Families of Victims Get $15 Million in Florida Drunk-Driving Lawsuit

July 12, 2012

As you head north from the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro area up the beautiful Florida Gulf Coast, past the pristine Clearwater beaches and Tarpon Springs, you come to the city of Hudson, currently in its evolution from Southern historical roots and rural farmland, to modern planned communities.

Christmas Day 2007 in Hudson turned into a nightmare. Lives were lost and the lives of surviving family members shattered when David Belniak drove his pickup at an estimated 86 mph on busy north-south artery U.S. Highway 19 into a stopped Chevrolet Tahoe with four passengers.

The passengers were two married couples, 66-year-old Linda McWilliams and her husband Ray McWilliams, along with Linda's daughter 50-year-old Denise Bassi and her husband 51-year-old Gerard Bassi. In the Tahoe, only Ray McWilliams, who was driving, survived, but with severe injuries (he has since died of an unrelated cause).

It has been reported widely in the press that at the time of the crash Belniak was driving with alcohol, Xanax and cocaine in his body. It turns out he had a history of traffic violations and drunk driving charges, plus a stint in prison for possessing the drug GBH, a dangerous depressant made from paint thinner.

In the June 2012 trial of the civil lawsuit against Belniak for the fatal drunk-driving accident, the jury awarded the family $14 million in compensation. The next phase of the trial was for punitive damages -- dollars awarded to punish the defendant for his behavior, rather than to reimburse for financially measurable losses. After the attorneys presented their opening arguments, the parties settled for $1 million in punitive damages, for a total recovery of $15 million.

Now begins the hard work of collecting that money. It is alleged that the defendant sold off his assets and liquidated his money to keep it from the plaintiffs, and another suit has reportedly been brought to try to make those assets available to satisfy the outstanding damages.

The trial was prominent in the press because the defendant counterclaimed against the decedents' estates, alleging that Ray McWilliams was at fault in the incident, an allegation the jury did not buy.

Criminally, Belniak reached a plea agreement that was approved reluctantly by the victims' families, in which he was convicted of three counts of driving under the influence causing death to a human being, also called "DUI manslaughter" in Florida. The plea also provides that the defendant will never be allowed to have a driver's license again. He is serving a 12-year sentence followed by 10 years of probation.

News reports painstakingly detail the emotional damage sustained by relatives of those who died so violently in the accident. The victims were parents and grandparents who left behind grieving and devastated immediate and extended family members.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Florida motor-vehicle accident involving a driver intoxicated by alcohol or drugs, talk to an experienced personal injury attorney about your legal rights and potential remedies. Similarly, if you lost a close relative or loved one in such a crash, discuss the situation with a wrongful death lawyer.

Potential civil actions include negligence, wrongful death and dramshop claims, and potential defendants may include at-fault drivers, restaurants or social hosts who served alcohol, and insurance companies.

Article provided by Carey & Leisure
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