Vehicle Negligence

In Survivors v. Parking Valet Co. (Nor.Cal.Sup.Ct.) Douglas Saeltzer and Spencer Pahlke negotiated a $6 million policy limits settlement in a wrongful death claim arising from a traffic collision along the San Francisco Embarcadero. Plaintiffs husband and his wife, were in San Francisco to watch a Giants game. At a busy parking lot entrance along the Embarcadero, the husband attempted to turn left into the lot but got stuck mid-intersection in traffic. While stranded, defendant’s valet driver entered the intersection at a high rate of speed, striking the clients’ car broadside, inflicting fatal injuries to the wife. Survivors included the husband and two adult children. Doug and Spencer prosecuted the case on multiple theories including those of dangerous intersection, premises liability and negligent vehicle operation. An analysis of video retrieved from a passing Muni Railway vehicle was instrumental in demonstrating absence of comparative fault on the part of the surviving husband given the congested and confusing nature of the intersection and the excessive speed of the valet driver.