child ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Hot flashes can be reliably predicted by an ai-driven algorithm developed by UMass Amherst and Embr Labs

FAU/Baptist Health AI spine model could transform lower back pain treatment

CDI Lab, HMH specialists identify vital pathway initiating cellular immunity in Science Immunology journal

University of Pennsylvania professor to receive the 2025 Clinical Research Prize

Revolutionary scandium doping technique extends sodium-ion battery life

High-fat diet impairs memory formation by reducing autophagy

Keck Hospital of USC named a Vizient Top Performer for third year in a row

New CRISPR test could make tuberculosis screening as simple as a mouth swab

Three-sensor overeating detection could reshape obesity treatment

Study provides first evidence that plastic nanoparticles can accumulate in the edible parts of vegetables

AI predicts complications from surgery better than doctors

New personalized risk score could improve ovarian cancer detection

People on Ozempic who eat to regulate emotions less likely to lose weight

AACR Cancer Progress Report highlights lifesaving impact of federal investments in cancer research

Indra's internet

Lymph nodes found to be key to successful cancer immunotherapy

Room-temperature terahertz device opens door to 6G networks

A hard look at geoengineering reveals global risks

When smoke signals danger: How Australian lizards evolved to escape fire

Beyond the surface: Atopic eczema linked to significantly higher risk of suicidal thoughts, major study finds

After weight loss regular exercise rather than GLP-1 weight-loss drug reduces leading cause of heart attack and strokes

EASD launches its first ever clinical practice guideline – the world’s first to focus on diabetes distress

Semaglutide provides powerful protection against diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults, Greek study suggests

Orforglipron taken orally once daily leads to significant body weight loss (ATTAIN-1 Study)

U of I researchers trace genetic code’s origins to early protein structures

Disease experts team up with Florida Museum of Natural History to create a forecast for West Nile virus

Researchers: Targeted efforts needed to stem fentanyl crisis

New UMaine research could help lower prescription drug costs

Molecular movie shows how mitochondria read their DNA

Loss of key male fertility gene leads to changes in expression of hundreds of other genes

[Press-News.org] $2.4 Million for Family of Sacramento Bus-Pedestrian Accident Victim
A 49-year-old secretary killed by a public bus in Sacramento, California. A jury saw fit to award her child and husband more than $2.4 million in damages for her wrongful death.