Truck Driver Thrown to the Ground in Roadside Crash Wins $7.3 Million San Bernardino Verdict

On March 18, 2020, Efrain Perez was working as a commercial truck driver when his semi broke down on a commercial road in Ontario, California, part of San Bernardino County. A mechanic from his company drove out to repair the rig where it sat at the side of the road. Perez stood beside the disabled truck, holding a hose for the mechanic, when a Freightliner driven by Jose Gomez rear-ended the stopped semi. The force of the collision threw Perez to the pavement, and his head struck the ground. He was knocked unconscious.

The crash left Perez with a traumatic brain injury that included bleeding inside the brain, along with a fractured arm. His attorneys argued that the brain injury was permanent and reshaped how he could work and live, leaving him more withdrawn and quicker to anger than he had been before. Roughly five years passed between the wreck and the trial that decided his claim.

The case went to trial in San Bernardino County Superior Court under case number CIVSB 2205461, before Judge Joseph Widman. Gomez was represented by Daniel Ip and Adrian Gragas of Litchfield Cavo. The defense told jurors the crash was unavoidable, contending that Gomez would have hit another vehicle had he changed lanes any sooner. They also argued that the disabled semi had not been maintained properly, and that Perez's brain injury was mild and had cleared up within months of the collision.

Jason Doucette and Pamela Rodriguez of The Dominguez Firm represented Perez. They worked to place full responsibility on Gomez and pushed back on the defense effort to spread blame onto Perez and his employer over the condition of the broken-down truck. The plaintiff's case was direct: Gomez rear-ended a truck that was plainly disabled and stopped for repairs, with a worker standing next to it, and the brain injury that followed was lasting rather than temporary.

On September 8, 2025, the jury returned a gross verdict of $7,291,863.73, a figure the firm reports publicly as a $7.3 million result. With interest and costs added, the firm has said the total judgment is expected to exceed $8.5 million. Before trial, the defendant's insurance carrier had declined to pay its $1 million policy limit.