Facts

On Oct. 27, 2021, Ms. Rodriguez, a 65-year-old woman, was severely injured while being transported to her dialysis appointment as a passenger in a van that was owned by defendant Arise Forward Transportation. Ms. Rodriguez was a double amputee above the knees in both legs. Plaintiffs alleged that defendant failed to properly put Ms. Rodriguez's seatbelt on. Defendant then began driving and made an abrupt turn, which caused Ms. Rodriguez to fall out of her seat and land on her right hip, fracturing her right femur. She was hospitalized for five days, causing her to miss her dialysis appointments, which resulted in a decline in her overall health and led to her untimely death on Feb. 1, 2022.

Wrongful Death and Survival actions were brought on behalf of Ms. Rodriguez's children.

PLAINTIFF CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended that defendant was negligent by not properly strapping the seatbelt, which caused Ms. Rodriguez to fall on the floor. Plaintiffs also contended that as a result of the missed dialysis appointments and other adverse effects on her health, Ms. Rodriguez's kidneys were unable to regulate the minerals in her body, causing hyperkalemia, hyponatremia, and acute metabolic encephalopathy, which ultimately resulted in her suffering from a cardiac arrest.

DEFENDANT CONTENTIONS: Defendants contended that they properly restrained Ms. Rodriguez and that she did not communicate to defendant that she was not properly strapped into her seatbelt, thereby not putting him on notice that she was not buckled in properly. Defendants also disputed the fact that Ms. Rodriguez's death was related in any way to this incident since it occurred four months prior to her death and she had many preexisting health conditions.

Result

The case settled for $980,446.