Man Crippled in Car Crash Settles for $12 Million

A Moreno Valley man left quadriplegic after a car he was riding in spun out of control and crashed into a palm tree here has won a $12-million settlement from the city of Riverside and Volkswagen of America, the man’s attorney said Tuesday.

Conditions of the settlement, reached Monday, include that Lawrence Doiron, 21, receive a $2-million cash payment, $12,000 each month for the rest of his life, and lump-sum payments at five-year intervals ranging from $150,000 to $800,000, said his attorney, Brian Panish.

The accident occurred on Oct. 12, 1984, when the then-17-year-old high school student was a passenger in a Volkswagen Beetle driven by a friend, Panish said. The car went out of control as it crossed a pool of water apparently caused by a faulty city sprinkler system in the street’s center divider, Panish said. Doiron’s spine was severed when his seat broke loose and he was hurled into the rear of the vehicle.

The city alleged that the pool of water was similar to a rain condition and not dangerous. Volkswagen maintained the car was not defective.

Lawyer Anthony Serritella, who represented Riverside, said the award was reached “without admission of liability by the city.”