Confidential Settlement – Man Dies In Auto Accident Due to Intoxicated Driver

In December 2018, our client was involved in serious motor vehicle accident that unfortunately took his life. On this fatal night, our client had been at a bar consuming alcohol with a friend and the bartender until the bar closed. Our client and his friend then left together, with our client riding as the front seat passenger in his friend’s vehicle. Shortly after leaving the bar, our client’s friend failed to make a curve in the road, causing the car to go airborne and land upside down in a nearby creek. The two men were both pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The coroner’s report indicated that the driver’s blood alcohol level was .22—nearly three times the legal limit.

Our firm was contacted shortly after this horrible accident to assist our client’s family in their recovery and we successfully negotiated a policy limits settlement with the intoxicated driver’s insurance company. We also obtained a significant additional recovery for our client’s family by negotiating with the insurance company that had issued a policy to the bar the two men were drinking at prior to the fatal crash. Ohio law provides that under some circumstances, a bar itself may be liable for injury of its patrons or third parties when an individual continues to be served alcohol despite the bar or its employees having actual knowledge that the individual is intoxicated.  By pursuing this additional claim, we were able to ensure this man’s family was not limited to the driver’s liability policy limits and had access to an additional amount of recovery. While there is no amount of money that can take away the pain that our client’s family endured, the settlement we obtained will assist our client’s family as they move forward.

***Individual results may vary based on the facts, injuries, jurisdiction, venue, witnesses, parties, and other factors. This result is not necessarily representative of the results obtained by all clients.***

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