Facts

On May 31, 2017, employees of defendant Hacienda La Puente Unified School District removed decedent, plaintiff's son (a down's syndrome 8-year-old special needs child) from his adapted stroller and placed him in a regular classroom chair, and secured him to it with a gait belt. Decedent pushed himself backwards, hit his head on the ground, broke his neck, and died days later.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs sued defendant Hacienda La Puente Unified School District for wrongful death alleging general negligence arguing that decedent should never have been removed from his adapted stroller.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant's denied liability claiming they were told to put decedent in the classroom chair by his physical therapist, that teachers were closely monitoring the decedent when the incident occurred, that placing decedent in the chair was permitted by his Individualized Education Plan (IEP), and that decedent had an undiagnosed, very rare cervical spine abnormality which caused his death. Defendant also claimed decedent had a significantly reduced life expectancy due to the fact that he had an extremely complicated pre-existing medical history including several years of hospitalization, congenital heart condition, uncontrolled seizures, and severe respiratory issues.

Settlement Discussions

On or about March 2020, plaintiffs' initial offer to compromise was $6,999,998, which was ultimately denied by defendant. On or about March 2022, defendants' offer to compromise was $5,000,000, which was ultimately denied by plaintiffs. In June of 2022, after expert depositions had concluded, defendants offered plaintiffs $18,000,000 which was ultimately accepted by plaintiffs.

Damages

Plaintiffs only claimed noneconomic damages, wrongful death damages. No economic damages were sought.

Result

The case settled for $18,400,000