A judge has approved a $60,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought against two companies on behalf of a special-needs student who was allegedly punched in the face by his transportation driver in 2021 after the student started having behavioral problems.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Steven A. Ellis approved the petition on Thursday. Both Help for Brain Injured Children Inc. and Jorge’s Get Around Transport Inc. will evenly split the costs of the accord.
The plaintiff’s mother, acting as his guardian in the complaint, brought the complaint on her autistic son’s behalf in October 2022. The suit stated that Jorge’s Get Around was contracted by the Montebello Unified School District to transport the student, now 22, to Help for Brain Injured Children, a La Habra special-needs school, on Sept. 16, 2021. The MUSD had developed an individualized education program for the student.
The student was riding in a van driven by a Jorge’s employee who lacked training to support adults with special needs the plaintiff “suffered an episode that was a manifestation of his disability,” according to the petition.
The driver reacted to the student’s behavior by punching him in the face, the petition stated. Along with emotional distress, the student suffered a bloody lip as well as facial soreness and numbness, the petition stated.
The net balance to the student after deductions for attorneys’ fees and other costs will be about $38,400, the petition stated.