South Carolina Car Crash Left Boy with Cancer in Worse Health

SC- Amp.thestate.com writes that a jury found in favor of a South Carolina family in a lawsuit against a driver who caused a wreck that injured the mother and a sick two-year-old boy. The child was undergoing treatment for leukemia and had endured a successful bone marrow transplant months prior to the collision. The reports on the boy’s prognosis were positive until the time of the crash.*

The driver failed to stop at a stop sign and struck the family’s car. The violent impact led to injuries and emotional distress to the family. According to the boy’s parents, the child’s health began to deteriorate following the collision, and he passed away three months after the incident. 

A jury awarded the parents for the time they lost with their sick child. The court calculated the lost time with the boy at a rate of 37 cents per minute and totaled the amount at $141,000.

While the other driver could not possibly have known about the boy’s condition or how the crash would impact the sick child, the family stated that the driver was negligent. The position is backed by that law, which states that defendants take their plaintiffs as they are, even if that means the plaintiff is more likely to suffer injuries than the average person would be. 

It is unclear from the reports whether the court found that the crash actually contributed to the boy’s failing condition or whether the incident simply took time away from the family when their son had little time left. The result of the impact led to a full year of insurance complications for the grieving family. 

The boy’s family has started a foundation in his honor to conduct research into childhood cancer treatments.  

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:https://amp.thestate.com/news/state/south-carolina/article239991163.html and https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/south-carolina/2020/02/04/value-time-37-cents-minute-family-2-year-old-who-died/4618644002/