On Sunday, a former UFC fighter was killed when he was struck by a rideshare driver. The incident, which occurred in the city of Belém, in Brazil, allegedly occurred after the passenger, Rodrigo de Lima, exited the rideshare vehicle. According to ESPN, de Lima and the driver of the vehicle, Jefferson Roger Maciel, got into some type of argument. Maciel allegedly struck de Lima from behind while de Lima was walking away, causing the death of de Lima. It is not presently known what rideshare company the driver was working for at the time of the incident.
Information coming out of Brazil so far is pretty scarce, but it appears the rideshare driver struck de Lima from behind. Assaults like this can lead to the victim falling and striking his or her head on concrete or pavement, which can lead to a traumatic brain injury. When we have seen incidences like this lead to a death, it is usually due to a severe traumatic brain injury involving bleeding of the brain.
Head injuries are very serious and a concussion, which is a traumatic brain injury, can lead to very serious complications and even death in certain circumstances. It is very important that if you (or someone you know) suffer a concussion, that you (or the other person), get checked out by a doctor right away. Often a CT scan of the brain is needed to determine if there is any brain bleeding. Sometimes the doctor can determine from the examination that a CT scan will not be necessary. This is determined by the results of the testing the doctor uses to examine the severity of the brain injury.
If it turns out the driver who caused this injury was working for a rideshare company, such as Uber or Lyft, the family of de Lima will be able to make a wrongful death claim against Uber or Lyft for the wrongful death damages that the driver caused. Our wrongful death lawyers handle Uber and Lyft wrongful death claims.