A jury awarded a former JCPS student $2.4 million for brain injuries sustained in two 2018 crashes.
A jury has ordered Jefferson County Public Schools to pay $1.2 million in taxpayer funds to a former student who suffered brain injuries in two separate 2018 bus crashes.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – A jury has directed Jefferson County Public Schools to pay $1.2 million to a former student injured in two school bus crashes, with the payment coming from taxpayer funds as the district confronts a $188 million budget shortfall.
The jury awarded Nicole Josue a total of $2.4 million for brain injuries linked to the 2018 crashes. According to Nick Naiser, the attorney representing Josue’s family, Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) is responsible for half of the settlement, while insurance will cover the remaining amount.
Naiser said his client experiences headaches, sensitivity to noise and light, dizziness, and emotional challenges as a result of the brain injury.
“There’s some emotional issues, unfortunately, that are associated with it,” he said. “Memory issues, concentration issues, issues regulating emotion. Her father described it like she was a different girl after this. It’s not something that can be fixed like a broken arm.”
Settlement dispute
Naiser said his legal team presented evidence showing Josue suffered brain injuries from the August 29 and December 13, 2018 crashes, but JCPS and Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut chose to take the case to trial instead of settling.
He explained that the insurance policy was intended to serve as a safeguard for students when at-fault drivers lack adequate coverage, which he said applied in this case.
“It basically applies when at fault drivers do not have enough insurance coverage, which is what happened in this case,” he said. “Unfortunately, instead of it acting as a safety net, it just turned into a stone wall of delay, deny and defend by the insurance company.”
Trial outcome
Naiser said his team attempted to negotiate an out-of-court settlement, but attorneys for JCPS and the insurance company opted to proceed with a trial.
“This is not a case where this was a surprise,” he said. “They saw that the proof was clearly landing in our favor. They saw that we had two board-certified medical experts, both of whom evaluated our client, both of whom found very clear signs and symptoms and objective test findings indicating a brain injury. There was no discussion of settlement, no discussion of using this insurance and having the insurance pay like they should have. They wanted a trial and they got one.”
Naiser added that JCPS presented medical evidence through a psychologist who, he said, did not evaluate, speak with, or examine Josue.
“It made their case virtually impossible to defend, right?” he said.
The jury ultimately returned a verdict of slightly more than $2.4 million, which Naiser noted is more than 80 times the final pretrial offer of $30,000. He said JCPS must pay about $1.2 million before insurance coverage applies, and that portion will come from taxpayer funds.
“There was no reason to go through this trial,” he said. “JCPS purchased insurance for this very reason to pay in cases like this and it’s very frustrating as a taxpayer for that insurance to not live up to its end of the bargain and for the school to then be on the hook for far more money than what it should be, particularly in today’s environment where JCPS has issues with its budget.”
Naiser said his team was informed during negotiations that, had JCPS and the insurance company accepted an earlier settlement offer, the district would have paid about $500,000, with insurance covering the remainder.
In a written statement to WAVE News, a JCPS spokesperson said:
“We don’t comment on settlement discussions. Plaintiff counsel’s description is not a complete account of the case. A final judgement has not yet been entered. JCPS is reviewing the verdict and next steps and we will follow the appropriate legal process.”
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