Personal Injury Law

Jury awards $5.5 Million in Drunk Driving Accident

By Kirk Bernard, Esq.

A drunk driver seriously injured another motorist in a 2007 head ?on collision, and a Skagit County jury has concluded the Washington State Patrol and Whatcom County must pay $5.5 million for not doing enough to stop the drunk driver.

According to the attorney in the case, the verdict, on April 28, is the largest ever in Skagit County. The county?s second largest verdict prior was $2.4 million.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Skagit County car accident happened on Highway 542, on Jan. 4, 2007. A drunk driver crossed the center line and slammed head-on into a car driven a 22 year old woman. The woman suffered severe injuries to her legs, pelvis and wrists. With already 13 surgeries since, she is expected to need many more.

A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the injured driver in October, 2007.

"We sue drunk drivers - and those who enable them to wreak havoc on our highways. This catch-and-release system of dealing with drunk drivers must stop," said the attorney.

One interesting twist in the lawsuit was that the Washington State Patrol and Whatcom County were named as defendants.

Full post as published by Seattle Injury Blog on May 04, 2009 (boomark / email).