 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Court backs award to family in fatal car crash
By COLLEEN JENKINS The 5th District Court of Appeal has upheld a Citrus County jury's decision to award millions of dollars to the family of an Inverness woman killed in a 1997 car wreck -- even though she was intoxicated and the car was clocked at 106 mph. The court's eight-page opinion, released Friday, made only one small cut in the jurors' nearly $6-million judgment made in September 2001 to Bruce McQuillin and his 12-year-old son, Michael. It sliced out about $50,000 supposedly representing the victim's expected lifetime net income. But the pair likely will collect no more than $200,000 because of a state cap on damages juries can award people who win negligence lawsuits against government agencies. McQuillin, 40, sued the county after his wife, Deborah, 28, was killed when her car ran off E Moccasin Slough Road, a county road that was under construction. He argued that officials were negligent for leaving a 3-inch dropoff between the freshly laid asphalt and the shoulder of the road, preventing the car from returning safely to the road after it swerved off. Jurors agreed but placed 80 percent of the blame for the one-car accident on Deborah McQuillin, who was legally intoxicated at the time of the crash, according to court testimony. A Florida Highway Patrol investigator also said the car was traveling 106 mph in a 30 mph area when it spun out of control and hit a tree. Those caveats left the county responsible for 20 percent of the damages, or about $1.2-million. Only a special order from the state Legislature would override the state cap on damages against government bodies, meaning the county wouldn't have to pay more than $200,000. Still, McQuillin cautiously welcomed the news of the higher court's decision Friday. "I don't know much what to say," he said in a telephone interview. "It doesn't bring her back, but it gets the boy squared away pretty good. I'd rather he had his mom back." County lawyers had appealed the trial court's refusal to grant their motion for a new trial or to set aside the verdict and final judgment. The county contended that the trial court, presided over by Circuit Judge Patricia Thomas, erred in allowing jurors to see a gruesome photograph of Deborah McQuillin's body at the crash scene. The appeals court stated that the photograph was relevant to Bruce McQuillin's case; he tried to convince the jury that his wife had not been driving the car. Two women who had been drinking with Deborah McQuillin at Griff's bar in Inverness were also in the car. None of the three was wearing a seat belt. Rescue workers found McQuillin trapped in the back seat of the crushed Mustang GT. The others had been ejected from the car. Both the Florida Highway Patrol and the jury pegged McQuillin as the driver, yet the state medical examiner's report listed no injuries that would indicate McQuillin was behind the wheel at the time of the wreck. In response to the county's argument that there was inadequate evidence of its liability, the court said the state traffic manual indicated there should be no dropoffs from the pavement to the shoulder of the road. The appeals court agreed that the award was large, but it affirmed all but $50,000, saying that this sum, provided for the victim's estimated worth if she had lived, was "speculative and based on insufficient or no evidence." McQuillin dropped out of high school in the 11th grade and earned between $160 and $180 a week as a cashier. She and her husband had no record of savings, according to the opinion. But the court backed the $4.4-million awarded to Michael, asking, "Who can place a dollar value on a human life, measured by the loss and grief of a loved one?" During the two-day trial two years ago, Michael spoke of his close bond with his mother and life without her. County Attorney Butch Battista said the court's disposal of $50,000 likely held little benefit for the county, given the state limits on what a government body must pay. As of Friday afternoon, he had not contacted the law firm handling the county's case and did not yet know if the county would appeal the decision to the Florida Supreme Court. "We'll need to see what our chances for appeal are," he said. McQuillin's attorney, Eddie Scott, warned his client Friday that it could be a long road before his award materializes, but the pair were pleased with their latest victory. "I think the appellate court was absolutely correct in what they said," Scott said. "How do you put a value on this little boy losing his mother?"
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Citrus Times |
