$975,000 Settlement After Drunk Driver Kills Woman Asleep in Her Home

In December 2021, a woman was asleep in her bedroom when a driver under the influence of alcohol crashed his vehicle through the wall of her home. She suffered immediate catastrophic injuries, including a massive head laceration, and died on the operating table later that morning. She had done nothing wrong. The crash came to her.

The driver had spent part of the afternoon and evening consuming alcohol, cocaine, and Xanax before arriving at two separate bars that evening. At each stop, staff served him additional drinks despite his visibly intoxicated state. He consumed three more drinks across those two visits before getting back behind the wheel. Law enforcement never obtained a blood alcohol reading, and the driver denied being impaired at all, claiming his dog jumped into his lap and caused him to lose control.

The driver eventually pleaded guilty to felony death by motor vehicle and began serving a prison sentence. That criminal resolution, however, left open the question of who else bore responsibility for putting an impaired man back on the road.

Attorney T. Shawn Howard of Maginnis Howard, joined by co-counsel Justin R. Apple of Hatch, Little and Bunn, pursued dram shop claims against both bars under North Carolina law, which prohibits licensed establishments from serving alcohol to a person who is noticeably intoxicated. The legal team retained M. Randy Durnall to testify on responsible alcohol service standards and Dr. David Eagerton, a forensic toxicologist, to reconstruct the driver's impairment level throughout the night.

The case settled at mediation before Scott Hart on October 8, 2024. The $975,000 total included $100,000 from the driver's auto insurance policy and $875,000 from the two defendant bars. No reduction on appeal was reported.