From the "New Frontiers Of Liability Department" in Boulder, Colorado: A lawyer for car-crash victim Doris Gray is suing not just the drunken driver whose vehicle hit her car but also the drunken driver's friend.
:m: Peace.
Although none of the participants could think of any earlier cases in which persons have been held liable for shirking a designated-driver role, a former head of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association claims the new theory is "pretty solid"."It's a pretty unique circumstance," said Bill Babbich, the lawyer representing crash victim Doris Gray, a former postal worker. Her injuries have prevented her from returning to work.
In the Dec. 28, 2000, accident in Louisville, Jasmine Surratt, then 20, crashed her Toyota head-on into Gray's Saturn. Surratt's blood-alcohol level was more than four times the legal limit for driving, police reported. Gray suffered a shattered lower leg, chest injuries and a cut to her head.
I don't see it, myself.The lawsuit is based largely on the idea of civil conspiracy which, under Colorado law, requires that two people agree on a plan to violate the law. (Full text here)
:m: Peace.