Woman Awarded $5.5 Million for Injuries Sustained in Drunk Driving Crash
By Andrew Weatherford
Published on May 08, 2009
Last week a jury in Skagit County, Washington awarded $5.5 million to a woman who was critically injured in a 2007 car crash. According to the victim's attorney, Dean Brett, the verdict is the largest ever in Skagit County.
The accident occurred in January 2007 as Hailey French, 22, was driving her vehicle on Highway 542. A drunk driver crossed into the opposite lane and hit French's vehicle head-on.
In the lawsuit filed on French's behalf, Whatcom County and the Washington State Patrol are named as defendants instead of the drunk driver. According to Brett, a Washington State Trooper had driven the drunk driver home less than two hours before the accident and had instructed her not to drive again until she was sober. However, the drunk driver had a taxi return her to her vehicle and then she attempted to drive once again while still intoxicated. The drunk driver then proceeded to crash into the victim's vehicle, causing her to sustain critical injuries to her legs, pelvis, and wrists.
In addition, Brett claimed that the Whatcom County District Court Probation Department was negligent for failing to make sure that the drunk driver, who was sentenced in an earlier drunk driving conviction, fulfilled the requirements of a court-ordered mandate to install an alcohol interlock in her car.
At the conclusion of the three-week trial, the jury found that Whatcom County and the Washington State Patrol did not do all in their power to prevent the crash and ruled that they pay $5.5 million to the victim for her injuries.
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