Covina Woman Gets $21.7 Million in Jet Ski Lawsuit

The following was reported by City News Service:

A 20-year-old Covina woman who suffered a permanent brain injury as a result of a collision between a jet ski and a larger boat in Riverside County in 2008 was awarded $21.7 million Tuesday in her lawsuit alleging her injuries were due mostly to a steering defect in the smaller craft.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury of six men and six women deliberated for about six days before finding in favor of Fabiola Esparza, whose lawsuit alleged that both Polaris Industries Inc. and the larger boat operator, Douglas Lane, shared liability for the July 4, 2008, accident on the Colorado River near Blythe that left her with the mental capacity of someone four times younger.

Attorney Lawrence Grassini, on behalf of the plaintiff, said the 2001 Polaris Virage model on which Esparza was a passenger could not be steered by its teenage operator, Andrew Gutierrez, after he eased off on the hand- controlled throttle.

Grassini said Polaris will be liable for about $11.5 million under the jury's apportionment of responsibility for his client's harm. Lane and Gutierrez were assessed the rest of the blame.

The verdict includes awards of $13.5 million for Esparza's future pain and suffering and $5.48 million for her future medical expenses.

Grassini said during trial that Polaris' mindset concerning the steering issue was revealed in an internal memo obtained in pretrial discovery. In the December 2003 document, Polaris managing engineer Dave Dickirson wrote to company officials in charge of safety: "I just can't see us putting $30 more into the boat with our business in the state it is in."

Grassini praised the jury's verdict.

"The jury spoke loud and clear that the product was defective," he said.

Grassini said he hoped that Polaris will now provide an avenue for owners of the 2001 Polaris Virage model to have their vessels replaced or fixed. He also said Esparza will get the professional attention she needs and the burden will be removed from her older sister and primary caregiver, Angela Esparza.

Although the jury found the Virage was defective, the panel also concluded that Polaris was not negligent in designing the Virage and in deciding against retrofitting the crafts with an off-throttle steering system.

As the panelists walked out of the courtroom after being polled by the courtroom clerk to confirm their verdicts, one female juror who generally sided in her vote with Polaris said to the attorneys, "You guys all made it really tough, that's all I have to say."

Paul Cereghini, the lead attorney representing Polaris, said the verdict will be appealed. He said the jury's findings are contrary to those of the U.S. Coast Guard -- that the Virage model was not defective. He also said the Riverside County Sheriff's Department concluded the accident was due to speeding and other mistakes by the operators of the two vessels rather than a problem with the jet ski.

Cereghini said Gutierrez, then 17, was driving too fast. He also said Lane, who was at the helm of the other boat, had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit.

Lane was towing his three grandchildren in an inflatable device tied behind his 2004 Sea-Doo Utopia jet boat. Now 68, he testified he turned his vessel in front of the jet ski because he thought the smaller vessel would otherwise hit his grandchildren.

Esparza was 15 at the time of the accident, and she suffered injuries that her lawyers say will require to have lifetime care. She and fellow passenger Marlon Mata, then 15, were riding on the jet ski driven by Gutierrez near Mayfield Park and Preserve north of Blythe. She did not appear in court any time during trial, although her 2011 video deposition was played to the jury.

Gutierrez and Mata suffered less serious injuries. They and Esparza were members of a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses visiting the river for the holiday.

Esparza's lawyers maintained Gutierrez was traveling less than 20 mph when the accident occurred and that he intuitively slowed his speed when he realized he might hit the boat, even though the decision negatively affected his steering capability. But Polaris attorneys said he was traveling over 30 mph when the initial impact occurred.

Polaris, based in Medina, Minn., stopped making jet skis in 2004. The company now makes all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and other vehicles.