A Neveda state court jury has awarded over $2.7 million indamages to a mother and her four children who sustained injuries after their mini-van was struck by a drunk driver, along with $200,000 in punitive damages.
The Clark County jury returned their verdict on Januaray 22 following a six-day trial. The trial focused solely on damages for plaintiff Autumn Carver and her children, with the jury’s eventual award falling closer to the amount attorneys for defendant Daniel Terrazas-Lozano suggested than the roughly $90 million sought by the plaintiffs.
Carver’s attorney’s argued she and her children suffered a range of injuries, including a claimed severe traumatic brain injury, after Terrazas-Lozano sent his Ford F-150 truck over a median while speeding and intoxicated on alcohol and cannabis. Terrazas-Lozano served a prison term for the crash, and the trial addressed damages only after the presiding judge struck his affirmative defenses claiming Carver had any liability for the accident.
Defense attorney Jonathan Hansen argued the injuries described by Carver and her children aren’t as severe as claimed, and much of the trial involved dueling expert witness testimony on the nauances of traumatic brain injuries. Along with their physical injuries, the trial also involved testimony on the allegedly sujective nature of the psychological impact of the crash on Carver’s four children.
The case is captioned Autumn Carver, et al. v. Daniel Terrazas-Lozano, docket number A-24-885966-C in Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County.
