Featured
Jury awards $36 million to Valencia County family in 2017 fatal crash
Published
Modified
A Santa Fe jury awarded $36 million to a Valencia County family that filed a lawsuit against an insurance company following a 2017 fatal head-on collision that took the life of a Rio Communities woman and injured her 4-year-old nephew.
Jurors found that the woman killed in the collision had purchased a $1 million State Farm insurance policy less than a week before the crash and awarded the family $12 million in damages and an additional $24 million in bad faith and breach-of-contract damages, court records show.
The $36 million award includes a $20 million punitive damage award against State Farm Automobile Insurance, according to the verdict form.
Phone messages left last week for State Farm鈥檚 attorney, Todd Schwarz, were not immediately returned.
The Sept. 2, 2017, two-car collision on N.M. 47 in Valencia County killed Andrea Lovato, 30, and caused serious injuries to her nephew, who was riding in the back seat, according to the complaint.
The 1st Judicial District Court verdict rendered on Oct. 31 is one of the largest 鈥渂ad faith鈥� awards against an insurance company made by a New Mexico jury, said Shane Maier, an attorney for Lovato鈥檚 family.
鈥淲e understand that it鈥檚 the second-highest bad faith verdict in our state鈥檚 history,鈥� Maier said.
The 2020 lawsuit said that Lovato was driving a 2017 Nissan north on U.S. 47 when it collided with a car traveling southbound in Lovato鈥檚 lane of traffic, the lawsuit contends.
The oncoming vehicle was driving 70 mph in a 35 mph zone, Maier said. An accident reconstruction of the crash shows that both drivers 鈥渕irrored each other鈥� by veering into the southbound lane moments before the impact, resulting in a head-on collision, he said.
The suit includes no information about the condition of Anita Nieto, the other driver involved in the crash. Messages left for Nieto鈥檚 attorney, Kristin Groman, were not returned last week.
Lovato鈥檚 4-year-old nephew, Christopher Chavez, remained in the wreckage until he was extricated by emergency responders, Maier said.
鈥淗e has a scar across his stomach from having to undergo emergency surgery where they had to open up his abdominal cavity to stop internal bleeding,鈥� he said of the boy. 鈥淗e鈥檚 very scared of being in cars now, understandably.鈥�
The $36 million judgment also includes a $6 million damage award to the boy as a result of the crash, according to the verdict.
Just five days before the collision, Lovato contacted a State Farm agent and upgraded her insurance coverage from $25,000 to $1 million, Maier said.
After Lovato鈥檚 death, State Farm alleged that her $25,000 policy limit remained in force, he said. State Farm also alleged that Lovato was entirely at fault for the collision.
Lovato鈥檚 mother later found the declaration page of the upgraded $1 million insurance policy that had been mailed to Lovato鈥檚 home, Maier said.
Jurors specified in their verdict that State Farm鈥檚 contract provided $1 million in coverage for Lovato鈥檚 vehicle, not $25,000 coverage claimed by the company, the verdict form shows. Jurors also found that each driver shared 50% responsibility for the collision, it said.
