A lawsuit has been settled and unspecified damages will be awarded to the parents of two young children that were killed when a UPS truck collided with the vehicle they were riding in, according to The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.
The settlement was reached within the same week the case was scheduled to be heard in court. The driver of the UPS truck, S.N.; his employer, Simplex Leasing; and the United Parcel Services (UPS) were named as defendants.
Simplex Leasing owned the truck and had employed S.N. while UPS owned the trailer that S.N. towed.
The suit was filed by K.B. and C.B. two years ago. The accident occurred on December 22, 2010.
K.B. had been at the wheel of the family's van as it was struck by the UPS semi driven by S.N. S.N. drove through a red light at the intersection of U.S. Highway 2 and Grand Forks International Airport.
Two children, eight-year-old C.B. and five-year old K.B., were killed. Two other children were injured. K.B. was hospitalized along with his youngest son, a three-year-old.
Personal injury damages, which included medical and emotional costs, were sought along with punitive damages. Court documents listed the damages to be $116,000 for medical and funeral expenses.
Non-economic damages, for the pain and suffering the parents endured over the loss of their children and for the injuries sustained by K.B. and his youngest son, were also sought. According to court documents a jury will now be focused on determining the amount of the monetary award.
Following the deaths of their children K.B. and C.B. divorced in 2011. They had, however, agreed to divide any monetary award between them, with a specific sum held back for their injured son. According to court documents the boy will be suffering for years due to his injuries.
During a December 2 ruling Judge Lawrence Jahnke allowed K.B. and C.B. to seek punitive damages from S.M. and Simplex. The judge also ruled to exclude UPS from punitive damages as the company had little control or authority of how S.N. acted.
According to K.B. and C.B., UPS had denied any liability in a pretrial statement while S.N. and Simplex had admitted their liability in the car accident.
A child's lifespan can be taken into account when compensatory damages are awarded in wrongful death cases. According to court documents in this case the tally was over 70 lost years.
Grand Forks-based personal injury attorney, Tom Omdahl, commented, "North Dakota juries are known for awarding less in damages than other states when it comes to pain and suffering."
Omdahl also said that it is not uncommon for a settlement to be reached ahead of trial as defendants prefer not to rely on a jury's favor.
Contact a personal injury lawyer for a case of wrongful death. Whatever state you reside in only a lawyer will know what amount of money to sue for in damages.