Last month, our Miami personal injury blog discussed an accident involving a woman who was seriously injured when a Miami Beach police officer ran her over with an ATV. The accident occurred July 3 round 5:30 a.m. The officer was on-duty at the time of the incident and his blood alcohol level measured .088 after he ran the woman and another individual over.
The woman has remained at Jackson Memorial Hospital since last month’s ATV accident. Although she is slowly showing signs of improvement, the woman has suffered severe brain injuries and will most likely require medical care for the rest of her life. The right side of her body is paralyzed and she is also showing signs of memory loss.
The 28-year-old woman has a 1-year-old child who she was expected to see last weekend for the first time since the accident. Because of the crash, she may never be able to fully care for herself or for her child as she was once able to.
As a result, the woman has decided to sue the police officer who hit her as well as a local establishment that she believes had served the on-duty officer alcoholic beverages shortly before the accident occurred. She is seeking compensation for her medical expenses and for medical care that she will need once she is released from the hospital.
The lawsuit claims that the Clevelander Hotel should also be held liable for the July accident because the employees at the hotel had served alcohol to the on-duty officer. Management has denied the allegations but a private investigator said that there is enough evidence to support the woman’s claims.
Since the accident, the Miami Beach officer has been fired. He has been charged with two felony counts of drunk driving with serious bodily injuries and two counts of reckless driving.
In response to the lawsuit, the woman’s father commented that although he hopes his daughter will be able to recover the financial costs resulting from the incident, he is more concerned about his daughter’s ability to physically recover from her injuries. “I don’t know how she is going to come out of this accident. She is not good,” he stated.
Source
The Miami Herald: “ATV victim sues Miami Beach officer, Clevelander hotel,” Perry Stein, 28 July 2011