Hit-and-Run Accident Lawsuit Results in $2.9M Award

|

A wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a Philadelphia area teen killed by a hit-and-run driver has resulted in a $2.9 million verdict. 

The hit-and-run auto accident lawsuit was brought by the family of Ashley Lynn Nickerson-Whalen, who was 14 when she was run over by a drunk driver using a suspended license at about 10 p.m. on August 19, 2004.

Kirk Tate, 21, was sentenced to serve three to six years in prison as a result of charges stemming from the accident after pleading guilty in 2005. Both Tate and Donald Williams, the owner of the car Tate was driving when he struck Nickerson-Whalen and fled the scene, were named as defendants in the family’s personal injury lawsuit.

Sports-Betting-Addiction-Lawsuits
Sports-Betting-Addiction-Lawsuits

The case was decided by Bucks County Judge Gary Gilman, who awarded the family nearly $700,000 in wrongful death compensation from both men. In addition, Gilman awarded the family $1.5 million in survival action damages, $600,000 in punitive damages against Tate and $150,000 in punitive damages against Williams.

The family will have to attempt to collect most of the money from Tate and Williams’ future earnings.


0 Comments


This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Share Your Comments

This field is hidden when viewing the form
I authorize the above comments be posted on this page
Post Comment
Weekly Digest Opt-In

Want your comments reviewed by a lawyer?

To have an attorney review your comments and contact you about a potential case, provide your contact information below. This will not be published.

NOTE: Providing information for review by an attorney does not form an attorney-client relationship.

MORE TOP STORIES

Federal regulators warned years ago that mesh implants were never approved for use in breast surgery, yet manufacturers continued marketing them as internal bra devices for reconstruction and cosmetic augmentation. As complication reports rise and more women undergo revision surgery, lawsuits are now being investigated against companies that promoted mesh for off-label breast procedures despite FDA warnings and no breast-specific safety data.
A panel of federal judges will decide in December whether to consolidate all claims brought by parents who allege that Roblox facilitated child sexual exploitation into a multidistrict litigation.
A federal judge has called for a second census of Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits and will require prompt filing of census forms for claims filed from October 1 forward.