SV school employee wins $2 million claim

A Scotts Valley Unified School District employee was awarded more than $2 million from a statewide insurance fund the district pays into after she sustained severe injuries in a car accident while on a school field trip in May 2007.
Shaun Egbert, a behavior specialist for the district, was awarded the money through the Northern California Regional Liability Excess Fund, also known as a “super pool,” after she suffered a shattered wrist, severed tendons in her ankle, a broken upper leg and a frozen shoulder while a passenger in a car on Highway 1 during a field trip to Wilder Ranch State Park.
“I think it’s important that anyone working for the district knows (the insurance fund) is there,” Egbert said. “I don’t think people know about it.”
The Scotts Valley School District, along with 380 other districts, pays regularly into the fund that helps cover insurance claims that other forms of insurance do not cover.
District Superintendent Susan Silver said the premium the district pays should not increase because of the claim.
The accident occurred when a vehicle crossed the center divide on Highway 1 and collided head-on with the vehicle in which Egbert was riding with a young autistic girl with Down syndrome.
The driver of the other vehicle did not carry adequate insurance to pay for Egbert’s medical bills, wage losses and suffering, so she hired the personal injury law firm of Corsiglia, McMahon and Allard, which turned to the NorCal Relief Fund in search of damages.
NorCal Relief originally denied the claim, but after two arbitration hearings, retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge John Flaherty of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, awarded Egbert damages.
“I was told this was the very first arbitration process of this kind,” attorney Robert Allard said.
Egbert is back at work and recovering from her injuries, but said she will never return to full health.