Los Angeles Jury Awards $32.8 Million to Man Injured in Car Accident by State Employee

LOS ANGELES, April 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A Los Angeles jury handed down a $32.8 million verdict to a man who was injured when an employee of the California Department of Insurance rear-ended him.

In August of 2022, a woman who was acting in the course and scope of her employer, the Department of Insurance, was driving at 65 miles per hour on Highway 14. She failed to notice that the traffic ahead of her had slowed to a stop and rear-ended the vehicle PARRIS Law Firm's client was occupying.

While the State of California and the individual driving the vehicle admitted to liability, they attempted to downplay the injuries suffered by one of the men in the vehicle.

PARRIS Law Firm attorneys R. Rex Parris and Khail A. Parris argued that their client had suffered a series of injuries after the collision, including an L4-L5 spinal fusion surgery. The pain caused by the collision continued even after the surgery and the client was prescribed a spinal cord stimulator which later had to be implanted. After a brain MRI was performed, it revealed volume loss in the frontal lobe, and he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, or TBI.

"Our client couldn't work, could barely think, and at times couldn't even stand," argued PARRIS Law Firm founder R. Rex Parris. "The defense admitted it was liable but then claimed my client was faking his injuries. I'm grateful for this tremendous verdict from the jury but horrified at how the Department of Insurance refused to handle this without being taken to court."

"The Department of Insurance should be ashamed of itself for putting people in harm's way and then stringing them along for years instead of offering to pay our client what he deserved," added PARRIS Law Firm partner Khail Parris.

The jury awarded $709,868.93 in past medical expenses, $9,053,397.00 in future medical expenses, $105,427.00 in past loss of earnings, $1,000,000.00 in future loss of earnings, $4 million in past noneconomic losses, and $18 million in future noneconomic losses. The total verdict was $32,868,692.90.

This verdict comes on the heels of the ongoing Ricardo Lara scandal. Instead of just looking into the controversial wrongdoings of California's Insurance Commissioner, it may be time to investigate the department as a whole.

This verdict marks the third case won by PARRIS Law Firm in under 2 weeks, totaling over $100 million in that short timeframe.

The case is Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 22CHCV01159.

About PARRIS Law Firm

The PARRIS Law Firm is recognized as one of America's top personal injury, employment, and environmental law firms. With a proven track record of fighting for justice on behalf of families and individuals, the firm boasts numerous seven and eight-figure verdicts and settlements. To learn more about the firm, please go to: www.parris.com.

SOURCE PARRIS Law Firm