Gwinnett County Drunk Driving Collision Settles for $10.2 Million

An inebriated defendant driver, operating a vehicle for a transport company, failed to stop at a red light in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Traveling 70 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone with a blood alcohol content of .185, the defendant driver struck the plaintiff's vehicle. The plaintiff was life-flighted from the scene with multiple severe injuries.

The plaintiff sustained extensive injuries, including two large facial lacerations, a traumatic brain injury with moderate cognitive deficits confirmed by neurological tests, and multiple orthopedic fractures. Some fractures required surgical repair, such as a C2 pelvic ring fracture, a Zone 2 sacral fracture, and an acetabular fracture. Other fractures, including those to the C1 vertebra, ribs, sternum, and fibula, did not require surgery. The plaintiff was hospitalized for three weeks, spent five weeks in a rehabilitation facility, and then several weeks in a nursing facility, ultimately requiring a motorized wheelchair. The plaintiff filed a negligence suit in Georgia state court, which the defendants removed to the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, based on diversity of citizenship.

The plaintiff claimed damages exceeding available insurance coverage. The defendant driver carried a $25,000 policy, and the employer's commercial policy provided nearly $10,000,000 in coverage. The plaintiff also had a $300,000 add-on uninsured motorist policy. The case concluded with settlements totaling $9,908,091 paid from the employer's policy, the $25,000 from the defendant driver's policy, and the $300,000 uninsured motorist policy. This was in addition to a confidential settlement previously reached with a bar under a dram shop theory. The outcome reflected the defendant driver's documented negligence and the plaintiff's severe, long-term injuries.