When Roderick and Melissa Jenks volunteered at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in exchange for donations to their favorite charities, neither thought that their service would lead to a life altering injury. However, that's exactly what happened to Roderick Jenks in July of 2006. While he was volunteering at the speedway, an employee of the speedway swerved twice while driving a golf cart that Roderick was riding upon.
As a result of the swerves, Roderick was thrown off the back seat of the golf cart and his head slammed on the pavement. The severity of his brain injury required brain surgery and his life ever since has been a long struggle. His wife, Melissa, was appointed his guardian – a move that happens when someone is incapable of making decisions for their own medical care.
The couple claims that they face over $5 Million in past, present, and future medical expenses for Roderick's daily struggle to cope with basic activities of daily living.
The couple filed suit against the Speedway and other parties, including Textron, Inc., the manufacturer of the golf cart. In the last month, they settled their case against the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for an undisclosed amount. The claims of negligence they had against the speedway included failing to post speed limits and lack of proper driver training.
The case continues to trial against the golf cart manufacturer.
No amount of money will undo the harm done to Mr. Jenks, but at least now he and his wife will have something to help them with his mountain of medical costs. Her life has certainly been affected as well, and she was a co-plaintiff with a loss of consortium claim.
Comments for this article are closed.