Isuzu to Pay Victim of Crash $5.3 Million

A former Ventura College student won $5.3 million in a civil suit against Isuzu Motors after a rollover accident in a sport-utility vehicle left the young woman with an amputated leg and extensive brain damage.

An attorney for Irene Gutierrez said that Isuzu failed to properly test its Isuzu Rodeo for rollover crashes.

“As a consumer attorney, I hope this verdict becomes a part of the chorus of verdicts across the country that pushes companies in the direction of consumer safety,” said attorney Bruce Broillet.

Gutierrez was one of four passengers in the Rodeo on March 21, 1996. Sitting in the front passenger seat with her seat belt fastened, Gutierrez, then 20, was traveling west on Highway 126 about 65 mph on her way to a birthday party when the driver lost control.

The vehicle began to roll, coming to rest in the roadway. Gutierrez suffered a crushed leg and head trauma, Broillet said. No one else in the car was badly injured.

Gutierrez’s leg was amputated below the knee, and she suffered permanent frontal-lobe disorders that left her with memory loss and impaired judgment, Broillet said.

“She can hold down a job, but she will never be able to be a nurse, which was her lifelong dream when this happened,” Broillet said.

Evidence presented in Ventura County Superior Court included film of a 1995 Isuzu Rodeo forced to make hard turns at 42 mph. In each instance, the car tipped onto two wheels, Broillet said.

Gutierrez and her family were pleased with the award, Broillet said, which will be used to cover medical bills and to compensate her for lost future earnings.

“This has been a terrible tragedy, but hopefully now this won’t happen to somebody else,” Broillet said.

The jury delivered the verdict Friday.