Car Accident Lawyer Wins $21.5M Verdict for Severely Injured Motorcyclist

A motorcyclist who was severely injured when he was struck by a car that switched lanes without warning on a Los Angeles highway in 2018 has been awarded a $21.5 million jury verdict in a California court.

The motorcyclist, Matthew Rada, now 28, of Culver City, California, was riding his motorcycle on Feb. 8, 2018, in the northbound High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane of the San Diego 405 Freeway when he was struck by a Kia Optima that veered suddenly out of the HOV lane, according to a Dec. 4 story by KNX 1070 radio. The Kia smashed into Rada and knocked him and his motorcycle across several lanes of traffic and into the side of an adjacent flatbed trailer, the story continued.

The Kia was being driven by an auto mechanic who was test driving a customer’s car after working on it at the Hardin Irvine Automotive Inc. shop, the story reported. The crash was recorded by a helmet camera that was being used by another motorcyclist who was riding near Rada.

“The other motorcyclist stopped and voluntarily turned over the footage of the accident recorded on his helmet camera,” according to the story.

The mechanic, Justin Dimapasac, should not have been driving by himself in the HOV lane, Rada’s attorney argued in court.

The victim suffered life-changing injuries in the crash, including a fractured right femur, multiple fractures in his dominant right hand and an L1 compression fracture, according to his lawsuit. He was hospitalized for more than two weeks at UC Irvine Medical Center where he underwent numerous surgeries followed by two weeks of inpatient rehabilitation. In addition to his surgeries, Rada also suffers from chronic pain and commensurate mental and emotional distress, the plaintiffs alleged in their lawsuit against the mechanic and the garage.

Rada worked as a graphic designer before the crash but was left unable to continue to do his job after he was injured.

After hearing testimony in the case, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Rada $3.5 million in economic damages and $18 million in noneconomic damages, totaling $21.5 million.

Legal cases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of similar kinds of car crash cases that MyPhillyLawyer attorneys regularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to discuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality requirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one to illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.

When you need a car accident injury attorney, we here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in any kind of vehicle crash, slip and fall, workplace injury or wrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in the United States. We pledge to make sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and experienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a professional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Talk to a Philadelphia car crash attorney at MyPhillyLawyer by calling 215-227-2727 or toll-free at 1-866-907-2231 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

When Winning Matters Most, Call MyPhillyLawyer.

Listen to Court Radio every Sunday at 7 a.m. with me, attorney Dean Weitzman of MyPhillyLawyer, on Philadelphia’s Old School 100.3 WRNB, Boom 103.9 or on Classix 107.9 WPPZ FM. Listen to Court Radio online or on the radio every week for the latest on legal topics and to get answers to your legal questions. In addition to addressing the topical issues of the day, we’ll answer caller questions on a wide range of legal issues.