Settlement Amount: $200,000
Back & Spinal-Cord Injuries
Drunk/Drugged Driving Accident
Dean Brett recently completed a challenging case in which two women were seriously injured by a drunk driver who fled from law enforcement, led police on a high-speed chase, and slammed head-on into a vehicle.
A Sheriff’s Deputy had made contact with the defendant because his car was sitting in the road, stopped, with no lights on, in the travel lane. When the driver saw the deputy’s car, he began driving in an erratic manner, and the deputy pulled him over. Once the deputy realized that the defendant was drunk, the deputy began the process to complete a breathalyzer test on the defendant.
Unfortunately, while the deputy was accessing the equipment in his cruiser, the defendant ran to his own car and sped away. The chase that ensued reached speeds of 100 mph. Eventually the defendant missed a curve and plowed head-long into the car in which one of Dean Brett’s clients was a passenger. Dean’s other client was the passenger of the defendant’s car. The defendant died in the crash.
Our clients received settlements from the defendant’s insurance company. However, the crash was in part caused by the Sheriff’s Deputy who engaged in a dangerous high-speed pursuit with a known drunk driver, even though the deputy already knew the identity of the defendant and should have ended the chase to arrest the driver later. Unfortunately, the deputy did not understand the County’s Pursuit Driving Policy and Procedures, which state that “Deputies will not initiate or continue a pursuit – when the subject is known and could be apprehended by a warrant at a later time.”
After extensive negotiations, attorney Dean Brett settled this case with for $200,000, thus obtaining a settlement that would allow both clients to move forward with their lives after healing from their extensive injuries.
