The Prince George’s County Public School system appears poised to appeal the court’s ruling. In a statement to NBC Washington, the district said: “No judgment has been entered in this case. It is still under litigation.”
NBC Washington notes that civil case settlements involving school systems are often capped at around $100,000, meaning that the Davis family’s $90 million win may not last for long.
SOurce: Family Awarded $90M: Family Of Ashley Davis Wins Wrongful Death Suit Against Prince George's County School Board By Tom Barrabi
The family of Ashley Davis sued the Prince George's County Board of Education after she died of her injuries from the Sept. 1, 2009 crash. An attorney for Davis's parents, John Costello, argued that the school system did not provide safe and adequate transportation.
The Washington Post reports a six-member jury handed down the wrongful death verdict this month. Costello says he expects the school system to appeal.
School system spokesman Briant Coleman said he could not comment on the case because it is pending.
Source: Ashley Davis family awarded $90M for fatal crash by Associated Press
The victim’s family being awarded $90m as compensation has surprised a few locals, who claim that the compensatory amount is disproportionate, for which the local taxpayers will have to be burdened. The critics of the family being awarded $90m have expressed genuine condolences over the terrible death of Ashley Davis but have voiced that the excessive compensatory amount could led to cuts in district school funding. Ashley Davis was struck on September 1, 2009, by a Lincoln Continental car as her classmates eyed the tragic event. The schoolgirl passed away two weeks subsequently.
John Costello, the lawyer for the family of the killed Ashley Davis, has expressed to NBC Washington that Prince George’s County School Board was lax as regards securing Ashley Davis. As per the lawyer, the County School Board had adopted the policy of picking up Ashley Davis on her own side of the street. But the County School Board never implemented that policy, compelling her to cross the street, for which she got killed. An original bus repeatedly failed to stop at the correct place.
At the end of the Ashley Davis wrongful death trial, the family was awarded $90m plus funeral costs and medical expenditures. As per court documents, the school board failed to present a safe bus stop for students on the north side of the road. John Costello remarked that the jury was unhappy over the school board’s policy not being followed for a week, because of which a high school freshman was killed. The lawyer has predicted that the County School Board would appeal the verdict. As per NBC, verdicts in cases against a municipality or school system are normally capped around $100,000.
Source: Family awarded $90m for Maryland school negligence which caused teen’s death By Marion Dean