Eun Ha Lee, et al v. Pupil Transportation Cooperative

LANDMARK CASE:

THE Settlement:

$23.5 Million

TRIAL ATTORNEYS:

Brian Panish, Rahul Ravipudi, Robert Glassman

CASE SYNOPSIS:

Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP attorneys Brian Panish, Rahul Ravipudi and Robert Glassman obtained a $23,500,000 settlement for the family of Hun Joon “Paul” Lee, a 19-year-old non-verbal autistic student who died after being left onboard a Whittier school bus. The driver, Armando Ramirez, was distracted by text messages from his lover and failed to ensure that Paul had exited the bus at his destination, returned to the yard where he hastily left for a sexual tryst without performing his required child check and post-trip sweep of the bus.

The settlement with Pupil Transportation Cooperative comes nearly six months after the Mr. Ramirez plead guilty to a felony charge of dependent abuse resulting in death.

Paul Lee’s death has led to significant changes in both Whittier Union High School District policy and California law regarding the safety of student bus transportation. In fact, in September of 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the “Paul Lee School Bus Safety Law” requiring child safety alarms to be installed on all school busses in the state of California. The new law goes into effect for the 2018-2019 school year.

“We are proud that Mr. and Mrs. Lee have taken steps to make sure the tragedy that has befallen them will not strike another family,” Mr. Ravipudi stated. “The Lee family and our firm will continue to be vigilant in monitoring not just the Defendants, but all school bussing operations, in a continued effort to protect students and families from needless tragedies like the death of Paul Lee.”