Family of Injured Teen Awarded $60 Million for Drunk Driving Crash

The mother of a Collier County teen who was severely injured in a motor vehicle accident more than 10 years ago was awarded $60 million in damages by a jury last Friday.

Joan Antonuccio’s daughter, Angela Crowe, was paralyzed after a 2003 car crash in which she was a passenger.  Her daughter’s boyfriend, the driver, was found to be drunk and was later arrested for driving under the influence.

The two were driving home after spending a night out in Naples.  The lawsuit alleged that the bartender was providing drinks to Crowe, who was underage at the time of the incident.  Crowe’s boyfriend, Isaac Steves, feel asleep behind the wheel and swerved off of the road and into a tree.

Antonuccio’s attorney, Ray Rasco, said it was unlikely that they would be able to recover the entire amount of the jury’s award.  Approximately $7 million in damages were awarded for Crowe’s medical expenses.  Crowe spent four months in a coma after sustaining multiple traumatic brain injuries.

Rasco said his law firm was pursuing different avenues to see just how much in damages they could claim, however he declined to comment how much his firm would earn from the lawsuit.

Drunk driving accidents often end in tragedy, but always avoidable.  There is never a need to drink and drive, especially with the prevalence of services like Uber and Lyft, in addition to the taxis already servicing the Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas.

For further discussion on this topic or any other, please contact the experienced attorneys at the Schulman Law Group at (954) 349-3300 or at info@www.schulaw.com