$400,000 Settlement in New York City Cab Driver’s Death

June 19, 2014

The family of a Staten Island, N.Y., livery cab driver has settled its wrongful-death lawsuit against a dump truck company for $400,000.

The cabbie, Chandana Asoka Sundarawadu, was fatally struck on Jan. 24, 2011 while tending to his disabled vehicle on Staten Island.

His lawyer tells the Staten Island Advance that Sundarawadu’s estate sued New York Paving Inc. of Queens.

The driver of the dump truck, James Thoman of Queens, succumbed to cancer a few months after the incident.

Sundarawadu’s family argued that Thoman failed to pay attention to his surroundings when his truck struck the cabbie.

Their lawyer says the case went to trial and settled after opening statements.

The Advance says NY Paving’s lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.