Family Receives Settlement After Ridesharing Accident

In November 2016, Jeffrey and Nancy Rizer* were traveling home from school with their mother when an automobile driven by Guillermo Flores ran a red light and T-boned their 2014 Volvo. At the time of the accident, Mr. Flores was driving a vehicle on behalf of a ridesharing transportation network company. The impact was significant and threw Mrs. Rizer’s vehicle across 2 lanes of traffic.

Fire rescue arrived at the scene and transported the children to an emergency room while Mrs. Rizer was taken to a different emergency room. All were discharged from the hospital, but Jeffrey was diagnosed with a fractured humerus and Nancy was diagnosed with a fractured clavicle and sternum. Mrs. Rizer was spared of any significant injury except for painful bumps and bruises.

Thereafter, Jeffrey and Nancy received physical therapy with a local pediatric orthopedic at Miami Children’s Hospital. Mrs. Rizer followed up with her own medical care and was treated for her orthopedic injuries. However, with mounting medical bills and the lack of health insurance, Mrs. Rizer and her husband sought the legal representation of David Sampedro. David contacted the representatives of this ridesharing transportation network company, but its insurance representative failed to give the Rizers the proper attention that they deserved. Accordingly, David filed suit.

Shortly after the suit was filed, the ridesharing transportation network company agreed to resolve the matter for a confidential sum of money. The Rizers were able to use the funds that they received to pay for all of their medical care and treatment and compensate them for the injuries. The Rizers will also use the settlement funds on behalf of their children to help fund their future college education.

Because of the amount of the confidential settlement, the court needed to approve the settlement funds to ensure that it was in the best interest of Jeffrey and Nancy. The Rizers have had the opportunity to turn this unsettling event – that caused significant and permanent injuries – to not only compensate their children for a lifetime of pain and suffering but to also secure their future college education.