Jury Verdict Submission & Research

On July 29, 2011, Harvey Chernikoff, a 51-year-old mentally disabled man, choked to death on a sandwich while riding a paratransit bus for the handicapped in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bus driver, Jay Farrales, did not stop Chernikoff from eating, even though the owner of the bus, First Transit, Inc., had rules against eating and drinking on the bus. In addition, First Transit required its drivers to scan interior mirrors every five seconds while driving. Although Chernikoff was the only passenger on the bus at the time of the incident, Farrales failed to notice that Chernikoff was slowly choking to death behind him.

On May 31, 2013, Chernikoff's parents Jack and Elaine Chernikoff filed an action against defendants, Farrales, First Transit, Inc., and Laidlaw Transit Services, Inc. d/b/a First Transit, in the Nevada District Court for Clark County. Plaintiffs asserted claims of negligence, respondeat superior, as well as punitive damages and negligent hiring, retention and supervision.

On June 25, 2015, defendants tendered a $ 100,000.00 offer of judgment, which was declined by plaintiffs. The matter proceeded to a jury trial the following February. Plaintiffs argued that Harvey's death might have been avoided if the driver had followed the company's own rules and if that same driver had been trained in basic first aid and CPR methods.  On Feb. 29, 2016, the jury reached a verdict in plaintiffs' favor, awarding them a reported $ 15,000,000.00 for the family's loss of Harvey along with the pain and suffering Harvey endured before he died. According to information provided by plaintiffs' counsel, Benjamin Cloward of Cloward Hicks & Brasier,  the jury returned the verdict following 30 minutes of deliberation. 

In addition to Cloward, the Chernikoff family was represented by Alison Brasier and Jonathan Hicks (also of the Cloward Hicks & Brasier firm in Las Vegas), as well as Charles Allen of the Charles Allen Law Firm based in Atlanta.