At 85 years old, you are hopefully past the dangerous times of your life and you can just coast out the rest of your days in relative relaxation and enjoyment doing whatever it is that octogenarians do. Among other things, walking across the street in southern California shouldn’t even cross your mind as a dangerous pastime for an elderly person, right? For 85 year old Julio Huayanca, merely crossing the street became a nightmare, ending seven surgeries later and leaving him without his right leg just below the knee.
Southland Transit, the bus company, admitted liability for the incident so it was only a matter of determining what Julio’s damages would be, which was left to the jury. Near the end of the trial, the attorneys for both sides finally came to a settlement agreement that would give Julio $15 million for all his damages.
The interesting part is that right around the same time, the jury informed the court that they had reached a verdict as to the amount to be awarded. Of course, since the parties already came to an agreement, this number was not binding and would in no way alter the $15 million payout that Julio was to receive. Still, it is always interesting to see how the jury would have come out. In this case, the jury was persuaded in the amount of $17 million for Julio, a whole $2 million more than the settlement amount.
Hopefully, the $2 million difference will mean nothing to the injured Julio, who can now live out his life in the peace and quiet that $15 million can afford.