Madera man awarded millions for car crash that left him paralyzed from the neck down
A Madera County jury awarded the victim of a 2015 car crash a record-setting judgment of $21.5 million.
The jury spent about an hour deliberating before announcing its decision last Tuesday.
Jose Maclovio, who was 18 years old at the time of the accident, was a passenger in a Chevrolet Astro Van that was rear ended by a vehicle driven by Craig Alan Brewer of Madera, according to a California Highway Patrol police report.
Maclovio was a rear passenger in the van that was stopped on Avenue 15, as it waited for a northbound freight train to pass through.
The CHP’s report said Brewer’s vehicle, a Dodge Ram van, was traveling about 55 mph just before crashing into the other vehicle.
Maclovio suffered major injuries to his back, causing him to be paralyzed from the neck down.
Although the CHP report stated Brewer was at fault for the rear-end collision, his insurer, State Farm, offered to pay Maclovio the full $25,000 limit on Brewer’s policy, according to Maclovio’s attorneys with the Dunnion Law firm. There was no further compensation, so he filed a civil lawsuit.
Maclovio was represented by Denis Delja, and Connell Dunnion, of the Dunnion law firm who sued for general damages, including loss of enjoyment of life, grief, emotional distress and mental suffering.
Dunnion said the award was a record for a Madera County lawsuit involving a car crash.
“Maclovio was a young father who dropped out of school and took a tough job in the fields so he could provide for his new family,” Dunnion said. “His quadriplegia has taken away his ability to be the providing and protecting father he wanted to be.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Madera man awarded millions for car crash that left him paralyzed from the neck down."
