An Ohio couple was recently awarded $5,465,000 by a jury in a lawsuit stemming from a 2008 car accident in which their son was killed. Their son, who was in his last semester of college at the time of the accident, was struck by a truck that had failed to stop at a stop sign. He suffered a fractured skull and internal bleeding from the impact, and died of cardiac arrest on the way to a local hospital.
The young man’s parents initiated a wrongful death suit against the truck driver, the truck owners, and the company that employed the driver, seeking to hold those parties accountable for the loss of their son.
The grieving plaintiffs received a favorable verdict in court, and now have been awarded a multimillion-dollar jury award, but their legal battle may not be over yet. While they were able to settle with the driver’s employer out of court for $850,000, the Ohio couple claims to have received nothing from the other two defendants’ respective insurance companies, and the defendants have filed post-trial motions. An appeal by the defendants might cause the lawsuit to continue and the original award may or may not stand.
It is tragic that these parents lost their son because of another’s inattention. A monetary award can never make amends for the loss of a loved one, but in cases such as this the victims’ families are hopefully able to obtain some measure of comfort through the legal system. Going through the legal system can take quite some time when seeking compensation for the loss of a loved one, so it is advisable to have qualified assistance to help you through the process.
Source: New Castle News, “Wrongful death suit yields $5.4 million jury award,” Debbie Wachter, March 29, 2014