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$5.5 Million – Largest Jury Verdict in Skagit County History
On April 28, 2009, a Skagit County jury awarded $5.5 million dollars to the severely injured victim of a drunk driver against the drunk driver, the Washington State Patrol, and a local probation department. This personal injury verdict represents the largest in the county’s history.
Hailey French was injured in an auto accident, a head-on collision with a drunk driver who had been released from a prior DUI arrest less than two hours before the car accident. Instead of booking the drunk driver into jail or impounding her car, the arresting state trooper drove her home, gave her back her keys, and told her not to drive again “until she sobered up.” Instead, the drunk driver took a taxi back to her car, got back on the road, and hit Hailey French head-on.
Hailey was airlifted to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, suffering life-threatening injuries including a collapsed lung, a fractured and dislocated hip, a fractured right femur and knee, and a crushed right foot.
Since the drunk driver had only $25,000 in insurance policy limits, not near enough to cover Hailey’s massive medical bills, Seattle injury attorney Dean Brett identified other sources of liability coverage through the Washington State Patrol and the Whatcom County Probation Department.
The claim against the Whatcom County Probation Department arose from the fact that the DUI driver had been placed on deferred prosecution eight months before the auto accident, and was under a court order to drive only a car equipped with an alcohol interlock device, but the probation department had failed to follow-up on the judge’s requirement. The drunk driver had no such device on her car.
Personal injury attorney Dean Brett was able to establish that the trooper had a duty to exercise reasonable care to control the drunk driver, to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm to others from her dangerous behaviors. The standard of care for the state trooper was then established through the testimony of the retired Bellevue Chief of Police, the Whatcom County Sheriff, and two other officers who participated in the initial stop, who testified that the trooper unreasonably failed to prevent the drunk driver from having access to her vehicle.
Hailey’s extensive damages were established through the testimonies of Dr. Stephen Benirschke, Dr. Michael Vondette, and Dr. Ted Becker, who estimated that Hailey French suffered a 35% loss of whole body function under the AMA Guidelines to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. Following this extensive testimony, the jury awarded Hailey $5.5 million, the largest jury verdict ever recovered in Skagit County.
Plaintiff was represented by Seattle personal injury attorneys Dean Brett, Bill Coats, and Rand Jack of Brett Murphy, and Gene Moses of the Law Office of Gene Moses. The Washington State Patrol was ably represented by attorneys Paul Triesch and Matt Daheim of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. Whatcom County was ably represented by attorneys Mike Patterson, Amy DeLisa, and Daniel Crowner of Patterson, Buchanan, Fobes, Leitch & Kalzer, as well as by Whatcom County’s Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Randy Watts. The case is French v. Parker, State of Washington, and Whatcom County, Skagit County Cause No. 08-2-00530-8.
Following this record verdict, the Bellingham Police Department implemented a new policy that requires officers to book all DUI arrests into the Whatcom County Jail. Deputy Chief David Doll said French’s personal injury lawsuit was one of several factors that played a role in implementing it. “It’s a public safety issue,” Doll said. “It’s our opportunity to make sure a drunk driver doesn’t get back behind the wheel and drive.” The Blaine Police Department is reviewing its policy on DUI arrests in light of the verdict in French’s lawsuit, Chief Mike Haslip said. “These policy changes will save others from the types of injuries suffered by Hailey French.”
Call the Seattle personal injury attorneys at Brett Murphy – Washington’s Injury Lawyers today at 888-870-8751, or contact us via our online form.
