Espinosa v. State of California

$15 Million settlement for parents of a college student wrongfully killed by a reckless CAL FIRE driver

Espinosa v. State of California

Wrongful death

Result: $15.0 Million

BACKGROUND

Vanessa Espinosa was a beautiful, charismatic 22-year-old college student with a promising future. 

In June 2020, Vanessa was driving to meet her boyfriend for a hike in Napa. She made a left turn on a green arrow. 

At this moment, a CAL FIRE truck raced through the intersection at approximately fifty miles an hour against a red light and broadsided Vanessa’s car, resulting in a catastrophic crash. 

The force of the impact dragged Vanessa’s vehicle 50 feet down the road.  

Emergency medical personnel raced to the scene and brought Vanessa to the hospital.  

But the impact of the crash was too great. Doctors could not save her life. Vanessa never regained consciousness and died five days later from her massive head injuries. 

CHALLENGE 

Filing suit

Heinrich Law was retained by Elsa Espinosa, Vanessa’s mother, to represent her in a lawsuit against the state of California and CAL FIRE. Elsa was divorced from Vanessa’s father Robert, but they remained on good terms. Heinrich Law recommended that Robert hire his own attorney, and he engaged Lamb and Frischer based on Heinrich Law’s referral.   

The state’s defense 

For four years, the State of California, denied liability, claiming its driver acted reasonably and was not at fault. They claimed the driver was following CAL FIRE procedures and was immune from stopping at the red light because he was running “Code Three” in response to a fire. They further argued that Vanessa contributed to her death because she was under the influence of marijuana and was distracted by her phone.

HOW WE WON

Building the Case for Vanessa Espinosa 

Our goal was to get to the truth. Heinrich Law and Lamb and Frischer took more than 20 depositions and engaged numerous expert witnesses to get to the bottom of what really happened. 

Here’s how we won: 

• We deposed Napa County Sheriff Doug Coffers and his wife Holly. Moments prior to the Espinosa incident, they observed a CAL FIRE truck driving recklessly, approximately three miles away from the crash site. They were so close to the path of this truck that they were afraid for their own lives. 
• Two independent eyewitnesses closer to the incident testified that the fire truck raced past them with no siren, just prior to the crash.  
• Personnel in the fire truck testified they were not wearing ear protection at the time of the incident. Had the siren been in use, they would have worn ear protection.  
• A forensic toxicologist examined Vanessa’s blood taken immediately after the incident and concluded that Vanessa was not under the influence of marijuana.  
• A forensic technology expert performed an in-depth analysis on the data from Vanessa’s phone and proved that she had not been distracted at the time of the crash. 
• Given the evidence indicating that the siren had been turned off, we argued that the driver did NOT have immunity from stopping at the red light under California law. Further, even had the siren been in use, the driver should have slowed to 5 miles-per-hour, but instead he recklessly sped through the intersection at approximately 50 miles-per-hour.   

A FAVORABLE OUTCOME

Our team’s argument accomplished its mission and set us up to win a groundbreaking victory for Vanessa’s family.  

The case was set for a jury trial on September 16, 2024. After the pre-trial conference, suddenly and unexpectedly, the Attorney General’s Office decided that their client was at fault for this crash, and that Vanessa Espinoza did nothing wrong. This decision opened the door to resolve the case.

The parties agreed to a $15 million settlement. 

This resolution has brought justice to this beautiful family. While they will always mourn the loss of their talented daughter, they can at least hold their heads high knowing that the truth was uncovered, Vanessa did not cause her death, and that there was an admission of fault by the state of California and CAL FIRE. 

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If a loved one has been wrongfully killed, or you or a loved one has been seriously injured, please contact us.  The consultation is free to you.