Ventura County Jury Awards $9 Million in Wrongful Death of Teen Struck by Work Truck

Auto v. Pedestrian – Wrongful Death

Jon Gambill and Michele Gambill, et al. v. Rene Frank Jimenez Jr., et al. (Ventura County Super. Ct. No. 56-2020-00546979-CU-PO-VTA): A Ventura County Superior Court jury awarded $9 million to the parents of Austin Gambill, a 16-year-old Ventura High School student who was fatally struck by a work truck while crossing Seaward Avenue in Ventura.

On September 17, 2019, Austin Gambill was walking home from school when he entered a marked crosswalk. Defendant Rene Frank Jimenez Jr., operating a Ford F-250 truck owned by his employer M&B Services, Inc., struck Gambill, causing fatal injuries. Plaintiffs Jon and Michele Gambill brought the wrongful death action on behalf of themselves and their family, seeking damages for the loss of their son.

Plaintiffs contended that Jimenez was negligent in failing to yield to a pedestrian lawfully within the crosswalk and that M&B Services bore vicarious liability for the driver’s actions. Plaintiffs sought both economic and non-economic damages, emphasizing the immeasurable loss suffered by Austin’s parents and siblings.

Defendants disputed liability, contending that Austin may have been inattentive while entering the crosswalk and challenging the scope of the claimed damages. Despite these arguments, the jury returned a unanimous verdict awarding $9 million in non-economic damages for loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, and moral support.

Plaintiffs were represented by The Simon Law Group. Defendants Jimenez and M&B Services were represented by McNeil Tropp & Braun LLP.