Man Severely Injured by Pizza Delivery Driver
A nighttime walk to his parent’s house resulted in several life-altering injuries for Zachary Spencer when he was struck by a pizza delivery driver. The driver, Michael Hornaday, tried to brake to avoid the collision but was not able to stop before hitting Spencer with his car, immediately causing injury.
Accident Details
Spencer was 24 years old and an employee at a grocery store at the time of the incident. As a result of the collision, Spencer suffered a traumatic brain injury, two broken teeth, and multiple fractures creating $111,000 in medical expenses and leaving him unable to work for a year. He underwent surgery, dental work, and inpatient rehabilitation. His attorneys involved experts in life care planning, neuropsychology, vocational rehabilitation, neurology, and accident reconstruction. Spencer still walks with a limp, deals with pain, and is unable to read, yet he returned to his grocery store job after just one year.
A History of Negligent Driving
The Pizza Venture of San Antonio’s employee and delivery driver, Michael Hornaday, had a record of driving improperly and speeding kept by the company’s system. The computer system developed for Papa John’s Pizza franchises showed hundreds of more instances where Hornaday was speeding while out on pizza deliveries. The company failed to take necessary disciplinary action against its employee for violating the rules of the road on several occasions. They had the technology and capability to keep their employees safe but chose not to.
Rules for Pizza Delivery Drivers
In addition to having a clean driving record, pizza delivery drivers are required to adhere to road and traffic regulations. A critical job skill in this line of work is patience. Customers place orders and expect that they will arrive as fast as possible, which could put pressure on employees. Delivery drivers may face heavy traffic, impatient customers, and complicated apartment complexes, but patience is necessary for the safety of the drivers and others around them.
The Settlement
The defense’s argument was that the incident would have been prevented if Spencer had been walking against traffic, not traveling in the same direction.
Pizza Venture of San Antonio should have provided proper supervision to their employee, and Hornaday should not have been driving recklessly.
Hornaday was also found to have marijuana in his system at the time, which was charged against him. The case settled for $9,000,000.
Sacramento Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Pedestrian Accident Lawyer. Injuries sustained in pedestrian accidents can be severe or even fatal. If you or a family member has suffered serious injuries in a pedestrian accident because of a careless driver, call me for free, friendly advice at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400.
We are members of the National Association of Distinguished Counsel and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
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