$1.55M Settlement to Family of School Bus Driver Killed in 2016 Crash

By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on June 15th, 2018

The family of a New Jersey school bus driver who was killed in November 2016 when her bus was struck head-on by an SUV on a Middletown, N.J., roadway has reached a $1.55 million settlement in connection with her death.

The school bus driver, Lorraine Filozof, 62, of Woodbridge, was pulled from the wreckage by a witness to the crash and by a bus aide who was also traveling on the bus, but died later from her injuries, according to a June 12 story by NJ.com.

The impact of the collision on Nov. 14, 2016 caused the 10-passenger school bus to burst into flames as Filozof was being removed from the vehicle. “Filozof was conscious and in severe pain before she died,” according to the family’s negligence lawsuit, which was filed against the driver of the SUV.

The driver of the SUV, who lost control of the vehicle and was also injured in the incident, was not charged in the crash by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. A student aboard the bus and the 61-year-old school bus aide who helped get Filozof out of the crushed vehicle were also injured, the story reported. The bus was owned by R. Helfrich & Son of Hazlet.

About $1.25 million of the settlement was covered by insurance policies held by the SUV driver from the American Automobile Association. The estate also received $250,000 and $50,000 payments from two other insurance policies.

Legal cases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of similar kinds of cases that MyPhillyLawyer attorneys regularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to discuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality requirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one to illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.

We here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in any kind of vehicle incident anywhere in the United States. We pledge to make sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and experienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a professional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Call MyPhillyLawyer at 215-227-2727 or toll-free at 1-(866) 352-4572 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

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