After four years of litigation, the lawyers at Penney & Associates have helped the parents of a wrongful death victim recover $6 million in damages against rideshare company Lyft.
In December 2017, Wyatt Zmrzel, 22, used his phone to schedule a Lyft ride from Sacramento to Loomis, California. The Lyft driver assigned to the ride responded and picked up Wyatt and his friend within minutes. The Lyft driver, who was only approved to drive for Lyft one day prior, had no previous experience driving for a rideshare service. Wyatt was his first passenger.
During the ride, the Lyft driver made several mistakes. The driver went the wrong way, taking Wyatt and his friend 20 miles off course. The driver continued to make mistakes:
Inexplicably, the Lyft driver moved from the safety of the center median, very slowly accelerating into the southbound lanes of highway 99 where his vehicle was struck by another vehicle traveling at freeway speed. The collision occurred at 10:30 PM; Wyatt succumbed to his injuries approximately one half hour later at the scene of the accident.
Wyatt’s parents retained Penney & Associates within days of the accident. A lawsuit was filed shortly thereafter.
After close to four years of investigation and discovery, a trial took place at the Sacramento County Superior Court. The jury returned a verdict against Lyft and its driver in favor of Wyatt’s parents in the amount of $6,000,000.
Frederick Penney, founding partner of Penney and Associates, discusses the details of this case in a recent article. To learn more, click here.
