Guirlyn Aviles read a letter to her father at their home in Long Beach, a month after he passed away.

“You were resting in your room, while the grandkids were playing and making noise. You enjoyed having them around,” she told ABC7.

She and her siblings are mourning their father, who can no longer share memories with them. In March 2020, a driver from Access Services, a paratransit company, left 61-year-old Guillermo Aviles Sr. at his house after his dialysis session. The family’s lawyers got a video that shows Mr. Aviles getting out of the car and walking on a ramp. He tries to pick up a backpack that the driver put on the ground and falls.

He “broke his neck and hit his head on the pothole. He was quadriplegic and stayed in the hospital for three months before he died,” attorney Raphael Javid said.

A jury decided that Access Services was negligent and partly responsible for the damage Mr. Aviles suffered. “They should have helped their riders to the door, especially the dialysis patients,” Javid said.

The family got $17.5 million from a second jury this month. The agency refused to comment on the ongoing case.

“Losing a parent is priceless. We wish we had our parent with us,” Aileen Aviles said.
“You want to look after your family, especially the elderly. Enjoy the time you have with them because you never know what will happen,” Alexander Aviles said.

The seven siblings, who lost their mother before their father, are coping with their loss. They miss their parents on regular and special days, and they wanted to respect and support them as they grew older.
“This is supposed to be our family home, but it doesn’t feel like it,” Crystal Sararana said, remembering the happy Christmas celebrations with her parents.

Ulyses Guiller E. Aviles, the oldest sibling, celebrated his birthday today.

“I prayed to God and thanked him for another year,” he said. “I told my parents that it was my birthday and that I would visit them later.”

His parents came from the Philippines and lived a simple life. They worked hard to bring their kids to the U.S. “Dad used a bicycle to take mom to her job,” Guillerlyne Karen Aviles remembered.

Mr. Aviles retired from his job as a bus driver.

“We love you and miss you,” Ulyses Guiller E. Aviles said. “We got the verdict. We’re glad. We’re almost there.”