Abdallah Khader (Photo courtesy Khader family)
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM)- Applebee’s has reached a settlement in a civil lawsuit filed by the family of Abdallah Khader against the corporation seeking $10 million.
Abdallah, now six years old, needs round-the-clock care after he suffered damage to 80% of his brain when Stewart Richardson allegedly rear-ended the family car as they sat at a red light in Arlington.
Police said tests showed Richardson had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit.
Loubna Elhazarin and Fahad Khader, Abdallah’s parents, filed the lawsuit seeking over $10 million for care of Abdallah’s physical needs, loss of earnings, past medical expenses, mental anguish, and pain and suffering.
Their attorney, Charla Aldous, believes Richardson was served too much alcohol at a Mansfield Applebee’s and left intoxicated before rear-ending the family.
The amount they settled for is undisclosed, Aldous said the family will now be able to get a specially equipped van and a nurse to help with Abdallah’s constant care.
Stewart Richardson’s criminal trial has been put on hold due to appeals.
Richardson had previously been convicted of seven DWI’s in other states but a judge ruled those convictions would only be permissible in Tarrant County courts as misdemeanors instead of felonies. Had they been seen as felonies, prosecutors would have been able to seek a life sentence. The family is appealing the judge’s ruling.
