It’s a tale of two DUIs, but the lawsuit filed in this drunk driving dispute may surprise you. One Oregon woman is seeking financial compensation after she was struck by a drunk driver in May 2013. The catch: The woman who filed the civil litigation was also apparently drunk at the time of the wreck. That woman’s blood alcohol content measured at about 0.11 percent when she collided with the other driver in Southeast Portland. The defendant in the case had a blood alcohol content of 0.19 percent; both values are higher than the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
In addition, the woman’s lawsuit also includes a sober driver that was reportedly chasing after the alleged drunk driver that struck her vehicle. The defendant, a 26-year-old man, first struck a vehicle driven by a sober motorist. That driver chose to chase the defendant, causing him to reach speeds of up to 50 mph in a 25 mph zone. The at-fault driver claims that he would not have sped if he had not been chased; an emergency operator even advised the sober driver to leave the matter to police.
The plaintiff in this case is seeking $1.6 million in connection with the wreck. She suffered serious personal injury, and her 28-year-old passenger died because of injuries suffered in the wreck. The at-fault driver has reportedly had his driver’s license revoked for life, and he will also serve more than seven years’ prison time for his role in the fatal wreck.
Victims who have suffered injury in a vehicle wreck may not think they have any legal options if they are intoxicated at the time of the crash. As demonstrated in this article, that is not the case. An Oregon attorney may be able to help such victims learn more about their legal rights and options, providing them with the information they need to get the personal injury compensation they deserve.
Source: The Oregonian, “Drunken driver sues other drunken driver who struck her for $1.6 million” Aimee Green, Mar. 25, 2014
