Cabbie Wins $1 Million in Shooting by Passenger

A cab driver won a $1-million settlement in a suit that alleged he was shot and paralyzed by a passenger who his dispatcher should never have sent him to pick up, lawyers said Monday.

In his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, Magdy Ibrahim, 25, claimed that Diversified Paratransit, which does business as Paul’s Yellow Cab, was negligent when it dispatched him to pick up two passengers Dec. 11, 1988, in Chico.

According to the lawsuit, another Diversified cab was first sent to pick up the two men, who offered cocaine in exchange for a ride. That cabbie refused and radioed the cab company not to send any more drivers to answer the call, said a spokesman for Ibrahim’s lawyer, Sanford Gage.

But Ibrahim was sent to the Chico site. He refused the offer of cocaine, but agreed to drive the men to Carson when they promised to pay him later and gave him a $40 deposit. Once in Carson, one of the passengers shot Ibrahim five times.