It is with a heavy heart that we report two separate Black Car drivers were killed on the job this summer. Although it was never written into the laws governing the financial responsibilities the New York Black Car Fund (NYBCF) must adhere to when such a tragedy occurs, the organization voluntarily added a $50,000 Death Benefit to help ease the burden faced by the surviving families.
In June, Mohammed Hossain was T-boned and killed performing a job for Lyft. He left behind Wife, Kulsama Jahan Baby, and three children, Samin, Lybah and Labin.
In July, there was another high profile accident in the Hamptons that claimed the life of Farhan Zahid, who was driving for Uber.
The dependents of both victims were eligible for the NYBCF’s $50,000 Driver Death benefit, a policy the organization adopted in June of 2016, when driver Roohul Ameen was struck and killed by a vehicle while he was tending to his car on the side of the Long Island Expressway.
Shortly after Mr. Ameen’s passing, NYBCF Executive Director, Ira Goldstein, recommended the creation of a driver death benefit to the Fund’s Board of Directors. The benefit was meant to financially support the families of Covered Drivers in the event of a work-related death. The Board approved the benefit and it was awarded to Mr. Ameen’s family.
“We established this benefit to help ease the pain experienced by the families of our covered drivers in the event of tragedy,” explains Mr. Goldstein. “This is something we did voluntary; it is not required under workers’ compensation law.”
According to the NYBCF, the Driver Death Benefit works in conjunction with an accepted Workers’ Compensation claim. If a driver passes away while on the job for a Member Base of the Black Car Fund, their loved ones are eligible to receive a $50,000 payment – in addition to any other death benefit that a Covered Driver’s family may receive under workers’ compensation law. If a driver passes away with a last will and testament, the payments often go to the administrator of the estate. If they pass away intestate, surviving relatives are asked to file for an administrator to be appointed in probate court.
For more information about the NYBCF, call 212.269.4800 or visit www.nybcf.org.
