A woman was ejected from a car and struck by another car as she lay in the roadway in Duval County, Florida. Tanya Sauers was a passenger in a car driven by David Luyando when she alleged he carelessly drove his car and Tanya was ejected through the passenger door.
She claimed that Luyando allegedly left the scene and left Tanya in the roadway, where she was struck by a car driven by Jessica Gregory. Ronita alleged that Luyando was allegedly drunk at the time of the accident. Luyando argued that Tanya was drunk and careless and that was the cause of her death. Ronita and Luyando agreed that Tanya’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit in Florida.
In Florida, the parents of someone killed in a car accident may be able to attempt to get money for pain and suffering if the person killed is not married and has no children. In this case, Tanya was most likely single and had no children. If they want to make a claim or lawsuit against the alleged drunk driver, the survivors would need to choose a personal representative (PR) who can bring a claim for medical bills and funeral expenses. The PR is usually a family member. The PR can also make a claim for the pain and suffering for each of the parents.
In Florida, if the jury finds that the person who caused the accident was drunk, the jury can award punitive damages which are designed to punish the drunk driver. In deciding how much money to give each parent for pain and suffering, the jury can consider how close each parent was to their child. It will be interesting to see how much the wrongful death settlement is for in this car accident case.