A gentleman was paralyzed in a car crash over 20 years ago. Many people would be overwrought with depression due to such an injury, but not this gentleman. He was a fighter and learned to cope with his condition to make a life for himself. Unfortunately, all that changed in 2008 when he fell from a platform on a paratransit bus and suffered brain damage.
If this man’s life wasn’t challenging enough, he now has lost his short-term memory and lost his sense of smell and taste due to his brain injury, according to the rosevillept.com.
It turns out the platform on the bus had a bolt missing and another bolt loose. The driver of the paratransit bus didn’t check for problems before loading the gentleman.
There is a good chance this accident probably could have been prevented if due care was taken by the bus company, MV Transportation, to properly train their employees to handle this type of situation.
A claim was filed but MV Transportation decided to take the case to court. This was after MV Transportation offered, then rescinded, a much lower settlement offer than the eventual jury award.
Fortunately, a jury realized how egregious this accident was and awarded $6.4 million in damages. These funds to will to help pay medical expenses (which are likely to be large since many brain injury victims require long-term care) and pain and suffering.
I’m glad to see a sizable jury award go to a plaintiff who suffered such a terrible brain injury. Our firm is familiar with cases involving an injured victim who suffered brain damage. Back in 2000 we represented a store clerk who suffered a traumatic brain injury after a train crashed into his store. This case went all the way to trial and we were able to secure a record $46 million verdict for our client.
PA