Drinking and Driving Lawsuits
Estey Bomberger stays up to date on civil cases involving drunk drivers across the country. Below are links to news stories of some recent drunk driving cases and their outcomes in court or in a settlement:
Kern County Jury Awards $31 Million to Sisters Injured by Drunk Driver: A jury in Kern County, CA, awarded $31 million to a 16-year-old and her 25-year-old sister who were hit by a drunk driver who ran a stop sign in June 2007. Toxicology found the driver, Gustavo Torres, had been driving with a blood alcohol content of .16 (twice the legal limit). Torres walked away from the accident without serious injuries. Read the story at Bakersfieldnow.com (February 2, 2010).
Florida Jury Awards $330 Million To Family Of Child Killed By Drunk Driver: A jury in Hillsborough County, Florida awarded more than $330 million in civil damages to the mother of a 13-year-old killed in a drunk-driving accident in April 2007. The accident occurred on April 12, 2007, when Shelby Taylor Hagman was riding in a minivan with her grandparents and the drunk driver, Christopher Marcone, ran a stop sign and plowed into the side of the van. Marcone's blood alcohol level was 0.207, more than twice the level at which a driver is presumed impaired. Read the story at TampaBay.com (October 1, 2009).
$33 Million Awarded to Boy Injured by Drunk Driver: A jury in Lake County, Illinois, awarded $33 million to a 19-year-old passenger injured when the drunk 18-year-old driving the car he was in lost control of the vehicle and crashed. The injured passenger was paralyzed as a result of the accident. Read the story at IllinoisABC7News.com (March 5, 2009).
$89 Million Awarded to Family of Drunk Driver Victim: A jury in Franklin County, MO, awarded $89 million to the family of a 28-year-old man killed in a 2008 crash caused by a drunk driver. At the time of the fatal crash, the drunk driver's license had been suspended for another DUI incident that occurred just several months earlier. Read the story at EMissourian.com (December 4, 2009).
Jury Awards Paralyzed N. Texan More than $20 Million From Drunk Driver: A jury in Wise County, TX awarded $20 million to a Texas A&M University senior who was paralyzed after being struck by a drunk driver on Highway 380 near Decatur. Jackie Murphree was paralyzed as a result of the crash and suffered permanent brain damage. Read the story at CBS11tv.com (February 23, 2010).
$20 Settlement Reached Against Insurer in Drunk Driving Accident Bad Faith Case: A $20 million settlement was received after a Pennsylvania road worker was left quadriplegic after he was struck by a drunk driver on January 17th, 2001 in Warminster. The drunk driver had just left a tavern owned by his parents and the settlement was reached against the insurer of the tavern. Read the story at insurancejournal.com. (July 2, 2007).
$23.5 Million Settlement for Young Girl Injured by Drunk Driver After Football Game:A 2-year-old girl who was left a quadriplegic following an accident caused by a drunken Giants football fan in 1999 received a $23.5 million settlement from Aramark Corp, which sells beer at Giants Stadium. The 30-year-old drunk driver's blood-alcohol level in a test taken about 40 minutes after the accident was .266 percent — more than three times the legal limit, according to court documents. Read the story at NorthJersey.com (December 3, 2008).
