Back on Jan. 22, we discussed the wrongful death lawsuit brought against a Connecticut nightclub by the parents of a college student who was killed in a drunk driving accident in 2009. The drunk driver in the fatal crash had spent several hours drinking at Ultra 88, a club within the Mohegan Sun casino. The victim’s parents said that Ultra 88 servers continued to serve alcohol to the driver even though he was obviously intoxicated, then allowed him to drive off.
As we have previously discussed, the victim was a student at Connecticut College. She was the leader of a group of students that were going to take part in a humanitarian mission in Uganda. The group was in a van heading to the airport on I-395 when the van was struck head-on by a car driven by a man who was going the wrong way on the highway. The daughter died in the accident.
The driver had been at Ultra 88, where he consumed several drinks. He passed out in his car for 90 minutes before exiting the casino parking ramp. However, he was still heavily intoxicated and became confused, leaving the garage through entrance and ending up on the wrong side of the I-395.
The victim’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ultra 88 and its owners under Connecticut’s dram shop law, which holds alcohol servers liable for accidents involving those they over served. Trial in the case began Jan. 29. After two days of testimony, negotiations between the parties resulted in a settlement. The owners of the club agreed to pay $4.2 million to the victim’s parents. The parents will also drop a similar suit against the backers in tribal court.
Our law firm represents people who have lost a loved one due to another’s negligence. Please visit our New Haven wrongful death page for more information.
