A wrongful death lawsuit filed in connection with a 2011 accident in Burlington, New Jersey, has led to $2.55 million being awarded to the estate of a man who was fatally injured. According to court documents filed in the lawsuit and judgment, the car accident occurred on August 23, 2011, when the driver of an Infinity G37 lost control of the vehicle, ran off the road, overcorrected and then collided with a tractor-trailer driving in the opposing lane on Route 206 in Southampton in Burlington County.
The victim was a passenger in the Infinity G37 being driven by a 29-year-old Richmond man, who described the vehicle as a “loaner” he had been given by a New Jersey auto dealer. Both occupants of the Infinity were extricated from the car and rushed to Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Court documents claim the victim sustained multiple internal organ injuries that led to his death at the hospital some three hours after the accident. He left a wife and two small children behind. The semi-trailer driver was uninjured in the accident.
The lawsuit was filed in March of 2012 by the deceased man’s widow against the driver, now 29-years-old, and the Ramsey Infinity and Ramsey Auto Group that had loaned the car to the driver.
The Ramsey Infiniti and Ramsey Auto Group insurance carrier agreed to pay $2.5 million in the settlement. The balance of $50,000 was paid by the driver’s insurer.
A wrongful death lawsuit can relieve a victim’s family of the financial costs inflicted by a fatal crash, but not its emotional loss. Financial compensation may cover loss of companionship, funeral and burial expenses and loss of financial earnings. Although no amount of compensation can ever ease the emotional pain, punitive damages can at least help family members move on with their lives.
Source: SiLive, “$2.55 million settlement for family of Staten Island man killed in N.J. crash,” Frank Donnelly, Feb. 16, 2014