Guia C. De Guzman, a healthy, active 81-year-old retiree, was crossing the street when she was struck by a school bus. She flew through the air and landed on the concrete. She died shortly after impact. She was a wife, a mother, and a grandmother and her life was filled with family and memorable experiences.
Today, the Insider Exclusive investigation news team is on location in Kew Gardens, New York, with Spencer H. Herman, at his law offices to discuss the legal challenges he faced in representing the De Guzman family in a new Network TV Special, “JUSTICE IN AMERICA – Guia C. De Guzman’s Story” .
Despite the fact that the bus’s dash cam video clearly showed they were “100% liable” for Guia’s tragic and untimely death, under New York Law, when someone dies under circumstances similar to Guia’s, the surviving family’s recovery for wrongful death is largely limited to the financial loss, suffered by those who were financially dependent on the decedent.
Recovery to the surviving relatives for their emotional pain and suffering and grief are not permitted under New York’s 160-year-old antiquated law. But also under New York Law, recovery for provable pre-impact terror and post-accident conscious pain and suffering is permitted.
The challenge was to maximize the settlement value, and in this special edition of the Justice in America Network TV Series, Spencer shares with us how he successfully settled the case for the sum of $700,000.
You can get more information on this case and others like it from Spencer H. Herman at the Law Offices of Spencer H. Herman, P.C. https://www.shhermanlaw.com/ and (718) 897-2282