$25 Million Awarded In DWI Crash
Late yesterday the jury found that the night club that over-served former Dallas Cowboy Josh Brent was equally responsible with Brent and awarded a huge verdict of $25 million. Each of the defendants was found to be 48 percent at fault. The Dallas Cowboy who tragically died, Jerry Brown, Jr., was held to be four percent to blame. The money will be paid to Brown’s mother and his estate.
Brent’s blood alcohol content was .18%, more than two times the legal limit in Texas. An expert for the plaintiffs testified that a man as large as Brent would have had to have consumed a shocking 17 alcoholic beverages.
Jurors rejected the arguments of the bar and its management company that Brent was intoxicated either before he entered the club or after he left.
The defense produced two servers who testified that Brent did not appear to be obviously intoxicated. However surveillance video showed him ordering three bottles of champagne and drinking from a bottle and serving himself in violation of club rules. At trial on Monday, Brent could not remember how many drinks he had consumed.
The club’s attempt to blame the passenger also failed.
Texas Dram Shop and Driving While Intoxicated Law
Innocent people who are seriously injured or die as the result of car crashes caused by intoxicated drivers must be punished. Filing a criminal case is the obvious choice but is not the only recourse. Often the drunk driver is placed on probation, which is the sentence handed down to Brent.
At Berenson Injury Law, our legal team has seen far too many examples of the devastating impact that drunk driving has on innocent motorists.
Further, it is often said by insurance company adjusters that juries in Dallas and Fort Worth are not capable of awarding substantial verdicts. This Dallas case and others proves them wrong.