Grieving Mother Receives $50 million Payout on Behalf of Son Pushed in Front of DART Bus
Grieving Mother Receives $50 million Payout on Behalf of Son Pushed in Front of DART Bus
Grieving Mother Receives $50 million Payout on Behalf of Son Pushed in Front of DART Bus https://www.cmzlaw.net/wp-content/themes/corpus/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg 150 150 CMZ Law Lufkin/Houston https://www.cmzlaw.net/wp-content/themes/corpus/images/empty/thumbnail.jpgFollowing a truly heinous chain of events, a grieving Dallas-area woman was awarded $50 million in a wrongful death lawsuit seeking redress on behalf of her child who was fatally pushed in front of a DART bus in 2011. Though she only originally sought $20 million on behalf of her son, the woman ultimately received more than double that amount after a jury heard testimony describing the horrific attack the child endured immediately prior to his demise. All in all, the court concluded that the perpetrators were grossly negligent and acted with conscious disregard for human life – resulting in the historic eight-figure judgment.
On November 22, 2011, while standing on the DART platform awaiting his transportation, the 19-year-old victim was beaten, spat upon, and attacked by four 12- to 14-year-old individuals looking to rob the victim of his cell phone. Following the attack on the platform, the perpetrators pushed the victim onto the tracks where he became “hooked” to a moving DART vehicle, which dragged him over 30 feet before coming to a stop. The victim died from blunt force trauma inflicted both by the impact of the train and the savage beating inflicted by the robbers.
In 2013, DART settled with the family for an undisclosed amount. The boys responsible for the death of the victim remain behind bars, making the $50 million judgment, unfortunately, a symbolic one – as it is unlikely the victim’s mother will ever receive that amount. According to reports, the settlement with DART occurred following the mother’s detailed accusations that the transit line did nothing to prevent or stop the deadly assault on her child – particularly considering the fact DART authorities were aware that the teenagers were robbing travelers and had attempted a similar robbery earlier that day.
In a statement by the victim’s mother: “[u]nfortunately, this is about four families, and mine making five, that have been robbed by this terrible tragedy. Our kids have been taken away and it doesn’t matter if they’re 6 feet under or 600 miles away. Our kids are gone behind senselessness that could have been avoided.”
Contact a personal injury attorney today!
To learn more about the personal injury or wrongful death process, please contact Chandler Mathis & Zivley in Lufkin (1-800-657-2230) or Houston (1-877-739-7744) today.
