Personal Injury Law

Lethal Mix of Booze and Bikes Leads to Wrongful Death Lawsuit

By guest-writer

The grieving parents of a young student who died in a tragic alcohol-related accident have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against two former college students and the bar that allegedly served them too much liquor.

The accident occurred near the University of Wisconsin-Stout, outside a bar called the Log Jam. That night, the two students named in the lawsuit, Jedidiah McGlasson and Jared Britton, had allegedly been drinking heavily with other members of the university’s hockey team.

According to sources, at some point during the night, Britton became engaged in an argument with Bradley Simon, the young student whose parents eventually filed the personal injury claim, over a sweatshirt worn by Britton.

The two parties separated, but later that evening, after McGlasson and Britton had been escorted from the bar, the two hockey players saw Simon riding his bike down a nearby street.

The personal injury lawsuit alleges McGlasson and Britton sprinted towards Simon and pushed him off his bike into a concrete wall, slamming Simon’s head against the concrete. Tragically, Simon died five days later as a result of injuries suffered in the crash.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Simon’s family says that McGlasson and Britton acted with “malicious” intent and showed an “intentional disregard” for Simon’s well-being.

In punishment delivered separately from the lawsuit, both McGlasson and Britton were permanently suspended from the hockey team and later expelled from the university.

In addition to the lawsuit against the two aggressors, Simon’s family included the owners of the Log Jam and the bar’s insurance company in the wrongful death claim.

Sources indicate that the lawsuit accuses the Log Jam’s bartenders of serving too much alcohol to the group of hockey players, which helped increase their aggressive behavior. In particular, the lawsuit says that an employee of the bar poured 100 shots in a single order to be served to just the hockey players.

Moreover, Simon’s parents claim that the Log Jam’s employees were negligent in their failure to notify police after they witnessed increasingly aggressive behavior by McGlasson and Britton.

This lawsuit, unfortunately, reflects a disturbing trend of alcohol-related deaths, particularly among young Americans. In addition to physical confrontations, car accidents often play a role in these incidents.

If you have lost a loved one due to someone’s negligent or intentional actions, you may be eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the guilty party. Typically, wrongful death lawsuits must be filed by immediate family of the deceased.

If your claim is successful, you may be able to seek compensation for your own pain and suffering, in addition to the medical expenses incurred by your deceased family member.

To learn more about your unique legal circumstances, contact a local injury attorney today.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on January 14, 2011 (boomark / email).