Phillips Law Wins $25 Million Civil Suit on Behalf of OWI Crash Widow
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) February 20, 2015 -- On February 13, the Phillips Law Offices received a $25 million verdict in Gary, Indiana on behalf of a widow who lost her husband of 40 years because of the selfishness of a drunk driver and the negligence of two restaurants who served that driver excessive amounts of alcohol. According to court documents, the plaintiff married her husband when she was 19. She had an abiding partnership with him until a drunk driver careened onto the shoulder of a road where her husband was helping a disabled trucker change a flat. The driver, according to court documents, consumed 21 shots at the first restaurant and three glasses of wine at the second in the hours before the tragedy. The second restaurant was a 45-second drive from the accident site.
Despite overwhelming evidence in the court documents – a 0.19 blood alcohol content level measured two hours after the collision and the odor of alcohol coming from his Range Rover as state troopers approached – both restaurants and their insurance companies denied that the driver was intoxicated while at their establishments on the night of the tragedy. In fact, for four years, they denied any fault in causing the plaintiff’s husband’s death. The driver’s criminal record showed that this was his fifth OWI (Operating Under the Influence) offense. In spite of this evidence, the insurance company’s attorneys refused to offer the widowed plaintiff a fair settlement. In fact, the insurance company put her and her family under a microscope for four years. Those tactics were exposed during the 5-day trial. The jury spoke loudly and unequivocally about the value of the plaintiff’s losses due to the gross misconduct of the defendants.
This was a record verdict. Chicago personal injury attorney Stephen D. Phillips of Phillips Law Offices was honored to represent and help a widowed client who was bullied for years by insurance companies and a drunk driver’s lawyers. Regarding the outcome, Mr. Phillips said, “This record verdict reaffirms that our jury system protects common men and women by putting them on the same level playing field as powerful insurance companies who wish it were not so and who are constantly trying to change the system and shortchange innocent victims.”
Case Information: Amsden V. Maintenance Dynamics, Inc. and Jeffery Cleary, Chulas, LLC d/b/a Country Lounge, and Giovanni’s Inc. d/b/a Giovanni’s; Case No.: 45D04-1105-CT-00111
For more information:
Stephen D. Phillips
Phillips Law Offices
161 North Clark Street, Suite 4925
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Cell : 312-550-0005
sphillips(at)phillipslegal(dot)com
Stephen D. Phillips, Phillips Law Offices, http://phillipslawoffices.com, 312-550-0005, [email protected]
Share this article